In tonight’s bedtime story for kids, we once again meet up with Santa on Christmas Eve. This year, he spent a little too long in the Sanderson household, and his reindeer accidentally carried on without him! Luckily, the Sanderson children were willing to help, and with a little Christmas magic, they soon track down the reindeer to the most surprising place. Relax, get sleepy, and let’s begin!
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Narrator 🎙 Abbe Opher
Author ✍️ Elisha Ainsley
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: Happy Holidays, Cocoa Club members. Wednesday's episode, like this one,
00:00:16
Speaker 1: is a festive Christmas tale. It's not about Santa Claus though,
00:00:20
Speaker 1: it's about Father Christmuse. We'll join a little mouse named
00:00:26
Speaker 1: Chesnut and her mother as they lend a hand to
00:00:29
Speaker 1: Father Christ Mouse as he delivers presents to mice all
00:00:32
Speaker 1: over the world. Who knew mice love Christmas? Too? In
00:00:37
Speaker 1: tonight's story, we're continuing our festive theme and join the
00:00:42
Speaker 1: big man in red, Santa Claus, as he delivers gifts
00:00:46
Speaker 1: around the world on Christmas Eve. Only he gets into
00:00:50
Speaker 1: a spot of bother when his reindeer suddenly go missing
00:00:53
Speaker 1: midway round. Will you get them back and resume his
00:00:57
Speaker 1: gift giving in time? Let's see just how strong the
00:01:01
Speaker 1: Christmas magic really is. Relax into your comfy bed and
00:01:06
Speaker 1: close your eyes as I begin Santa's Runaway Reindeer by
00:01:12
Speaker 1: Alicia Ainslie. It was the night before Christmas, and all
00:01:23
Speaker 1: over the world children were tucked up in their beds,
00:01:27
Speaker 1: fast asleep, awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus and his sleigh.
00:01:33
Speaker 1: Santa had millions of presents to deliver in just one night,
00:01:37
Speaker 1: so he and his trusty band of reindeer had a
00:01:40
Speaker 1: strict schedule to stick to. While Santa ticked houses off
00:01:45
Speaker 1: his list, the reindeer guided his sleigh through the night
00:01:49
Speaker 1: sky from town to town. Santa parked the reindeer and
00:01:54
Speaker 1: his sleigh on top of the roof of each new house,
00:01:57
Speaker 1: where they waited patiently. Then he slid down the chimney
00:02:02
Speaker 1: and dropped off the presents under the Christmas tree. It
00:02:07
Speaker 1: was a fail proof system that he had used four
00:02:10
Speaker 1: hundreds of years, and it always went without a hitch.
00:02:14
Speaker 1: By the time the sun would rise on Christmas morning,
00:02:18
Speaker 1: all of the presents would have been delivered to the
00:02:21
Speaker 1: children of the world and everyone could celebrate Christmas Day.
00:02:26
Speaker 1: Santa was already looking forward to putting his feet up.
00:02:30
Speaker 1: When he returned home to the North Pole. Like every year,
00:02:35
Speaker 1: Missus Claws would greet him with a cup of warm
00:02:38
Speaker 1: tea and have already run a hot bath for him.
00:02:42
Speaker 1: He would enjoy his cup of tea and relax in
00:02:45
Speaker 1: the bar before slipping into bed for a very long sleep.
00:02:51
Speaker 1: Then he and Missus Claws would jet off for a
00:02:55
Speaker 1: peaceful vacation to celebrate a successful year and a perfect
00:03:00
Speaker 1: the executed Christmas. This year, Santa and missus Claws were
00:03:05
Speaker 1: going to the Caribbean for a sunny beach holiday. After
00:03:10
Speaker 1: spending all year in the cold, snowy North Pole, they
00:03:14
Speaker 1: were looking forward to getting a suntan and relaxing in
00:03:17
Speaker 1: the warm Caribbean. Sata checked his magical watch. It was
00:03:23
Speaker 1: midnight as he flew above the houses of Surrey in England.
