Category Archives: For the Kids

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Nim paced back and forth in the living room, chewing on his fingernails. His face was flushed, and his normally jolly demeanor was replaced by pure panic.

“Help! It’s Joe’s birthday tomorrow!” he blurted out, throwing his hands in the air.

Within moments, and seemingly out of nowhere, the Elves of Christmas assembled. Lil stood by, eager to get started. Pepper practically bounced in place, radiating enthusiasm. Flaky twirled on her toes with an airy smile. Smarti had already pulled out a notebook and pen, ready to take charge.

Nim’s eyes rounded. “H-How…?”

“Emergency protocol,” said Smarti, his tone clipped and efficient. “Santa and Mrs. Claus set it up in case of an emergency. This counts. What’s the plan?” 

Nim quickly shook his head and moaned. “That’s the problem! I don’t have one! We have to do something amazing, but there can’t be any messes, chaos, or—”

“Messes?!” Flaky interrupted, her eyes sparkling with an idea. “What if we create an indoor snowstorm and—”.

“No!” Nim said, cutting her off before she could finish. “Absolutely no messes.”

Lil piped up. “We need to bake a cake! A birthday isn’t complete without one.”

“Organized fun is essential,” Smarti added, jotting a few notes on his clipboard. “We’ll create a detailed schedule of events.”

“Oh, let’s make a balloon arch!” Pepper exclaimed, clapping her hands. “I saw one on Sprite-a-gram. It was perfectly whimsical!”

Flaky raised her hand timidly. “Um, I could set up a zipline. Gretyl taught me.”

“Wait!” Nim shouted, throwing his arms wide. “No ziplines, no chaos, and no snowstorms!” He paused, his voice dropping to a panicked whisper. “We need to keep this clean, simple, and disaster-free.”

For a moment, all was silent. The elves glanced at one another, unsure of what to suggest next.

And then:

“The boys both love snowball fights!” Leonard the Giraffalope’s cheerful voice broke the stillness as he trotted into the room.

Nim spun around, his face a mixture of disbelief and horror. “How could you? I just said no messes!”

But it was too late. At being given permission to make a birthday mess, the elves’ faces lit up with excitement.

“A snowball fight!” Pepper squealed. “That’s perfect!”

Flaky clapped her hands. “I can whip up a blizzard in no time!”

“No!” Nim shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the flurry of activity.

Within minutes, the living room was transformed. 

Flaky conjured a miniature blizzard, blanketing the room in sparkling, fluffy snow. 

Lacking balloons, Pepper set up a snow-white arch made of toilet paper rolls, which doubled as a bunker. 

Smarti marked out the snowball “battle zones” with string and made rules for the game (though no one was paying attention to him). 

Lil shaped perfectly round snowballs, stacking them into neat piles.

Leonard gleefully tied a balloon to each antler. “This is going to be epic!”

Nim sat on the couch, head in his hands. “This is the opposite of clean and simple,” he muttered.

“Relax, Nim,” Pepper said, tossing a snowball into the air and catching it.

Just then, the clock chimed softly—Joe and his family were waking up.

“Everybody freeze!” Nim hissed.

The elves and Leonard dove for cover, leaving the living room looking like a winter wonderland. Snow glittered in the morning light, and the birthday decorations gleamed with festive cheer.

As the family wandered into the room, gasping with delight, Nim let out a small sigh of relief. Maybe—just maybe—it hadn’t been a total disaster.

Click here to start from the beginning!

Pepper danced around the kitchen, her wooden spoon a makeshift baton as she stirred the cookie dough. The smell of sugar, vanilla, and butter filled the air, and she hummed a cheerful tune.

“Lucile!” Pepper called, pausing her stirring to look over her shoulder at the giraffalope, who was perched precariously on a stool. “Now remember, no eating the dough until the cookies are baked. Raw eggs, you know. Bad for you.”

Lucile nodded solemnly. “Got it. No dough.”

Pepper raised an eyebrow but returned to her task. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Lucile sneaking pawfuls of chocolate chips from the bag.

She frowned. “Lucile, that’s enough chocolate chips! You’ll make yourself sick.”

