Leya's Best Christmas

It was two days before Christmas and the town of Queenie was running wild with all the townspeople preparing to buy their Christmas gifts for their loved ones. Children ran the aisles and hallways, laughing and playing with one another, while their parents trailed behind them with joy and smiles. The town’s mall was filled with holiday decorations from left to right, with pretty Christmas lights of bright green and red, huge Christmas trees, snowflakes, glitter, and more. Eggnog, hot cocoa, and cinnamon buns spread from the food court to every store, adding to the holiday cheer. On this day, Leya Washington and her family spent time shopping for gifts for each other. While walking through the crowded sea of people, Leya noticed that Santa Claus and his little elves had come to pay them all a visit!

“Oh Mommy, Daddy, can I please go see Santa Claus?” yelled Leya.

“Hmm...I don’t know baby girl, we still have a few more stores to stop by before we go home,” Leya’s Father, David responded.

“Oh, please daddy? Please? I have to ask Santa for a special gift, and if I don’t ask him now, I won’t get it by Christmas!” Leya pleaded with her Father with her puppy dog eyes.

Her parents whispered to each other, deciding on whether to let Leya see Santa Claus. After a brief talk, they agreed to let Leya see Santa Claus.

“Okay baby, you can go ahead! We’ll take you to see Santa!”

“Yaay!” Leya shouted as she rushed over to get in line with the other children.

The line to see Santa was so long that the sign where Leya and her parents stood had a wait time of one hour. But Leya didn’t care how long she had to wait to speak to Santa. She was going to get her Christmas wish to Santa if it was the last thing that she did.

While they waited to see Santa, the little elves came down the line baring gifts of Christmas cookies for each family member. Each child picked out their favorite shaped cookie to eat and enjoy. Then, someone in the line started singing Christmas carols as everyone joined in to sing.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, jingle all the way…oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open slay!

Jingle bells was Leya’s favorite tune, and she sang at the top of her lungs until she got to the front of the line to wait for Santa.

“Finally! We made it! I can’t wait! I’m so excited!” Leya jumped for joy.

“Well, hello there, sweetheart! Are you ready to see, Santa?” asked an older woman.

The woman was dressed in a red and white dress down to her ankles, with big round glasses and a red bonnet hat. Leya immediately recognized the woman. It was Mrs. Claus!

“Hi, Mrs. Claus! Yes, I’m super ready to see Santa! I have the biggest Christmas wish to give him! And I need it by Christmas morning!”

“It must be an awfully big wish if you’ve waited this long to see him!”

“Yes, ma’am it is!” Leya flashed a big smile.

“What’s your name, sweetie?”

“Leya.”

Mrs. Claus grabbed the long list of names on Santa’s scroll from one of the little elves and Mrs. Claus looked it over.

“Well, I can say that by the looks of this list Leya, you have been a very nice girl this year! You know what that means, don’t you?”

“What does it mean, Mrs. Claus?”

“It means, that all of your Christmas wishes are sure to come true!”

“Really?”

“Of course, sweetie!” Mrs. Claus reached down and grabbed Leya’s hand to lead her to Santa.

“We’ll be right here waiting for you, baby!” Leya’s mother, Lisa said.

“Well, hello there, Leya!” Santa exclaimed.

“Hi, Santa!” Leya sat comfortably on Santa’s lap.

“Let’s see now…according to my list here, it looks like you’ve been a very nice girl this year!” “Yes, I have Santa! I’ve been a very good girl! I’ve done everything my Mommy and Daddy told me, and I’ve even gotten good grades in school!”

“Well, that is marvelous! Santa is very proud of you! So, tell Santa what you want for Christmas?”

“Well…I want a new bicycle and a new tea set. But what I really, really want is a new dolly!

And not just any dolly, I want the new Susie doll! She’s the most special doll in all the world! All my friends have one, and I want one too! Can you give me the new Susie doll, Santa?

Please?”

“Hmm, well I can certainly see what I can do, Leya.”

“Oh, it would mean the world to me if you could do it, Santa!”

“I’ll tell you what. I’ll make sure that Santa’s little helpers craft the best Susie doll you’ve ever seen!”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, Santa! I can’t wait!” Leya gave Santa a big hug.

“You’re very welcome, sweetheart!” Santa embraced Leya’s hug.

Leya jumped off Santa’s lap and ran over to her parents. She quickly waved goodbye to Santa, Mrs. Claus and the little elves as she and her family continued their Christmas shopping.

End of Sample