00:03:28
Speaker 1: Santa's watch was programmed to adapt to the time that
00:03:32
Speaker 1: it was wherever he found himself in the world. His
00:03:36
Speaker 1: goal was to always visit each location around midnight so
00:03:40
Speaker 1: that all of the children in the area would be
00:03:43
Speaker 1: asleep and he could deliver their gifts as they slept peacefully.
00:03:49
Speaker 1: Have you ever wondered how Santa makes it all the
00:03:52
Speaker 1: way around the world in one night. Well, I'll let
00:03:56
Speaker 1: you in on a secret. It's because of Christmas magic.
00:04:02
Speaker 1: If you know how to tap into Christmas magic, then
00:04:06
Speaker 1: you can achieve the most miraculous things. After hundreds of
00:04:12
Speaker 1: years of celebrating Christmas, Santa knows exactly how to use
00:04:17
Speaker 1: Christmas magic to his advantage, and he taps into it
00:04:21
Speaker 1: to make his way around the world. On Christmas Eve,
00:04:26
Speaker 1: as Santa flies above an area of the world, he
00:04:31
Speaker 1: uses Christmas magic to slow down time. Time stops the
00:04:37
Speaker 1: Santa flies by, providing him with as much time as
00:04:42
Speaker 1: he needs to deliver the presence to the houses in
00:04:46
Speaker 1: the area and then move on swiftly to the next place.
00:04:51
Speaker 1: Sata instructed his band of reindeer to land on the
00:04:55
Speaker 1: roof of a nearby house. It was a narrow house
00:05:00
Speaker 1: based on the very end of a street full of
00:05:02
Speaker 1: connected terraced houses. Santa would start at number one and
00:05:08
Speaker 1: then make his way along the roofs and down the
00:05:11
Speaker 1: chimneys to deliver presence to each house on the street.
00:05:17
Speaker 1: He set the timer on his watch and gave himself
00:05:21
Speaker 1: ten minutes to visit each house on the street before
00:05:25
Speaker 1: he and his reindeer needed to move on. Santa pulled
00:05:31
Speaker 1: his magical sack out at the back of the sleigh
00:05:35
Speaker 1: and threw it over his shoulder. Santa's sack may only
00:05:41
Speaker 1: look small at first glance, but inside it is a
00:05:45
Speaker 1: bottomless pit where all the presence can be magically conjured from.
00:05:52
Speaker 1: When Santa needs the presence for a specific household, he
00:05:57
Speaker 1: just thinks of that family, reaches inside, and the presents
00:06:02
Speaker 1: are magically there for him to pick out. Santa skipped
00:06:07
Speaker 1: along the roof of number one Picket Road, sucked in
00:06:12
Speaker 1: and hopped down the chimney. He landed in the living
00:06:16
Speaker 1: room of the narrow terraced house. Looking around, he noticed
00:06:22
Speaker 1: a long gray sofa and a bright orange armchair positioned
00:06:26
Speaker 1: around a TV. There was a big bookshelf in the
00:06:31
Speaker 1: corner of the room full of books, DVD's, and a
00:06:35
Speaker 1: few framed photos of a young family. There was a mum,
00:06:41
Speaker 1: a dad, and two children over around nine and eleven
00:06:45
Speaker 1: years old. They were called the Sanderson family. On the
00:06:52
Speaker 1: other side of the room stood the tall Christmas tree,
00:06:56
Speaker 1: decorated in ball balls and tinsel in colors of red,
00:07:01
Speaker 1: gold and green. A little sparkly angel sat on top
00:07:07
Speaker 1: of the tree, gazing down on the room. There was
00:07:13
Speaker 1: one member of the family that wasn't featured in the
00:07:16
Speaker 1: photo frames. Laid by the side of the tree was
00:07:22
Speaker 1: the family dog. Santa already knew this dog. He'd met
00:07:27
Speaker 1: her many times before. She was called Peggy, and she
00:07:32
Speaker 1: was a fluffy black cockapoo. Santa tiptoed pass Peggy as
00:07:40
Speaker 1: quietly as he could. He didn't want to disturb her sleep,
00:07:45
Speaker 1: even though he wouldn't mind a good cuddle from the
00:07:48
Speaker 1: sweet dog. Santa approached the Christmas tree and saw that
00:07:55
Speaker 1: there was a little envelope underneath it. He reached down
00:08:00
Speaker 1: and picked it up to see that the envelope had
00:08:03
Speaker 1: his name on it. Santa opened it and pulled out
00:08:07
Speaker 1: a little folded Christmas card with a dancing penguin on
00:08:12
Speaker 1: the front. As Santa opened up the card, a plume
00:08:18
Speaker 1: of golden glitter exploded out of its pages, and the
00:08:22
Speaker 1: glitter tickled Santa's nose. He tried to fight it, but
00:08:28
Speaker 1: he could feel a sneeze coming on. He huffed, and
00:08:33
Speaker 1: he puffed, and his nose exploded with a big hachew.
