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05

, DECEMBER 20

VOL 1, ISSUE 2

2

By Jasmine St.Clair and Kie Poole

O

Once upon a time in a faraway land—a very cold land—there lived a

A W M SNO C Y I P S

snowman named Spicy.

He was a special snowman, because he could walk, and talk, and sing! And sometimes … he could even jump!

Spicy loved to sing songs in the moonlight. When the moon was full and round in the dark night sky, he would throw his head back and sing happy snowman songs.

One special holiday season, Spicy found a friend—a snow lady named Lala. She was a beautiful snow lady, and special like Spicy was. She had big glittering eyes. She loved to sing, too.

Spicy decided he wanted to give Lala a special present for Christmas. Oh, what, oh what, can I give to Lala for Christmas? he wondered, as he trudged through the snow.

It has to be something special … something different … something big! Something she has never received before.

“Ouch!” Spicy yelped, as his big snowy body tumbled into a heap.

S P L AT !

Spicy went

headfirst into the 3

“Oh no, I forgot about the frozen lake again.” He mumbled as he picked himself up from the ground.

“Hey, wait a minute …”—he paused as an idea popped into his head. “Spicy, you’re brilliant! Yes, that’s what you’ll do for Lala. You’ll learn to ice skate to her favorite Christmas carol, and you’ll be the greatest ice skater ever. She will be so pleased. It will be her best Christmas present ever!”

snow...

Spicy laughed a happy snowman laugh. He took a big step out onto the ice. But his great big snowy body slipped, and he fell down hard on the ice.

“Oh dear, this is goin g to take some seriou s practicing,” he realiz ed.

All day, Spicy tried his hardest to balance on the ice. And at last, he found himself standing up long enough to manage one big slide across the ice. “I’m doing it!” he exclaimed as he slid quickly across the lake. “I’m skaaaaa … UH-OH!!”

SPLAT! Spicy went headfirst into the snow on the other side of the lake. “Oh my, in learning to skate I forgot I also needed to learn to stop,” he groaned, as he picked himself out of the snow. “I don’t think ice skating is for me. Besides, Lala probably wouldn’t like that kind of a gift anyway.”

He was rearranging the buttons on his snowy chest when something half-buried in the snow caught his eye—something bright and red and shaped like a “J”. A candy cane!

Spicy was delighted. Holding the cane in his snow-packed hands, he thought what a great gift a big bag full of candy canes would be for someone special like Lala. “I will make the fullest bag of candy canes anyone ever had—and surely Lala will love it.”

Spicy searched high. Spicy searched low. But search as he did, there were no more candy canes to be found. Finally, tired from his long

search, Spicy slumped down against a tree. By now, the sun was setting, and the beautiful moon was beginning to glow brighter and brighter.

“Perhaps the candy canes weren’t such a good idea after all,” Spicy concluded. “Anyway, it is almost time for my moonlight song.”

Just as Spicy was taking a big breath to sing his song, a little firefl y landed on his long carrot nose, making it shine a bright orange. Instead of singing his song, Spicy blew on the firefl y to make him fl y away. “Shoo, shoo, little fellow,” he said, a little impatiently.

Then another idea came to him. “Yes, yes, that would do!

That would definitely do!” Quickly Spicy took off his black hat and scooped the little firefl y inside, covering the top with his cold snowy hands.

“I will catch a whole hat full of you little fellows and then set you on the tallest, prettiest evergreen tree. I will make the best Christmas tree anyone every saw!—And that will be the perfect present for Lala.”

Another fl icker of light caught Spicy’s eye and he ran after the next little firefl y, scooping it up in his hat. Spicy ran for a long time, chasing one firefl y, then another. But what poor Spicy didn’t realize was that whenever one firefl y was caught, one firefl y would escape. When Spicy finally stopped running to check how full his hat had become, he was very disappointed to find only one firefl y inside.

Sadly, Spicy sat in the snow putting his hat beside him.

One icy tear trickled down his cheek. “I only wanted to give Lala the best Christmas present ever,” he moaned. “But tomorrow is Christmas and I still haven’t found The perfect gift the perfect gift.” doesn’t need to Spicy covered his black beady be the biggest, eyes with his big or the best, snowy hands and or the most let out a sob. amazing ever.

A pipsqueak voice broke the silence.

4

is the s i h t y, ” “Spic ever! t n e pres best

Surprised, Spicy looked up to see the firefl y slowly fluttering away from the hat. “Wait a minute! What did you say?” he asked.

The firefl y replied, “Sometimes the best of presents are the smallest of presents, if they come with love.”

