“I told you it would be hard to get out of the spider web, Nim,” Lil teased.
“Well, if you hadn’t spun it so tight, getting out of it wouldn’t have been a problem,” Nim grumbled.
“At least you made it to check-in. That’s the important part.”
Nim agreed. If he had missed check-in, he wouldn’t have heard about Santa’s big surprise. If all went well for the remaining 4 days until Christmas, all of the elves would get a special holiday bonus–a year’s supply of Double Chocolate Delights and a day at the Sugar Spa.
“Right. We just need to make sure we don’t do anything to get us in trouble for the next four nights.”
“Right,” agreed Lil. “That means no big messes, no more candy coated breakfasts or snacks–”
“For the kids, right?” asked Nim. “We can still have candy”
Lil and Nim snickered at the thought of not eating candy. They could not continue to keep up the pace they were running at without sugar.
Lots and lots of sugar.
“So what are we up to tonight Nim?”
Nim drummed his fingers on a box on the table.
“I had thought to make sugar angels again this year, but since we are trying to be good and avoid messes…I’m not sure.”
Lil sat on the box next to Nim and they both tried to think of something non-messy, but still fun, to do for the kids.
Nim zipped up in the air when he realized what was in the box they were sitting on.
“Lil! We can get out all of the toys that the boys got at the Christmas party they went to today!”
“But Nim, won’t that be making a mess?”
Nim floated slowly back to the table.
“Oh yeah. I forgot.”
“But,” said Lil with a smile. “If we play with the toys, we won’t be making a mess.
Both elves somersaulted to the pile of boxes and bags the family had lugged inside earlier that day.
Lil opened the colored sand and started digging and making sand castles.
Nim opened the MagFormers and started to build towers, cats, trains and boats.
When Lil saw him, she flew over to play. When she picked up a tile, she knew where Nim would be in the morning.
“Come here Nim! I’m going to build a boat around you!”
By the time Lil had to leave, Nim was enclosed in a boat with the spider and beetle along for the ride.
They’d also made a penguin and a fish to fill out the scene.
“It’s perfect Lil! Thank you for helping me!”
“I have to get going now Nim,” she called back on her way to the window. “Oh, and I don’t have time to clean up the sand mess so I just left a note to explain.”
“The sand?!?!”
But Lil was already gone.
a pinch of homestead 