00:08:42
Speaker 1: Santa paused expectantly, waiting to see if his outburst had
00:08:47
Speaker 1: awoken anyone in the Sanderson family home, but luckily nobody stirred,
00:08:55
Speaker 1: not even Peggy the cockapoo. Santa read the handwritten message
00:09:02
Speaker 1: inside the Christmas card. The card wished Santa and missus
00:09:08
Speaker 1: Claws are very merry Christmas from the children Eliot and
00:09:14
Speaker 1: Heidi Sanderson, and it specified that they had left out
00:09:20
Speaker 1: some milk and cookies on the kitchen table for him,
00:09:25
Speaker 1: along with a carrot for the reindeer to enjoy. Santa
00:09:30
Speaker 1: was grateful for the kind festive card, and he couldn't
00:09:35
Speaker 1: wait to dig into the milk and cookies. He was
00:09:39
Speaker 1: sure that his reindeer gang would be very appreciative of
00:09:43
Speaker 1: the carrot too. Santa reached into his magical sack and
00:09:49
Speaker 1: poured out the presents for the Sanderson family. He positioned
00:09:54
Speaker 1: them perfectly underneath the Christmas tree and stood back to
00:09:59
Speaker 1: admit his handiwork. He knew that they would love their gifts.
00:10:07
Speaker 1: Santa made his way towards the kitchen to collect his
00:10:11
Speaker 1: snacks before he headed off back up the chimney to
00:10:16
Speaker 1: attend to the next house on the street. He tried
00:10:20
Speaker 1: to find his way through the dark house towards the
00:10:23
Speaker 1: kitchen door, but he couldn't see very much in the darkness.
00:10:29
Speaker 1: Santa took a step and accidentally trod on a toy
00:10:34
Speaker 1: that had been left on the floor. The toy was
00:10:37
Speaker 1: an electronic one that came to life and played loud
00:10:42
Speaker 1: music as he stepped on it. Santa staggered away, surprised
00:10:48
Speaker 1: by the sudden music, and stumbled into the bookshelf, knocking
00:10:53
Speaker 1: over the photo frames with a clatter. Peggy the dog
00:10:59
Speaker 1: instantly shot up from her bed wondering what the commotion was.
00:11:05
Speaker 1: When she spotted that it was Santa. She was so
00:11:09
Speaker 1: happy to see her old friend that she let out
00:11:13
Speaker 1: an excited little bark and bounded towards him. Santa put
00:11:21
Speaker 1: out his arms to stop her, but it was too late.
00:11:26
Speaker 1: Peggy jumped up to greet Santa, knocking him over and
00:11:31
Speaker 1: into the Christmas tree. The tree fell to the ground
00:11:37
Speaker 1: with a loud jingle and a crash. Peggy the Dog
00:11:43
Speaker 1: licked Santa's face blissfully, unaware of the mess, but Santa
00:11:49
Speaker 1: felt hopeless as he looked at the trashed living room.
