Lil and Nim took the long way back from the North Pole. They were feeling a bit blue. Only two more nights and they wouldn’t see the kids until next year.
And…they only had one more night together.
The girls were going to their grandma’s house and staying through Christmas day. The news had been a blow to Nim and Lil as they’d had grand plans for the last night of the season.
“I can’t believe that we will be in separate houses tomorrow night!” Lil sadly exclaimed.
“I know,” said Nim gloomily.
They’d had so much fun with Issabella, Cheyenne, Joe and Jake. Sure, they’d had some close calls like the time Joe had been placed on the naughty list for not listening to his mom and dad.
Or when Jake had touched Lil, making her lose her powers.
And Lil had been in tears at having to remind the girls to be good, or they too would be put on the naughty list.
But…they’d had a blast planning all the shenanigans.
One of their favorites was when they had wrapped the cabinets in Christmas paper and thrown ribbon curls all over the house.
They’d laughed until their sides hurt after they’d made a fantastic mess with a can of spray snow.
And who could forget the candy cane zip lines! The kids had such a ball finding their candy canes.
Oh the fun they had had this season!
“Let’s do something fun for the kids tonight!” Lil exclaimed.
“Maybe we can leave something that they can do together. Like a gingerbread house.” Nim said.
“Oh everybody leaves a gingerbread house,” mused Lil.
“We could make sugar cookies for them to decorate together.”
“Maybe,” said Lil.
They landed lightly on the couch and looked around. Every night, something new appeared in the living room or kitchen. The family was so busy baking, wrapping and decorating that the counters were covered in paper and flour.
Nim, seeing a red and green box, soared off the couch and came up spinning holding a kit for making foam puppets.
“Oh how perfect!” Lil squealed.
They pulled out all of the parts and pieces, getting yarn and googly eyes everywhere.
By the time they were done making one foam penguin puppet, Lil had tangled herself in yellow yarn and Nim had a sparkly red bow firmly attached to his nose.
Laughing, they jotted down a quick note to the kids.
After they’d made the puppet, they spent some time whirling yarn around the kitchen and living room. When they were breathless and the sun was starting to rise, they picked their posts for the day.
Lil, hung from a fly swatter above the sink. It was the perfect spot to watch the girls and boys build their puppets.
And Nim, feeling a bit sneaky, climbed into the UNO Moo game tucked behind two santas and poked his head out the barn door.
They were happy knowing how much fun the kids would have making their puppets together.
And happy to have spent their last night together laughing and having a blast.
a pinch of homestead 