English
(This is an original children's Christmas Story I wrote 5 years ago ... It needs some serious editing I'm sure, but I hope you’ll enjoy its value and how it may help reduce clutter in your home.
A Visit from Papa Noel
Once upon a time lived a little boy who loved his toys.
Stuffed toys, ninja toys, spaceship toys, monster toys, toys of all kinds. He loved his toys so much that he never shared them with anyone else. Not his brothers. Not his sisters. Not the boys and girls down the street. Not even his mum and dad.
The little boy had so many toys that he couldn’t possibly play with them all.
Most of his toys just sat in his closet.
The little boy knew his toys were sad because he never played with them anymore. Still, he never shared his toys with anyone else. They just stayed in his closet.
Until one Christmas Eve night.
The little boy was dreaming of all the special Christmas toys Santa Claus would bring him that night.
Suddenly he heard something.
It sounded like a little jingling bell. It was coming from inside the closet. The boy got up and crept quietly to the closet door. The boy swung open the closet door, and there standing in the middle of all his toys was a man with a jingling gold bell, a long fuzzy hat, a big white beard, and a giant toy sack.
“Santa Claus?” the little boy cried with delight.
“No,” the man said. “I’m not Santa Claus. My name is Papa Noel. Ho, ho, ho!” the man laughed jingling the little gold bell.
He wasn’t Santa Claus, but he sure sounded like Santa Claus.
The boy looked at the man a little closer. He was dressed as Santa Claus, but his hat and suit were green, not red. He had a white beard like Santa Claus, but it was prickly, not soft. And he had a giant toy sack like Santa Claus, but it was empty, not full.
“If you’re not Santa Claus, what are you doing with my toys?” the boy asked.
“Ho, ho, ho,” laughed Papa Noel. “Let me ask you something, little one. How does Santa Claus get toys for all the boys and girls around the world?”
“Elves!” the little boy said proudly.
“Ho, ho, ho. No,” said Papa Noel with a deep jolly voice.
“Let me tell you a story.” Papa Noel put down his empty toy sack and sat next to the little boy. “Years ago when the world was small the elves could make toys for all the boys and girls in the world. But the world is a much bigger place than it used to be. And children want more toys than they used. There just aren’t enough elves to make that many toys anymore. And without enough elves, Santa doesn’t have enough toys for all the boys and girls in the world.”
“No!” the little boy cried with alarm.
“Ho, ho, ho,” laughed Papa Noel. “Don’t worry little one. That’s why I’m here. Santa needs your help. It’s really simple, little one.” Papa Noel whispered into the little boy’s ear. “Generosity.”
“Generosity?” asked the boy.
“Generosity means sharing,” explained Papa Noel. “Sharing with your brothers and sisters. Sharing with the other boys and girls down the street. Sharing with your mum and dad. Generosity also means sharing toys that you don’t play with anymore. Do you have any toys that you don’t play with anymore?”
“Yes!” said the boy. “But they’re my toys.”
“Ho, ho, ho.” Papa Noel jingled his little gold bell.
“Yes, they are your toys. But toys are only happy when you play with them. If you have so many toys that you can’t possibly play with them all, that makes toys sad. Do you play with all your toys?”
The little boy looked at all his toys in the closet. He knew they were sad because he didn’t play with them all anymore.
“No,” the little boy said. “But they’re still my toys.”
“Ho, ho, ho. I know,” said Papa Noel. “But do you want your toys to be happy?
The little boy thought. “Yes. I want my toys to be happy.”
“Well,” explained Papa Noel. “Then you might be able to help. Santa has asked me to find little boys and girls, who have so many toys that they can’t possibly play with them all.”
Papa Noel showed the little boy the empty toy sack. “Santa needs every little boy and girl to be generous. He needs you to share your toys so that he can give them to other boys and girls. That way, your toys will be happy again. And Santa will have enough toys to give to all the boys and girls in the world again.”
The little boy didn’t know what to do.
“What if I don’t want to share my toys?” he asked.
Papa Noel said, “Most boys and girls love their toys, even the ones they don’t play with. But if you already have enough toys, why do you need any new toys?”
The little boy had never thought of this before. He didn’t know what to say.
“Ho, ho, ho,” laughed Papa Noel. “Don’t worry, little one. It doesn’t mean that Santa won’t bring you anything if you’ve been a good boy. But part of being a good boy means being generous.”
“You mean sharing with others?”
“Yes,” said Papa Noel with a twinkle in his eye.
The little boy thought and thought and thought some more. He wanted to be a good boy. The little boy thought of all the Christmases and all the presents that Santa had already given him. He thought of how happy he was to open those toys in their shiny paper on Christmas morning. He thought of how happy he was to play with those toys of Christmas morning. He thought of how happy his toys were to be played with.
And then he thought of how happy other boys and girls would be playing with his toys. He thought of how happy they would be to open those toys in their shiny paper on Christmas morning. He thought of how happy they would be to play with those toys of Christmas morning. And he thought of how happy his toys would be to be played with by other boys and girls. The little boy felt happy. The little boy felt like sharing.
The little boy felt generous.
The little boy marched into the closet and put all his toys into Papa Noel’s toy sack. Stuffed toys, ninja toys, spaceship toys, monster toys, toys of all kinds.
“Ho, ho, ho,” smiled Papa Noel jingling his little gold bell. “Thank you, little one. I hope the other boys and girls are as generous as you.”
The man named Papa Noel stood up with his toy sack filled with toys.
“But now you have to get back to bed. Santa Claus will be here soon, and I’ll make sure he brings you something extra special on Christmas morning.”
The little boy rushed back to bed as the man stepped back into the closet.
“Merry Christmas, little one. Ho, ho, ho!” he said as he jingled his little gold bell and disappeared behind the closet door.
The little boy liked the man in the green suit with the prickly beard, even though he wasn’t Santa Claus. He was very excited, but he was also very tired. Very soon, the little boy fell back to sleep.
The little boy woke up the next morning.
Christmas morning. He remembered what happened last night. The night he met the man with the little gold bell in the green suit named Papa Noel.
The little boy jumped out of bed and swung open the closet door. The closet was empty. No bell. No man. No toys. The little boy felt sad that his toys were gone. But then he remembered how other boys and girls would be playing with his toys. He remembered how happy they would be to open those toys in their shiny paper on Christmas morning. He remembered of how happy they would be to play with those toys of Christmas morning. He remembered how happy his toys would be playing with other boys and girls.
Then the little boy remembered that it was Christmas morning. Had Santa Claus been to his house last night too?
The little boy hurried to the Christmas tree and … Santa Claus had been to his house last night! There were presents wrapped in the shiny paper all around the Christmas tree. Toys for his brothers. Toys for his sisters. Toys for his mum and dad. And new toys for the little boy.
The little boy was happy. He was so happy that he shared his toys with his brothers. With his sisters. With the boys and girls down the street. Even with his mum and dad.
The little boy shared his toys all day. He shared so much that he almost didn’t see the new toys that Santa had brought for his brothers, his sisters, and the other boys and girls down the street. Stuffed toys, ninja toys, spaceship toys, monster toys, toys of all kinds.
The little boy remembered what the man with the little gold bell in the green suit named Papa Noel said. “Santa needs every little boy and girl to be generous.”
The little boy was generous. The little boy was sharing. The little boy was happy.
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