00:11:54
Speaker 1: A light flicked on upstairs, and Santa heard the sun
00:12:00
Speaker 1: and family emerge from their bedrooms, wondering what the sound
00:12:04
Speaker 1: had been downstairs. Mister and Missus Sanderson, followed by their children,
00:12:12
Speaker 1: Elliot and Heidi, rushed down the staircase and saw Santa
00:12:18
Speaker 1: lying on the ground by the side of the fallen
00:12:22
Speaker 1: Christmas tree, with Peggy the Dog cheerfully licking his face. Santa,
00:12:29
Speaker 1: are you okay, Missus Sanderson asked, as she bent down
00:12:34
Speaker 1: to help him up off the ground. Elliot picked up
00:12:39
Speaker 1: Peggy and pulled her off Santa so that he could
00:12:43
Speaker 1: get to his feet. Santa was so sorry that he
00:12:48
Speaker 1: had made such a mess of their living room. He
00:12:52
Speaker 1: apologized and apologized, but the Sanderson family wouldn't hear it.
00:12:59
Speaker 1: They were just glad that he was okay. Nine year
00:13:04
Speaker 1: old Heidi, wearing her festive polar bear pajamas and fluffy
00:13:09
Speaker 1: white socks, asked Santa if he had found the card
00:13:14
Speaker 1: that they had left out for him. Yes, I did,
00:13:19
Speaker 1: thank you, he replied, patting her on the head, before adding,
00:13:25
Speaker 1: but I didn't quite make it to the kitchen for
00:13:28
Speaker 1: the milk and cookies. I tripped on a toy and
00:13:31
Speaker 1: woke up poor Peggy. It was all downhill from there.
00:13:37
Speaker 1: Mister and missus Sanderson tidied up the Christmas tree and
00:13:42
Speaker 1: put it back upright, while Elliot and Heidi brought the
00:13:47
Speaker 1: milk and cookies through to the living room for Santa.
00:13:53
Speaker 1: Santa took a seat on the sofa to calm down
00:13:57
Speaker 1: after such excitement, and he gratefully chomped down on the
00:14:03
Speaker 1: chocolate chip cookies and drank up the glass of milk.
00:14:09
Speaker 1: Santa heard the gentle beeping of his watch timer. He
00:14:15
Speaker 1: had spent too much time at the Sanderson house and
00:14:19
Speaker 1: was now running behind schedule to deliver the rest of
00:14:23
Speaker 1: the presence to the other houses on the street. He
00:14:28
Speaker 1: declared that he had best be going. He thanked the
00:14:33
Speaker 1: Sanderson family for their kindness and understanding and made his
00:14:39
Speaker 1: way over to the fireplace. Just before he could popped
00:14:45
Speaker 1: back up the chimney, Elliot cried out, Santa, you've forgotten
00:14:52
Speaker 1: a carrot for the reindeer. Santa turned back to see
00:14:58
Speaker 1: the eager young boy holding the orange carrot in the air.
00:15:04
Speaker 1: He couldn't forget about the reindeer's treat. Santa had an
00:15:09
Speaker 1: idea Elliott, he began, would you like to give the
00:15:16
Speaker 1: carrot to one of the reindeer yourself? Elliot's eyes grew
00:15:22
Speaker 1: wide with enthusiasm, and he gasped. His little sister, Heidi
00:15:28
Speaker 1: began jumping up and down excitedly and said, can I
00:15:33
Speaker 1: give one a carrot too? Please? Santa chuckled with his
00:15:39
Speaker 1: hearty laugh and said that he would bring the reindeer
00:15:43
Speaker 1: down to the ground for Heidi and Elliott to feed
00:15:47
Speaker 1: one themselves. The Sanderson family quickly slipped on their shoes
00:15:54
Speaker 1: and put on their coats over the top of their pajamas,
00:15:59
Speaker 1: and followed Sam out of the front door into the street.
00:16:04
Speaker 1: Santa whistled up to the roof and called for his reindeer.