Spicy thought about that for a moment. Then he did what he should have remembered to do all along. Spicy folded his great big snowy hands, and looked up into the night sky. “Dear God,” he prayed, “I really like this snow lady, Lala, and I really want to give her a special Christmas present. It doesn’t have to be big, but I do want it to be special. Will You please show me what I can give her?”

As he opened his eyes, he saw the snow start to melt away in a little spot on the ground in front of him. Then, a beautiful blue flower blossomed right before his eyes.

5

Wonderful! Spicy thought. He reached down his snowy hand and picked the pretty flower. “Thank You, God, for showing me this wonderful gift for Lala.”

Spicy was one happy snowman on Christmas morning when he gave Lala her special Christmas gift.

“Spicy, this is the best present ever!”

Lala exclaimed as she carefully placed the pretty flower on her black hat.

Then she gave Spicy a cheery snow lady hug and said, “And you are my best friend ever!”

Then Spicy and Lala linked hands, threw their heads back, and sang great, ringing snowpeople songs as they danced in the snow. As they sang, big round snowflakes fell from the sky, covering the land in another blanket of snow. For Spicy and Lala, it was the perfect Christmas.

Draw all the things that you would like to put on your Christmas tree.

Then color the picture.

6

Each animal is missing one thing. Can you draw a line from the shapes in the boxes to the correct place in the picture?

7

Finish drawing the Christmas bauble, continuing with the patterns started in each row.

8

Help the little girl though the holly maze to finish making her Christmas wreath.

Begin at the arrow.

9

By Toni Preston

SANTA’S SECRET

M

“Mom, when I grow up, do you know what I want to be?”

“I have no idea, Toby. Tell me.”

“I want to be a Santa! I would have my own workshop, fi lled with all the toys you could ever imagine. I would have my own sled and reindeer, and I would go whoooosh in the sky. Actually, I think a jet would get me to all the houses faster than a sled and reindeer, don’t you think, Mom? And Mandy could be one of my elves.”

“I don’t want to be an elf when I grow up, Toby. I want to be a mother.”

“Today at Silver’s department store,” Toby went on, “I told Santa I wanted to be like him when I grew up, and he said that anyone could be a Santa Claus if they wanted to. I asked him if even eight-year-old boys could. He said yes. He said all it really takes is a good heart. He also said that there is a secret present that children can receive. This present is invisible until you discover a secret that makes it possible for you to see it!”

“Really? Did you ask him for the secret present, Toby?” asked Mandy.

“Yes, but he said he would only give me a clue to start with, and that to become a true Santa, I would need to fi nd this secret out for myself. So that’s what I plan to do. Do you want to help me, Mandy?”

“Sure! I’ll help. I’m not sure how, though. I’m only six.”

“Well, you know the story of Jesus’ birth that we read with Daddy last week, right? The Santa said that the clue starts with that story.”

“We know that story very well, Toby,” said Mandy, excitedly. “We could be very close to finding out this secret already.”

l A week went by. Toby and Mandy had read the story of Jesus’ birth again and again. In fact, they read it every night with either their mom or dad before going to bed. Their parents were now also curious as to what secret the children would find, and tried to help give suggestions as to where to look. Each time, Toby would only shake his head. He was sure that when he discovered it, he would know.

One afternoon, he and Mandy were talking with their dad.

“Dad, do you think that the Santa Claus we met last week really knows about a secret present and how I can become a true Santa? He could have been telling me a story.”

“I don’t think so. I think he had a reason for telling you what he did. A discovery is never easy. It can be a lot 10

of hard work. You may be very close to it, but if you give up too soon, you could miss ever finding it.”

“Yes, Toby, let’s not give up too easily,” Mandy said. “Maybe there is something else we should be doing, other than reading the story. But what could it be?”

Dad had an idea. “Even though Jesus was born 2000 years ago, He is still here with us today. That means that He should be able to give us the next clue to this secret of what makes a true Santa. What do you think?”

Toby thought for a moment and something told him that they were getting warmer. They said a prayer and asked Jesus if He would send them the clue they needed. / The next day, while Toby and Mandy were playing in their front yard, they heard their next-door neighbors’ car pulling into the driveway next door.

Little Sammy Braxton was asking his mom as he got out of the car, “Why can’t we get that Lego castle set with all those knights and horses and carriages?”

His mom answered, “Honey, I explained it to you already. I know it’s difficult to understand, but we won’t be able to get fancy new toys this Christmas. We don’t have that much money. We don’t know if we will even be able to stay in this house.