“But you didn’t say anything about these!” Lucile said with a mischievous grin, popping another chip into her mouth.

Pepper sighed. “Fine, but don’t come crying to me if you eat too many and—”

“Never!” Lucile interrupted, her mouth full of chocolate.

Pepper rolled her eyes and got back to her work, quickly shaping each cookie with the precision of an elf who had spent years perfecting festive treats. By the time the dough was scooped onto the baking sheets and placed into the oven, Lucile was slouched on the stool, her ears drooping.

“Lucile?” Pepper turned to see the giraffalope clutching her stomach.

“I… I think I ate too many chocolate chips,” Lucile groaned.

Pepper sighed again, shaking her head. “I warned you.”

“You warned me about the dough,” Lucile muttered. “Not the chips.”

Before Pepper could respond, Lucile’s stomach let out a loud, gurgling sound. “Uh-oh.”

Pepper barely had time to grab a dish towel before Lucile leaned over the counter and—

“Bleh!” A cascade of chocolate chips spilled from Lucile’s mouth, scattering across the counter like tiny, sugary marbles.

Pepper froze, her spoon hovering mid-air. “Did you just…puke chocolate chips?!”

Lucile nodded miserably.

Pepper looked at the giraffalope, then at the counter now covered in shiny, uneaten chocolate chips. “You’re unbelievable,” she muttered, grabbing a spatula to start cleaning up.

Lucile whimpered. “Am I gonna be okay, Pepper?”

The elf softened. “Yes, Lucile. Elves and, I have to assume, giraffalopes are built to handle a lot of sugar, but you should probably stick to hay for the rest of the night.”

Lucile nodded, flopping onto the floor dramatically.

As Pepper cleaned up the mess, she muttered to herself, “I bet Santa never thought we’d need a rule for this.”

Later that night, as the cookies cooled on the counter and Lucile snored softly in the corner, Pepper made her entry in The Book:

Do bake cookies to spread holiday cheer. Don’t let your giraffalope eat an entire bag of chocolate chips unless you enjoy cleaning sugary puddles off the counter.

Flaky crouched behind her carefully constructed fortress, a tower made of precisely stacked rolls of toilet paper. She adjusted her goggles and peeked over the edge, scanning for any sign of movement. “Gretyl? Greeetyyyyl?” she whispered under her breath.

From across the room, Gretyl’s giggles echoed, high-pitched and mischievous. “You’ll never see me coming, Flaky! Prepare for bombardment!”

Flaky ducked just in time as a flurry of toilet paper bombs—loosely balled sheets of fluffy white—flew through the air. One grazed the tip of her ear, sending a puff of powdery tissue into the air.

“Oh-ho-ho, the battle begins!” Flaky shouted. She grabbed a handful of her own ammunition and lobbed it over her fortress. “Direct hit!” she cheered as Gretyl yelped dramatically.

“You think that was a hit? That was but a love tap!” Gretyl’s voice came from somewhere behind her own slightly crooked fortress. “Watch this!”

Before Flaky could react, Gretyl popped up, a toilet paper roll clutched in her hooves. With a dramatic spin, she launched it through the air like a snowball. Flaky tried to dodge, but the roll bounced off her goggles, unraveling in a spiraling cascade.

Flaky spluttered as she untangled herself. “Fiend!”

“And don’t you forget it!” Gretyl pranced in place, clearly delighted with herself. Her tower wobbled precariously, but she didn’t seem to notice.

Flaky grinned, her voice taking on a sing-song lilt. “Oh, Gretyl!” She reached behind her tower and pulled out her secret weapon: an entire roll of toilet paper wrapped tightly in tape for extra weight and aerodynamics. 

Gretyl’s eyes widened. “Flaky, no…”

“Flaky, yes!” With a mighty throw, Flaky sent the roll sailing across the room. It hit Gretyl’s fortress dead center, sending the entire structure collapsing in a flurry of toilet paper. Gretyl stood there, surrounded by the ruins, her mouth agape.

For a moment, all was silent. Then Gretyl threw her head back and laughed. “That was amazing! I didn’t think you had it in you, Flaky!”