00:16:10
Speaker 1: He waited a few seconds, but there was no sight
00:16:13
Speaker 1: of them. He tried again. This time he whistled even louder,
00:16:21
Speaker 1: but again the reindeer didn't appear. Santa stood further back
00:16:28
Speaker 1: to get a full view of the rooftop. To his surprise,
00:16:33
Speaker 1: the reindeer and his sleigh were nowhere to be seen.
00:16:39
Speaker 1: Heidi looked confused and asked, where have the reindeer gone.
00:16:46
Speaker 1: Santa didn't know. It would appear that the reindeer had
00:16:51
Speaker 1: heard the timer of his watch go off and had
00:16:54
Speaker 1: assumed the Santa was back and ready to move on
00:16:59
Speaker 1: to the next group of houses. The reindeer must have
00:17:03
Speaker 1: flown off to keep on schedule. Elliott looked disappointed. That's
00:17:11
Speaker 1: a shame, he said, I was really looking forward to
00:17:16
Speaker 1: meeting your reindeer and giving them a carrot. Santa was
00:17:23
Speaker 1: in quite a pickle. Where had his reindeer run away
00:17:28
Speaker 1: to and how could he find them quickly so that
00:17:32
Speaker 1: Christmas Eve deliveries could get back on course. Elliott and
00:17:38
Speaker 1: Heidi were both very disappointed that they had missed seeing
00:17:42
Speaker 1: the reindeer. Mister and Missus Sanderson could see that Santa
00:17:49
Speaker 1: needed some help. Mister Sanderson placed his hand on Elliott's
00:17:56
Speaker 1: deflated shoulder and made a suggestion. Why don't we help
00:18:01
Speaker 1: Santa find his reindeer? He said, then when we find them,
00:18:08
Speaker 1: you can give them a carrot, as you had hoped.
00:18:13
Speaker 1: Elliot and Heidi loved this idea, and Santa was very
00:18:18
Speaker 1: grateful for their offer of assistance. Missus Sanderson sprang into
00:18:25
Speaker 1: action and raised the question, So, Santa, where might your
00:18:31
Speaker 1: reindeer have gone? Santa replied that his reindeer may have
00:18:37
Speaker 1: moved on to the next batch of houses that they
00:18:40
Speaker 1: were due to visit. After Picket Road, the next stop
00:18:45
Speaker 1: on their journey of deliveries was Lords Avenue. Then we'll
00:18:52
Speaker 1: go there, Missus Sanderson announced, pulling her car keys out
00:18:57
Speaker 1: of her coat pocket. They all piled into the Sanderson
00:19:03
Speaker 1: family car to drive to Lord's Avenue. Missus Sunderson drove
00:19:09
Speaker 1: while Santa sat in the front passenger seat with Peggy
00:19:14
Speaker 1: the cockapoo curled up on his lap. Meanwhile, mister Sanderson, Elliot,
00:19:21
Speaker 1: and Heidie squished themselves into the back seats. They all
00:19:26
Speaker 1: drove across town to Lord's Avenue, but when they arrived,
00:19:32
Speaker 1: the reindeer and Santa's sleigh were nowhere to be seen.
00:19:39
Speaker 1: Santa twizzled the end of his white beard as he
00:19:42
Speaker 1: thought if the reindeer gang had moved on to the
00:19:48
Speaker 1: next set of houses, then they should be here by now.
00:19:54
Speaker 1: Eliot suggested that they might have missed them already, so
00:19:58
Speaker 1: they drove to the next place on Santa's Christmas Eve route.
00:20:04
Speaker 1: They arrived at the end of Bernard Close, but alas
00:20:09
Speaker 1: there was no sight of Santa's reindeer. It doesn't make sense, true,
00:20:16
Speaker 1: Santa side, The reindeer have never flown off without me before.
00:20:23
Speaker 1: If they had continued with the root we do every year,
00:20:28
Speaker 1: then they would definitely be here by now. So where
00:20:34
Speaker 1: have they gone? The Sanderson family thought long and hard.