Things have been very difficult for your dad and me. Can you please try to understand, sweetie?”

“Okay, Mommy,” mumbled Sammy.

They then went into their house.

Mandy shook her head. “That’s sad, Toby. I didn’t know the Braxtons don’t have enough money.”

11

“Yes, it is sad,” agreed Toby.

“Imagine not getting any special new toys at Christmas!

Every year we have something we want under our tree.”

“Mom always says Jesus gives us presents because He wants us to be happy,” Toby said. “Mom also says that we need to give gifts back to Jesus. I always forget about that.

What do you think are gifts that Jesus likes?”

“Well, I try to be a good girl, obey Mom and Dad, make my bed in the morning, and keep the house tidy,” answered Mandy.

“I do, too. Oh, Mandy! I have an idea. Do you think that Jesus let us hear the Braxtons’ conversation to give us a clue as to help us find the secret present?”

“Yes! Maybe there is something we can do for Sammy that will lead us to the secret present. Let’s think about it.” e A few days before Christmas, Mom needed to go back to Silver’s department store, and asked Toby if he wanted to come along. She knew he wanted to meet the Santa again, and to ask him some very important questions.

To Toby’s relief, the line to talk to Santa Claus wasn’t very long. When he got his chance to go shake Santa’s hand, he asked, “Do you remember me? You told me that anybody

could be a Santa Claus if they wanted to. You also told me about a secret present I could find and gave me a clue about how to discover it.”

“Ahh yes,” replied the Santa, “I remember very well. I didn’t know whether you would believe me or not.”

“Well, my sister and I think that we’re very close to finding this present, but we aren’t sure,” said Toby.

“Tell me what you’ve discovered, and I’ll tell you if you’re getting close to finding the present,” replied Santa.

“We overheard our neighbors talking. Little Sammy Braxton won’t have any new toys underneath the Christmas tree this year. They don’t have enough money. That made me and my sister sad. We want to do something for Sammy.”

“My boy, you are indeed on the brink of discovering this secret. I am sure that Jesus will show you what you should do next,” said Santa with a twinkle in his eye.

Toby was very happy. A big smile spread across his face. His mom came to pick him up just in time to see this smile.

Before leaving, Toby asked Santa one more question. “Do you like being Santa? I mean, do you enjoy meeting children and giving them gifts?”

“Why, yes I do! And my favorites of all the gifts I like to give are the gifts that Jesus brought down to Earth.

There are so many of these gifts to give out. I try to help the children receive these wonderful gifts, but many children would rather receive presents that they can play with or show to their friends. They miss out on some of the most special gifts of all.

You know what, Toby?”

“What?”

“I’m helping you to find one of these secret gifts because I know you’ll appreciate it. You can’t see this gift yet; it’s still invisible. But if you can find it, you’ll know that it was worth all the work to find it.” h On Christmas morning, Toby and Mandy were up before the sun had a chance to rise. They knew it would be awhile before they would open their Christmas gifts as a family, so they sat together and discussed the secret gift. Toby said he was pretty sure they would find it under the Christmas tree.

“Toby, are you sure it will be there?”

“Yes, Mandy. We have been working very hard to find out what the secret is. We’ve followed the clues. Santa said I was very close to finding it. I know we will get it today.”

“But Santa said that you were close when you said you wanted to do something for Sammy—and we haven’t actually done anything for him yet.”

“I know. We haven’t been able to think of anything to do for him, but I’m sure that Jesus will help us to find something.”

When Mom and Dad were up and ready, they all 12

gathered around the Christmas tree to open their presents.

Dad said, “Why don’t we say a prayer and thank Jesus for giving these presents to us?”

Toby prayed, “Jesus, thank You for these Christmas presents. I am sure we will really like our toys. I’m also really looking forward to seeing the secret gift that Santa told me about. He said that the most special gifts come from You, so thank You for giving it to me.

Amen.”

They all took turns opening their presents. Toby wanted to keep his biggest present until last. He thought that must be the box with the secret present Santa was talking about.

Finally, it came time for him to open it.

He tore at the paper and pulled all the wrapping off with hasty excitement.

Toby’s eyes grew wider and wider as he looked at it. Then he broke out into a huge grin, and said, “Mom! Dad! Mandy! I found the secret present!”

“I don’t see anything secret about your present,” Mandy said. “It’s a box with a Lego castle set.”

Would you like to have the best Christmas present ever? If you ask Jesus to come into your heart, He’ll be your Best Friend forever, and He has many wonderful things to give you! You can say this little prayer: Dear Jesus, please come into my heart. Please help me to love You and to be loving to others, like You are. Please forgive me for the things I’ve done wrong. Thank You that You will be my Best Friend, and that You will always love me and take care of me. Amen.

