The Magic Snowman and the Magic Christmas Party
by Jacqueline Richards (England)

Generally in Christmas land, the weekend before Christmas is always laundry day.

Just the same as most years, Mrs Christmas was busy hanging out all the family's clothes in time for Christmas Eve -- the white fur on Santa's red suit was covered in reindeer fluff from last year and there were old holly and mistletoe leaves everywhere. Of course, every gnome needed a clean pair of socks and the Pantomime Dame had to have her wig combed and brushed in time for her grand performance. The fairy on the Christmas tree also wanted her ballerina ball gown to sparkle like new.

Whilst Father Christmas was busy collecting all the toys in sacks and piling them up on his sleigh, Mrs Christmas pegged out gloves, hats and mittens one by one on the washing line. A pair of trousers here, an old coat there. It was only when she was collecting them in again that she realized that Santa's boots weren't polished yet.

"They're probably thick with mud," she tutted to one of the elves, as she sent him off to find them. But the elf couldn't see them anywhere. He searched in the cupboard underneath the stairs and up in the attic -- no boots. He even glanced around the hat stand, but there was only an umbrella and an old trilby with a hole in it. In the wardrobe upstairs there were hundreds of shoes all in size twos to fit the hundreds of gnomes. There was a pair of Mrs. Christmas's slippers that were a present from Santa last year and now a bit threadbare, and a pair of ballerina dancing shoes belonging to the Christmas fairy.

Still, the elf couldn't find Santa's boots. It was only when one of the elves tripped down the garden path to get a spanner from the garden shed that Santa's boots were finally located.

The elf wasn't quite sure at first, and returned to the kitchen in Santa's Christmas grotto to fetch his spectacles. He polished them hard, getting rid of the odd snowflake and placed them back on the end of his elfish nose. Guess who was wearing the missing boots... Frosty the Snowman!

He stood outside in the frost and ice. Of course, boots worn by Father Christmas are magical, indeed. As soon as the elf sneezed, the boots came alive, making Frosty the Snowman dance. It didn't matter now that the weather was cold and the wind chilly because Frosty the Snowman's feet hardly touched the ground wearing Santa's boots. His eyes twinkled just like stars in the sky as he waltzed with a Christmas fairy.

As Frosty the Snowman span in a pirouette, the whole garden bounced in time to the music, played by robin redbreasts, who had been practicing the melody all Autumn. First a quick step, then a foxtrot with some of the other garden gnomes. Although the weekend before Christmas is always laundry day, this year was special -- a real Christmas party that lasted all the way until Father Christmas called the elves to finish polishing his boots and the gnomes had to help Santa pack up his sleigh with Christmas presents.

THE END