00:20:42
Speaker 1: Why would the reindeer have flown off. Heidi suggested that
00:20:49
Speaker 1: maybe they were hungry and had flown off to find
00:20:52
Speaker 1: some food. She asked Santa what the reindeer like to eat.
00:20:58
Speaker 1: Santa said that the magical gang loved to eat reindeer food,
00:21:04
Speaker 1: grass and the occasional candy cane and cookie. Heidi had
00:21:10
Speaker 1: an idea, why don't we see if they're at the
00:21:14
Speaker 1: local park. She proposed, there's lots of grass there, and
00:21:21
Speaker 1: I've seen big candy canes sticking out of the ground
00:21:25
Speaker 1: where they've built the Christmas play park. They didn't have
00:21:29
Speaker 1: any other ideas, so the Sanderson family and Santa drove
00:21:34
Speaker 1: to the local park. Heidi was right. There was lots
00:21:40
Speaker 1: of grass everywhere which would be perfect for the reindeer
00:21:44
Speaker 1: to graze on. Plus there was an enchanting Christmas display
00:21:51
Speaker 1: lit up in the dark in the center of the park.
00:21:56
Speaker 1: They all walked around the park, calling out for the reindeer,
00:22:01
Speaker 1: but they didn't come across them. The reindeer weren't here.
00:22:07
Speaker 1: Elliott suggested that maybe the reindeer had gone to visit
00:22:12
Speaker 1: some friends. They had some stables in their town where
00:22:16
Speaker 1: lots of people went horse riding. Perhaps the reindeer had
00:22:21
Speaker 1: gone to visit their horse friends. Santa decided it was
00:22:27
Speaker 1: worth a try, and they all drove across town to
00:22:32
Speaker 1: the local horse riding ranch. They peered inside every stable
00:22:39
Speaker 1: and checked under every pile of hay, but the reindeer
00:22:45
Speaker 1: weren't there. All they found were the peacefully snoozing local horses.
00:22:54
Speaker 1: Senter side and let out a yawn. He sat down
00:23:00
Speaker 1: on one of the nearby bales of hay to rest.
00:23:06
Speaker 1: Missus Sunderson noticed that Santa appeared very tired. Are you
00:23:14
Speaker 1: all right, Santa? She asked, do you need to have
00:23:18
Speaker 1: a little nap and rest for a while. Santa shook
00:23:24
Speaker 1: his head defiantly and said, I can't take a nap.
00:23:31
Speaker 1: It's Christmas Eve. It's always a long night and very tiring,
00:23:37
Speaker 1: but the job has to be done otherwise Christmas Day
00:23:43
Speaker 1: will be very disappointing for a lot of children if
00:23:47
Speaker 1: they don't get their presents. Missus Sunderson could see that
00:23:52
Speaker 1: Santa was worn out from a long night of hard work.
00:23:57
Speaker 1: She was beginning to wonder if the the reindeer felt
00:24:01
Speaker 1: the same. Perhaps the reindeer were tired too and had
00:24:07
Speaker 1: disappeared for a while to rest and recharge. She asked
00:24:13
Speaker 1: Santa where the reindeer would go if they wanted to
00:24:17
Speaker 1: lie down for a little while. Santa thought hard and
00:24:23
Speaker 1: then answered, the reindeer are used to sleeping in the snow,
00:24:32
Speaker 1: so they would probably go off in search of snow
00:24:36
Speaker 1: or something equally as soft. We don't have any snow
00:24:44
Speaker 1: around here right now. Mister Sanderson thought aloud, what is
00:24:51
Speaker 1: as soft as snow. Heidi looked up at the sky
00:24:56
Speaker 1: as she thought, she watched the big white clouds float
00:25:03
Speaker 1: through the night air and noticed a very faint, flashing
00:25:10
Speaker 1: light coming through one of the clouds. Was it an
00:25:15
Speaker 1: airplane or could it be something even more interesting? Heidi
00:25:21
Speaker 1: pointed out the bright light glowing beyond the cloud, and
00:25:26
Speaker 1: Santa felt a surge of hope run through him. Could
00:25:32
Speaker 1: that be the glow of his reindeer's bright noses that
00:25:36
Speaker 1: lit his way through the night sky. Maybe his reindeer
00:25:42
Speaker 1: were up in the clouds. The Sunderson family in Santa
00:25:49
Speaker 1: jumped back in the car and drove towards the glowing cloud.
