Do you like dogs? I love them, especially when they help me out, ho, ho, ho! Let me tell you the story of how the three cute little dogs in this picture came to my aid.
It had been madness in the workshop for several weeks making presents. Why, you ask? Because all the kids had been exceptionally good that year, I wanted to spoil them a little more than usual, ho, ho, ho! However, this meant my elves were overwhelmed, and many were starting to show signs of fatigue.
I was worried about my team, so I went to ask Mrs. Claus for advice. She suggested I find volunteers to help out so that the elves could catch their breath. But who? I went for a walk in the village to think it over. As I passed the park, I saw my friend Miss Muzzle playing
with two of her friends. Wait a minute, maybe these animals could help the elves with their toymaking.
I immediately asked the three companions for a hand (or rather a paw, ho, ho, ho!) in the workshop. They all gladly accepted. You should have seen the dogs’ faces when I hooked them up to a rolling cart. They were as proud as peacocks! The elves were so thrilled. Every time the dogs brought them a tool, a piece of wood or a can of paint, the elves rewarded them with a treat.
The workshop was up and running again in no time, all thanks to the wisdom of Mrs. Claus and three four-legged volunteers. I gave the dogs a few cookies and a toque from my collection to say thanks.
You have to admit, they’re so cute!
Did you know I use my sleigh all year round, not just on Christmas Eve? It’s a great way to get around and carry lots of stuff! In this picture, I’m trying out a brandnew sleigh with two young reindeer. Let me tell you what happened next. You might find it quite funny, ho, ho, ho!
As you probably already know, reindeer are fast and energetic animals. As we were coming down the slope you see here, they were running at full speed. In fact, they’d gained so much momentum they didn’t notice we were heading straight for a frozen lake.
I furiously rang my bell to get their attention, but they thought I was encouraging them to go even faster. The inevitable happened, and we ran straight onto the lake! When the reindeer’s hooves hit the mirror-smooth surface, their eyes became as big as saucers.
Have you ever been ice skating? If so, you probably know how hard it was to keep your balance that first time. The reindeer started sliding and spinning and couldn’t stop! They were attached to my sleigh, causing it to bounce all over the place. As if there wasn’t already enough commotion, their harnesses came loose, sending us flying in
three different directions. Oh my!
I had to hold on with all my might to keep from being thrown off the sleigh. Fortunately, I held on, and we eventually made it back to solid ground. As soon as we were reunited, the reindeer vowed to be more careful next time. What an adventure, ho, ho, ho!
By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour / Translated by Jasmine Heesaker
Have you ever attended an outdoor festival in a park? I’m with my friends Raccoon, Mr. Snow and Feather in this picture, preparing for the North Pole outdoor Christmas party.
To mark the occasion, we decided to decorate ALL the trees in the park for the very first time. It was a big task, but many hands make light work. Still, we were in a sweat over it, ho, ho, ho!
At first, everything went like clockwork. Raccoon was in charge of the baubles, while the others were responsible for putting up garlands and colored lights. We carried everything we needed in my large sack. But once we got to the last stand of trees, we realized we didn’t have any ornaments left! I was sure I calculated exactly how many decorations we needed for the entire park. We looked around and noticed some shiny objects lying
in the snow. As we approached, Feather noticed that they were our decorations. I quickly realized what had happened when I tried putting them back in my sack: it had a hole! Baubles and garlands were strewn all over the place, ho, ho, ho!
As you can imagine, we had to go back and pick up all the ornaments we’d lost. Luckily, my friends were there to
help. By joining forces, we managed to pick up everything and finish decorating the trees before sunset, just in time for the party.
Come to think of it, it was risky to wait until the day of the event to start decorating. If we’d started earlier, we wouldn’t have had to finish in a hurry. Trust me, I learned my lesson!
By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour / Translated by Jasmine Heesaker
They’re members of the North Pole College Folk Dance Troupe. They needed new costumes and decided to organize a fundraiser. They wanted to do something useful for busy people and fun for themselves, so they were doing beautiful gift-wrapping for customers at the mall.
Since Rudolph loves traditional dance and I think it’s important to support youth and the arts, we decided to give them a hand, or a hoof, whatever the case may be. They were delighted to see us, especially since our presence attracted many people, ho, ho, ho!