13

“Mandy, remember what Sammy said he really wanted, but that his Mom and Dad couldn’t buy?”

“Ohhhh,” she said when she remembered. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yes!” Toby turned to his parents and said, “Dad, Mom, I know you chose this present for me, and I really do like it and have wanted one of these. But Sammy won’t be able to get any new toys at all this year. So I want to give this to him.”

Dad and Mom were surprised, and so proud of Toby. !

The kids wrapped the present back up. Then they quietly went over and put the box on the doorstep of the Braxtons’ house. They left a card on the top of the box with a note: “To Samuel Braxton, From Santa.”

They went back into the house happy and excited. “Mom,” said Toby, “I think the gift Santa was talking about is the gift of giving. I found my secret present—making someone happy is a wonderful present! It makes me feel so glad!”

Mom gave Toby a hug. “I don’t think you will grow a beard anytime soon, but you really have become a true Santa, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wiser little Santa.”

Follow the dots to finish the picture.

14

Finish the right side of picture by copying exactly what’s on the left side.

15

Finish coloring the picture.

16

There are five differences in these two pictures.

Circle each place where something is missing.

17

Draw a line to match the shapes in the oval to where they belong on the characters in the picture.

18

By Ronan Keane

CHRISTMAS EVE AT THE AIRPORT

i

It was December 24th, and five-year-old Philip was anxiously looking forward to opening all his presents later that evening.

He and his parents were driving to the airport, where they would catch a short flight to the town where his grandparents lived, and they would then celebrate Christmas there with all their relatives. Philip’s dad had just finished some urgent work, so they were starting their trip pretty late. Philip didn’t mind.

He looked out of the car window at the snow that was steadily falling, and watched the colorful lights blinking in the store windows.

Philip and his mom walked over to look at the big Christmas tree set up in the corner, while his dad went for the tickets.

19

“Okay, we’re all set,” his dad said, returning from the ticket counter. “I got our three tickets for flight 1291, and the plane is leaving in about an hour.”

Philip’s eyes sparkled with excitement. This is going to be a great Christmas, he thought.

They passed the metal detectors, and picked up their carry-on bags from the x-ray machine’s belt, then started walking towards their gate, which seemed quite far away. The loudspeakers were playing Christmas

songs. As he listened to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” Philip smiled to himself. Christmas is such an exciting time!

In the waiting room, Philip looked out the tall windows at the runways outside. There was a lot of interesting activity to watch. He could see the blinking lights of the snowplows and the maintenance vehicles racing along the runways. He watched the men in the transport vehicles drive up to the planes and load up the luggage, food, and other things. Meanwhile, the waiting room started to fi ll with more people, including some other families with children.

After what seemed to Philip to be quite a long time, a few members of the airline crew came into the room, and one of them picked up a microphone.

20

“Ladies and gentlemen,” she began. “It seems that fl ight 1291 is delayed because of the snow. The weather reports say that there’s a storm moving towards us, and most fl ights are already a couple of hours behind schedule. We’re sorry for the inconvenience, and we’ll let you know how things develop.”

Some of the people in the waiting room seemed to be quite upset.

“Does that mean that we can’t go?” Philip asked his mom worriedly.

“Well, it seems that we’re at least going to be delayed for a while.”

“But why?”

“Well, Honey, one reason is that if there’s a lot of snow and ice on the runways, it’s not safe for the plane to take off. Do you see all that snow outside? They’re working on clearing it, but as long as it keeps falling, they lose more and more time in between each fl ight, clearing and checking the runways to make sure that it’s safe for the next plane to take off.”

“So what are we going to do?” Philip asked.

“We’ll just need to wait,” his dad answered. “They’ll let us know when it’s safe to go, and we’ll board the plane then.”

Waiting didn’t seem too bad to Philip. Although he really wanted to get on the plane and take off, at least there was a lot of stuff to look at. But as the hours passed, he started to worry.

“Do you think we’ll even get there in time for Christmas Eve dinner?” he asked his mom.

“I don’t know yet what time we’ll get there, honey,” his mom replied, trying to stay patient herself, “but let’s hope it won’t be too much longer before we leave.” Some air hostesses had come into the room a few more times to explain the situation to the passengers, but by now, they seemed to have no idea when they would finally be able to leave. The snow hadn’t let up, and a lot of fl ights had been cancelled or were further delayed.