00:25:55
Speaker 1: As they got closer and closer, the light seen to
00:26:00
Speaker 1: grow brighter and brighter. Eventually they noticed something large abandoned
00:26:09
Speaker 1: in the middle of the road ahead of them. As
00:26:12
Speaker 1: they got closer, they saw that it was Santa's big
00:26:17
Speaker 1: red sleigh. The reindeer were nowhere to be seen near
00:26:23
Speaker 1: the sleigh, but Santa now had a good idea where
00:26:27
Speaker 1: they were. He hopped out of the car and ran
00:26:32
Speaker 1: over to the sleigh, followed by the Sanderson family and
00:26:36
Speaker 1: Peggy the dog. The sleigh was in perfect condition, and
00:26:42
Speaker 1: the rains for the reindeer were draped on the ground
00:26:47
Speaker 1: above their heads. They could hear a faint jingling. Elliot
00:26:53
Speaker 1: looked up at the cloud and pulled the carrot out
00:26:56
Speaker 1: of his coat pocket. He cried, how are we going
00:27:02
Speaker 1: to get up there so that I can give the
00:27:05
Speaker 1: reindeer my carrot? Santa smiled and ruffled the young boy's hair.
00:27:14
Speaker 1: He threw his magical sack onto the back of the
00:27:17
Speaker 1: sleigh and climbed into the front seat, before asking do
00:27:24
Speaker 1: you want to see something amazing? Elliot nodded his head vigorously,
00:27:34
Speaker 1: and Santa told him to climb aboard the sleigh. The
00:27:39
Speaker 1: whole family piled into Santa's sleigh and awaited patiently. Mister
00:27:47
Speaker 1: Sanderson peered over Santa's shoulder and whispered, Santa, how are
00:27:56
Speaker 1: we meant to fly the sleigh without? Santa chuckled and answered,
00:28:07
Speaker 1: the reindeer can only fly with the power of Christmas magic,
00:28:13
Speaker 1: and that magic is everywhere around us right now. We
00:28:18
Speaker 1: can make the slave fly ourselves. The Sanderson family became
00:28:26
Speaker 1: excited and wanted to know how to use Christmas magic.
00:28:32
Speaker 1: Santa calmly explained that all they needed to do is
00:28:37
Speaker 1: close their eyes, think about all the wonderful things that
00:28:43
Speaker 1: Christmas time brings, and believe in the power of Christmas magic.
00:28:50
Speaker 1: The Sanderson family closed their eyes and thought hard. They
00:28:57
Speaker 1: pictured themselves on Christmas morning, opening their presents and enjoying
00:29:03
Speaker 1: dinner around the table, pulling crackers and eating festive pudding.
00:29:12
Speaker 1: They imagined visiting the Christmas markets and ice skating in
00:29:17
Speaker 1: the park. They thought of how they could build snowmen
00:29:22
Speaker 1: and have snowball fights in the garden, and they remembered
00:29:28
Speaker 1: how lovely it was visiting their grandparents on Boxing Day.
00:29:34
Speaker 1: But most importantly, they all appreciated how each of these
00:29:40
Speaker 1: memories and traditions were spent together as a family with
00:29:46
Speaker 1: the people they loved. Santa's sleigh began to shudder as
00:29:54
Speaker 1: it lifted up off the ground, and they listened as
00:29:59
Speaker 1: a gentle, jingling sound began to radiate from the sleigh.