After two hours of wrapping gifts of all shapes and sizes, the girls took a break to perform a dance number. The shoppers were thrilled, and some dropped a few dollars in the donation box even though
they didn’t have any presents that needed wrapping. Rudolph instantly became their number one fan! He kept complimenting them and saying it was one of the best performances he’d ever seen.
The teens were surprised that Rudolph was an excellent dancer himself and asked him to be in their Christmas show. They assured him that there
was room for a special guest. After all, they wanted to thank him for his invaluable help! With stars in his eyes, Rudolph readily accepted.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him as happy as he was at that show. He performed an impressive tap dance number with his new friends. He’s been talking about it ever since, ho, ho, ho!
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By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour / Translated by Jasmine Heesaker
What do you place at the top of your Christmas tree? At my house, it’s always a gold star, and I’m always the lucky one who gets to place it there. Traditionally, Mrs. Claus takes a photo to remember the moment when I add that final touch.
This year, however, we narrowly escaped disaster, ho, ho, ho! If you look closely, you’ll notice that Mr. Snow, who came to help me, seems scared. I’ll tell you why.
While turning around to pose for the photo, my friend Raccoon bumped into the ladder I was standing on. See how it’s leaning dangerously to the right? Mrs. Claus had just snapped a picture of us before I was thrown into the tree! Mr. Snow screamed in fright as I dangled there, but there was no way to avoid the collision. I fell on top of him with a bang! Luckily, at least for me, my fall Continued on Page 8
By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour / Translated by Jasmine Heesaker
Continued from Page 7 was cushioned by my snowy friend.
There were pine needles and broken baubles everywhere. Some pieces had even gotten stuck between Mr. Snow’s buttons! The good news is that no one was hurt. Plus, I managed to save the star! In the end, we were more shaken up than hurt.
After straightening the tree, we picked up the broken ornaments and started decorating
again. Some of the garlands were also hanging crooked, and we had to replace some branches to camouflage the bald, crushed areas from my fall. Then, Raccoon firmly held the ladder so I could safely place the star. It may surprise you, but the tree was beautiful.
Mr. Snow gave me a sturdy step ladder for Christmas a few weeks later to make sure the incident wouldn’t happen again, ho, ho, ho!
Do you go to school? If so, does your school organize activities for special occasions? This picture was taken during the Christmas theme day at the village school last year, just before winter break. My visit was a surprise, and the students screamed with joy when they saw me arrive with Rudolph and Mr. Snow. The party was already in full swing when we arrived, but the atmosphere became
even more joyous when we showed up. They’d lined up several games for the celebration, including a relay race with candy cane markers, mimes and bingo. My favourite part was the limbo contest! Do you know this game? It consists of going under a long stick and bending backward.
Me and my old bones weren’t very good. I was even eliminated first, ho, ho, ho! I didn’t mind because
it allowed me to encourage the children, who were so talented. Rudolph and Mr. Snow were doing very well. It was a close game, and we all laughed a lot, especially when Mr. Snow lost one of his snowballs while bending backward! Believe it or not, this happens to him a lot. This time, even his nose fell off! Can you imagine?
Everyone was laughing so hard that it took three tries to
By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour / Translated by Jasmine Heesaker
Continued from Page 8 get my friend back together! Afterward, many kids had trouble concentrating, and the contest ended with a laugh.
This is a picture of the two winners with my friends and me. They look happy, don’t they? They weren’t the only ones. At the end of the day,
every face in the room, including mine, was happy and bright. I enjoyed myself so much that I promised to come back every year, ho, ho, ho!
Do you like receiving gifts? What a question!
EVERYBODY loves presents, most of all me. There’s a reason I give them to every good kid around the world on Christmas eve, ho, ho, ho! I was about to open a mysterious package right before this picture was taken. Let me tell you about it.
One year, while I was delivering presents all around the world, I had quite the surprise. When I arrived in the living room of a charming little family, I found a box with my name on it under the tree. I usually get milk and cookies (which I love, by the way), but never beautifully wrapped gifts!
