Week 3

Sian from High in the Sky has invited us to share a Christmas story in the few weeks before Christmas, here is mine for this week.

Do reindeer eat carrots?

Christmas 1995

I especially loved Christmas this year. My mother, brother and his young son stayed with us.
My son was six years old. My brother’s boy, James was eight and was wavering in his belief in the man in red.
We had such a lovely and exciting Christmas eve talking about Father Christmas, when would he come, what would he bring, would he know that James was in a different place to last year.
James was worried about our fire place “We shouldn’t light the fire Aunty Miriam because he would get burnt!”
This year I had found some little packets of reindeer food at one of the garden centre’s I thought it would help set the scene.
Before bedtime the boys had been outside on the drive to sprinkle the treat for Santa’s reindeer and they had also left out a huge carrot for them.
“Do reindeers eat carrots aunty Miriam?” wondered James?
“Well, I’m not really sure, but we will leave it just in case James” was the best I could offer.
“I think they do” said Ben enthusiastically! (Anything to make sure he came!)
The boys hung their stockings and left a mince pie and a glass of milk by the fire for Father Christmas, with nothing more to do the boys had to go to bed!
As every child knows “He won’t come while you are awake”
The usual Christmas Eve followed; restless excited chatty boys sharing a bedroom, laughing and keeping each other awake.
Excited adults, whispering, laughing, drinking, keeping each other awake as we made the room ready for Christmas morning.
There was the usual getting up & down to the boys or calling out
“No he hasn’t been yet” and “He won’t come while you are awake”
No presents go under the tree in our house until Ben has gone to bed!
(Even now I don’t put his gifts under the tree until Christmas morning when he is still asleep!)
Lots of creeping around followed, bringing the gifts carefully stashed away all over the house into the sitting room to be arranged under the tree. Some presents we leave in the fire grate; a little soot and ash is sprinkled on ones near by. Streamers are everywhere! A paper cover goes onto the sitting room door with the number 25 on it. (Now one of Ben’s favourite memories)
Some time in the early hours we got to our beds and just a few hours later boys shouting with joy wake us!
“He’s been, he’s been” when the stockings are found.

Later that morning Nanny was looking out of Ben’s bedroom window
“There is something on the drive boys, come and see, whatever is it?”
Two little boys ran outside to look.
James and Ben returned, with eyes as big as saucers, holding two pieces of carrot with strange teeth marks in, a little piece of mince pie and the certain knowledge that reindeer do indeed eat carrots!