00:30:06
Speaker 1: They opened their eyes and saw that the sleigh was
00:30:11
Speaker 1: glowing with enchanted magic, and Santa started to laugh with delight. Oh,
00:30:22
Speaker 1: Merry Christmas, Santa chuckled contentedly as the sleigh rose higher
00:30:30
Speaker 1: and higher up into the air. The Saunderson family looked
00:30:38
Speaker 1: down and watched as their car and the houses around
00:30:43
Speaker 1: it became smaller and smaller as they lifted up into
00:30:50
Speaker 1: the air. Peggy the dog barked excitedly as the sleigh
00:30:57
Speaker 1: burst through the clouds. As soon as they emerged on
00:31:04
Speaker 1: the other side of the soft, cool clouds, they saw
00:31:09
Speaker 1: the reindeer scattered all around them. All of the reindeer
00:31:16
Speaker 1: were resting on the surface of the clouds, either snoozing
00:31:22
Speaker 1: away or grazing lazily on the fluffy ground. Santa counted
00:31:31
Speaker 1: them to make sure they were all there. He was
00:31:36
Speaker 1: relieved as he counted them up one by one. However,
00:31:43
Speaker 1: just as he finished counting, he realized there was one missing.
00:31:50
Speaker 1: Where was the last reindeer? But his question was quickly answered.
00:31:58
Speaker 1: Santa looked over his shoes older to see the last
00:32:02
Speaker 1: one standing by the side of the sleigh eating a carrot,
00:32:08
Speaker 1: eating a carrot out of young Eliot's hand. Elliot had
00:32:15
Speaker 1: got his wish and finally managed to feed a reindeer.
00:32:21
Speaker 1: After all, Santa rounded up the reindeer and attached them
00:32:28
Speaker 1: all back onto their reins. There was no time to lose.
00:32:35
Speaker 1: The reindeer had taken a break for long enough, and
00:32:40
Speaker 1: it was time to get back on schedule. Starting back
00:32:45
Speaker 1: at Pickett Road, where the Sanderson family lived, Santa instructed
00:32:53
Speaker 1: the reindeer to guide the sleigh back to the ground
00:32:58
Speaker 1: so that the Sanderson family could pick up their car.
00:33:03
Speaker 1: He dropped the family off back by the side of
00:33:07
Speaker 1: the silent road where their car was parked. Santa thanked
00:33:14
Speaker 1: the Sanderson family for their invaluable help and ruffled the
00:33:19
Speaker 1: fur of his little doggy friend Peggy. Elliott and Heidi
00:33:27
Speaker 1: looked disappointed as they said goodbye to Santa. Would you
00:33:33
Speaker 1: like to come for Christmas Dinner with us tomorrow Santa,
00:33:38
Speaker 1: Heidi asked, hopefully. We always have lots of food left over,
00:33:45
Speaker 1: so there's plenty to share. Santa was grateful for the offer,
00:33:53
Speaker 1: but he advised Heidi that he already had a Christmas
00:33:57
Speaker 1: dinner of his own to attend with his his lovely wife,
00:34:01
Speaker 1: missus Claws. Santa gave Heidi and Elliott to hug goodbye,
00:34:09
Speaker 1: and climbed back into his sleigh. The Sanderson family watched
00:34:16
Speaker 1: with admiration as the reindeer expertly guided Santa and his
00:34:22
Speaker 1: magical glowing sleigh back up into the dark night sky.
00:34:30
Speaker 1: They flew off into the distance until they were so
00:34:35
Speaker 1: tiny in the Sanderson family sight that they looked like
00:34:41
Speaker 1: a far off twinkling star. The Sanderson family drove home
00:34:50
Speaker 1: to their house, where they climbed into their beds to rest,
00:34:55
Speaker 1: awaiting Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought for them.
00:35:03
Speaker 1: But they all knew that no matter what physical presence
00:35:08
Speaker 1: he had delivered to them, nothing would compare to the
00:35:13
Speaker 1: once in a lifetime adventure they had enjoyed with him.
00:35:20
Speaker 1: It wasn't every Christmas that they got to go searching
00:35:25
Speaker 1: for runaway reindeer and fly up into the sky on
00:35:30
Speaker 1: Santa's famous sleigh. This Christmas Eve had truly been one
00:35:39
Speaker 1: to remember.