Although I could have waited until I got back to the North Pole to open it, I was too eager to know what was inside. Rudolph, who snapped a picture of the scene, was just as curious as I was. Besides, if I wanted to write a thank-you note, I had to know Continued on Page 11
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Continued from Page 10 what these kind-hearted people had given me. After dropping off their gifts, I sat down to open the box.
Do you have any idea what it was? What do you think? I was more than delighted by what I saw when I tore open the present. It was a
1,000-piece puzzle with a picture of the kind family decorating their Christmas tree printed on it. The amazing thing is that doing puzzles is my favourite hobby. I wonder how they knew. Maybe it was just a coincidence. However it happened, this gift touched me a lot, and I’m thrilled to add it to my collection!
Are you excited about Christmas? I’m guessing you are because everyone loves to celebrate and, most importantly, receive gifts, ho, ho, ho! In this picture, I was about to leave on my big gift-giving tour on December 24. This year was particularly emotional; here’s why.
As usual, my team worked very hard to get everything ready on time:
• The gifts were wrapped and tagged
• The list of addresses of good children was up to date
• My sleigh was shiny and
clean
• All my reindeer had eaten and drunk well
I was all ready to go!
Delivering presents around the world takes a lot of stamina, and I must be in top shape to visit a zillion houses, ho, ho, ho! I did some yoga poses and stretched in the workshop to warm up my muscles. Suddenly, I had a funny feeling. Everything seemed quieter than usual.
When I came out of the building, I got the biggest surprise of my life. All the residents of the North Pole were gathered. They clapped and
cheered, and many held signs and banners with the number 300 written on them.
My elf-secretary Scribble grabbed a microphone with a mischievous smile and addres¬sed the crowd. He announced that this was my 300th tour and that everyone was proud of me. I couldn’t believe it. Time sure does fly!
The crowd parted, and I drove through on my sleigh. It was very moving. That night, motivated by my friends at the North Pole, I delivered all the presents in record time. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by such caring people, ho, ho, ho!
By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour / Translated by Jasmine Heesaker
Have you ever been to a concert? This picture tells a fantastic story, ho, ho, ho!
It was the village Christmas concert, and my friends Melody and Feather were set to perform the song Sleigh Ride. They were nervous because it was their first time performing as a duo rather than with the Bluebirds choir. Despite their nerves, they were excellent! The audience was amazed and even let out some oohs and ahhs during Feather’s beautiful scat solo. Scatting is when the singer makes sounds like lalala zip a dou dap, for example. Melody accompanied him by tapping her wings.
The crowd quickly got on board. When Feather got to the chorus, everyone sang along. It was a huge hit. Their act was the only thing anyone talked about after the show!
But guess what! When I went to a restaurant to celebrate with my friends, they told me what really happened. Feather’s scat wasn’t planned! In fact, he was distracted by some rowdy kids in the front row and forgot the words to the song.
After a moment of panic, he improvised to avoid losing face and found himself scatting for the first time. Luckily, he came through like a pro. Since Melody played along, the crowd was in awe. What a revelation, ho, ho, ho!
Following this extraordinary performance, the two birds decided to create a jazz band to
showcase Feather’s incredible new talent. By the way, I must go now, so I won’t be late for their concert tonight!
By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour / Translated by Jasmine Heesaker
Have your parents ever taken you to buy a real Christmas tree? On this day, I took a picture of my friends in charge of the annual Christmas tree market.
As they do every year, the village residents each came to pick out their favorite tree.
The event was festive. There was music, hot chocolate and various games for young and old. After securely tying a tree to their car or sled, most people lingered to enjoy the joyous atmosphere.
My friends had organized a raffle to thank all those who came. The prize was a wreath made by Mrs. Claus. In the picture, you can see Raccoon holding it. Every customer had a chance to win, except for one tiny problem. The market was so popular that we almost ran out of trees, ho, ho, ho!
That’s right! Only one small, spindly tree was left when the last customer showed up. Although visibly disappointed, the young man declared he would decorate it and make it beautiful. Everyone felt sorry for him, but no one wanted to give up their tree! Would you have given him yours?
Fortunately, the magic of Christmas prevailed! Meow drew a winner. The woman collected her prize, walked straight over to the unfortunate owner of the stick-bare tree and offered him the wreath. He smiled wide, while everyone applauded the generous gesture. Soon after, the festivities were in full swing.