Philip looked around. Most of the people in the waiting room just sat there, looking bored. Some were reading, some slept, and others were walking around, obviously anxious to get wherever they were going so that they could celebrate Christmas properly. Nobody looked happy.

“It’s not fair,” Philip moaned. “When are we going to go?”

“I still don’t know, honey,” his mom replied. “I just called 21

Grandma and told her that we’d be quite late,” his mom said. “I’m not sure they’ll wait for us to have dinner.”

This sounded pretty bad to Philip.

He’d been looking forward to a whole evening of fun and games. His cousins were going to be there, and they were going to open their presents all together. There would be good food, yummy desserts and chocolates, and they’d be allowed to stay up late and play with their new toys while the adults sat and talked. Now, he didn’t even know if he’d get there at all.

He was wandering back to the big tall windows to look around some more when he passed by an elderly man softly singing to a little girl about Philip’s age. It sounded like he was trying to teach her the words to a song.

Philip stopped and watched them for a little while.

“Hello,” he said, approaching them. “I know that song too.”

“You do?” asked the old man, acting surprised. “Well, that’s wonderful. How about you sing it for Eva?” “I know it now too, Grandpa. I can sing it with him,” the girl said.

“Well, go ahead. Let’s hear you two do it.”

The two voices rang out, rather more loudly than anyone around would have expected.

Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of Stephen, When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.

Brightly shone the moon that night, though the frost was cruel, When a poor man came in sight, gathering winter fuel. …

As they finished their rendition, they looked around, a bit embarrassed, as people clapped and smiled at them. Then Eva said, “Shall we sing another song? Do you know ‘Jingle Bells’?” Philip nodded and they started together, Jingle bells, Jingle bells Jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh …

Somewhere during the song, someone started accompanying on an instrument. As he continued singing, Philip saw a man over in the far corner of the waiting room blowing into a trombone. He and Eva sang with all the more gusto.

When they’d finished, the man didn’t stop playing his trombone. He launched into “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” and Eva’s grandfather started singing along. He had a wonderful baritone voice which seemed to fi ll the entire room. But that didn’t

mean he sang alone. Slowly, people started to join in. Some sang loudly and confidently, while others mumbled the words under their breath, but eventually almost everyone was singing. “We Three Kings” and “Deck the Halls” followed, and by then, when Philip looked around, all he could see were happy smiling faces.

Something marvelous had taken place in the room.

Even though it was Christmas Eve and they were all far away from their families and homes, the special joy of Christmas was still present. People started up conversations with those sitting next to them, and started to make new friends. Children played together, while their parents laughed and talked. No one looked bored, lonely, or sad any more.

Not long afterwards the storm was over, and Philip and his parents were finally able to board their plane. It was late, and they wouldn’t make it in time for Christmas dinner, but Philip realized that that was not the most important thing after all.

Christmas dinners, Christmas presents, and Christmas playtime are not what make Christmas such a wonderful time of year. What really makes Christmas special and sets it apart from any other time of the year is something inside people’s hearts.

It’s a time when amazing things can happen because people are kind to one another and try to make others happy. It’s a special time because of the Baby Whose birthday we celebrate. Christmas can happen anywhere!

22

If Jesus got a Christmas stocking for His birthday, what would you put in it?

Can you draw it? Then color the picture.

To : J es us Fr om :

23

Did you know that Christmas is My birthday, and that you can give Me gifts on My birthday? I know that getting gifts at Christmas is important to you. What you might not know is that it’s important to Me to get gifts at Christmas too. It makes Me very happy!

You’re probably wondering, “What kinds of gifts does Jesus want?” That’s a very good question. I’m not interested in material things—toys, clothes, video games, and stuff like that. There are some things you can do, though, that make Me happy, and when you do those things it’s like giving Me a special gift.

Here are some of the things I like you to do: *Take time with Me. Just like you enjoy playing with your friends and doing things with your parents, I like to do things with you, because you’re My friends. When you pray, or read Bible stories, I come and join you. This makes Me happy! *Do kind things for others. When you try your best to be kind to your parents by listening to them and obeying them, or when you share your toys with your brother or sister, or let your friend choose what game you’ll play, you’re also making Me happy. *Telling others about Me. If you have friends who don’t know Me yet, you can tell them about Me, and teach them how they can pray and receive Me in their heart. Then I can be their friend too, and I really like that.

If you want to do something special for Me during this Christmas season, why not try these? I’ll say “thank you” by making you feel happy inside, and helping you to have lots of fun this Christmas.

Much love, Jesus

FROM JESUS WITH LOVE