Ever since this event, which everyone still talks about today, the tree market has been stocked with more than enough trees, ho, ho, ho!
Does your family like to take pictures at Christmas? Here at the North Pole, we have an annual tradition. Every year, I send greeting cards to the elves to thank them for their hard work. Let me tell you the story behind this picture, where I’m wearing a wreath in a most original way.
As you probably already know, elves are great pranksters. So, my friends Feather, Melody and I decided to do a funny photo shoot. These are some of the poses we took in front of Mrs. Claus, my favourite photographer.
• Me, buried under a pile of presents. Only my eyes and the tip of my nose were showing!
• My friends swinging me back and forth. I admit I was a little afraid they would drop me, ho, ho, ho!
• Me, dressed as a Christmas tree, complete with garlands, lights and baubles.
• My friends and I, making funny faces.
• Melody gifting me underwear with poodles-in-bikinis designs. I swear they weren’t mine!
• Me, pretending to eat my toque.
We had a lot of fun! We laughed until we had tears in our eyes and cramps in our stomachs! Before saying goodbye, Feather and Melody had an idea. They unhooked
one of Mrs. Claus’s wreaths and put it around my face as if it were a picture frame.
We snapped a picture and, since it was a great one, used it on the front of all our greeting cards. The elves loved it, and Mrs. Claus was thrilled with the free publicity for her creations, ho, ho, ho!
This Christmas, use my story as inspiration to create fun photos with your family and friends!
By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour / Translated by Jasmine Heesaker
Have you ever moved? If so, did your family throw a party in your new home? This is called a housewarming party. The picture you see here was taken a few years ago when two of my friends had just finished building a new house in our neighbourhood. Here’s what happened.
I’d received a card in the mail signed by Meow and Raccoon inviting me to see their cozy home. I’d never heard of them and was very curious to meet them! So, I walked over to the address given on the card.
Once there, I saw the charming Meow and friendly Raccoon chatting with other neighbours in front of a lovely new house. The two new residents were very impressed when I shook their paws! They gave me a tour and showed me all the rooms. Their Christmas decorations were beautiful, and the fireplace was crackling merrily.
Many people had brought a housewarming gift. There were presents everywhere, ho, ho, ho! However, it was getting close to dinner time, and Meow and Raccoon didn’t have enough chairs and food for everyone. They were having so much fun they didn’t want their guests to leave. Their next-door neighbour
offered to get some folding chairs from her house, and another suggested everyone come back with something to eat or drink and have a potluck. Everyone enthusiastically accepted these suggestions.
That night, Meow and Raccoon had a feast and made many life-long friends, including me.
Did you know I’m regularly invited to parties in December to hand out gifts? In this picture, however, my friend Raccoon is carrying a sack full of goodies. Why’s that, you ask? Ah, that’s quite the story; let me tell you.
First of all, I must inform you that Scribble, my elf secretary, is often a little absent-minded at work. I think it’s because he gets distracted by the beauty of the Star Fairy, ho, ho, ho! One night I asked him what party I was meant to attend. He told me I was expected at the SmithLopez house, just a stone’s throw away from my own.
I had already started to put on my boots when the phone rang. Scribble picked up the phone and started stuttering. The village mayor and her guests were impatiently waiting for me to arrive at the Hotel Polaris, and I was late. I immediately realized that my dear elf-secretary had double-booked me for two parties on the same evening!
I quickly picked up the phone and apologized to the mayor, telling her that something had come up, but I was on my way. Then, I called the Smith-Lopez home to explain the situation. I promised them they would receive their gifts but that a diffe¬rent Santa Claus would be making a visit.
Afterward, I called my friend Racoon and asked if he would do me a favour. Not only did
he agree to replace me, but he was delighted to do so! To make up for his mistake, Scribble insisted on helping him.
The next day, I received a phone call from the Smith-Lopez family. All the guests thought my replacement was great (they love animals!) and wanted to book him for next year if he agreed. Sometimes a mistake can turn into a success, ho, ho, ho!
Do you like having people over to your house to have fun and share a good meal? Leon, the man with the moustache in this picture, loves throwing parties. I remember his Christmas Eve party that year very well, and so does my friend Mr. Snow! Here’s what happened.
Leon had invited several people to his house, and they were wearing their best Christmas sweaters for the occasion. Before leaving on my gift-giving tour, I decided to drop in and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Coming in, I smelled the intoxicating
aroma of turkey, meat pie and meatball stew coming from the dining room. Sadly, I had to resist so I wouldn’t weight down my already-full sleigh, ho, ho, ho!
I was about to leave when Mr. Snow begged me to play musical chairs. Have you ever played this game? It consists of walking around a group of chairs while music plays. When the music stops, you must sit in one of the chairs as fast as possible. The catch is that there’s always one less chair than the number of participants.
The game was almost over, and only Leon and Mr. Snow
were left. When the music stopped, Mr. Snow threw himself on the last chair so hard it almost fell over. That’s not all: the three snowballs that made up his body fell apart!
How do you think the guests reacted? They knew Mr. Snow was clumsy because this kind of thing often happens to him. They helped him reassemble himself, which only took a few seconds. Since Mr. Snow is very ticklish, he burst out laughing.
As I was delivering presents that night, I continued to laugh as I thought about the game of musical chairs, ho, ho, ho!
By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour / Translated by Jasmine Heesaker
Have you ever participated in a scavenger hunt? It’s like a treasure hunt, but instead of looking for objects, you look for clues and answer questions.
The ranking depends on how fast you finish and how many questions you answer correctly. This group picture was taken just before the hunt we
By Sarah Beauregard and Johannie Dufour / Translated by Jasmine Heesaker
Continued from Page 19 had in our village, which my friend Meow organized, who loves a little friendly competition.
Raccoon, Feather, Rudolph, Miss Muzzle and I were excited to participate. Meow rang her bell and gave us the starting signal. We each started 10 minutes apart, so we couldn’t copy each other.
I was the last to start. However, before I could get to the first clue, Raccoon reappeared. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was the first to start; there’s no way he could have already finished! On the contrary, he mixed up his left and right, which turned him in circles, ho, ho, ho! He waved his paws in frustration but resumed the hunt with determination.
Meow gave me the signal a few seconds later, and I started. Even though some of the questions were quite difficult, I had a great time.
When I returned to the starting point, everyone had finished except Raccoon. We were about to form a search party when he finally showed up. I thought he would be in a bad mood, but I was wrong. He was proud to have finished despite making mistakes.
Believe it or not, he was the only one who got all the answers right! Even though it took him a long time, he came in second place, just behind Miss Muzzle, who beat everyone else by a long shot. Impressed by Racoon’s perse-
verance and logical thinking, she insisted on sharing the first-place prize with him, a gourmet basket prepared by Meow.
This story goes to show that you should never give up, ho, ho, ho!
to bring gifts to the animals living in the woods. We gave presents to bears, foxes, wild turkeys, rabbits, beavers,
on
Continued from Page 21 porcupines and many others. If you like surprises, you can imagine we made many animals happy, ho, ho, ho!
However, something unexpected happened at the end of the day. We only had one gift left to deliver to Madam Owl. The elves had made her a soft cushion for her home in a hollow tree. When we got to the tree, it was empty! This was strange because Madam Owl eagerly looked forward to our yearly visit. My friends and I scanned the area and called out, “Hoo, Hoo, where are you?”
Soon after, we heard a “Hoo!” coming from the sky. When we looked up, we saw the graceful figure of Madam Owl flying in front of the huge full moon!
As soon as she landed, she apologized for her absence and explained that she’d just returned from her new nest nearby. She had to move because she had recently become a mother, and her babies were growing quickly. She’d just forgotten to tell me!
Delighted by the news, we delivered the gift to her new nest and admired her little ones, who were already almost as big as her, ho, ho, ho!
Would your kids like to know what Santa and his elves have been doing to get ready for Christmas?
We invite Kid’s Club Members to write a letter to Santa, drop it off in one of our special mail boxes at our Churchbridge, Kamsack or Yorkton food stores and Santa will write back!
nd or a ial or ck! he
Since Santa is so busy, he will need to have the letters dropped off by December 4, 2022.
Join today at any of our Legacy Co-op Food Stores or online at www.legacycoop.crs