Flaky climbed over the remains of her own fortress and extended a hand to Gretyl. Gretyl took Flaky’s hand with a grin.

The two of them sat on the floor amidst the chaos, giggling and catching their breath. Flaky glanced at Gretyl, her smile fading just slightly. “Oh Gretyl, I’ll miss these shenanigans, you know.”

Gretyl’s ears drooped for a moment before she perked up again. “Don’t you worry, Flaky. I’ll always be part of the memories we made. And hey, we still have a week. Let’s make it count.”

Flaky nodded, her heart full. “Oh yes, let’s make it legendary!”

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Nim watched Leonard twirl around the tree with a sad sigh. Santa told them that the giraffalopes knew their fate, but was it polite to talk about it?

“Hey, Leonard?”

“Hmm?”

“Santa said…he told us…that is…”.

“You know.”

Nim nodded. 

“Well, good!” Leonard jumped up. “I always thought it was silly to keep it a secret from you, but you know the Big Guy…”.

Nim was starting to think he didn’t know the big guy at all, actually. “Aren’t you sad, Leonard?”

“Sad?”

“Yeah. After this year you won’t be around to…help me.”

“Pah! That is not at all true!”

Nim eyed Leonard, suddenly worried that Santa hadn’t really explained the situation to the giraffalopes.

“I mean, I may not be able to help you, but I’ll be around. Those boys love me and there is no way they are getting rid of me after this season.”

Nim smiled. “Of course they love you, Leonard. Of course they do.”

Leonard gave a brief nod. “So, what’s on the agenda tonight?”

“Fun with fruit.” Nim held up a bag of oranges and a bag of assorted googly eyes. 

“Huh?”

“I heard Joe’s mom saying she had ‘eyes everywhere’ so they’d better behave, so I thought…let’s put eyes everywhere.”

Nim and Leonard got to work. By the time they were through the bag of googly eyes, they’d eyed up all the oranges, bananas, apples, and pears in the house. 

“Hm,” said Nim as they stood back to admire their work.

“It’s a little…”

“Too much?” finished Nim.

“Over the top,” said Leonard.

Nim tilted his head, taking in the fruit army staring back at them. He started laughing—a full, belly-deep laugh that made his pointy ears wiggle. “Over the top is kind of the point, isn’t it?”

Leonard joined in, chuckling. “You’re right. We’ve created an army of fruit that’s ready to shame anyone sneaking a cookie before dinner.”

“Perfect,” Nim said, grinning. “But I think we can go further.”

Leonard raised an eyebrow. “Further? We’re out of fruit and out of eyes.”

Nim rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a roll of tape. “Who said anything about stopping with fruit? What about the cereal boxes? The milk jug? Oh, and the sugar container!”

Leonard’s eyes widened.

Nim grinned. “Now, let’s get to work.”

For the next hour, the two of them added googly eyes to every possible surface in the kitchen. By the time they were done, everything from the salt shaker to the toaster glared back at them with wide, wobbly eyes.

Leonard wiped his brow dramatically. “Well, I’m officially exhausted. Do you think this will actually work?”

Nim shrugged. “If nothing else, it’ll give the boys something to think about. And maybe it’ll make them laugh.”

“Or scream,” Leonard added, smirking.

Nim chuckled. “Either way, mission accomplished.”

Just as they were about head to their spots for the night, Nim stopped and glanced back at the googly-eyed chaos. He turned to Leonard with a mischievous grin. “You know…we could always do the bathroom next.”

Click here to start from the beginning!

“Let me get this straight,” Mrs. Claus looked down at Nim and Pepper with reproach. “Not only did you let Charlie out of his kennel, you also managed to get yourselves locked in?”

Pepper and Nim glanced at each other sheepishly.

“We didn’t let Charlie out Mrs. C,” said Pepper. “It was Lu–.”

“LUCK!” shouted Nim. “It was luck, the bad kind.”

Mrs. Claus eyed the two suspiciously. “The mischief you’ve gotten into during this beta test is astounding to say the least. Perhaps we need to rename this program to the Tinsel Terrors!”

“Mischief?” Lil said as she whizzed into the room, followed closely by Smarti and Flaky. “Have I got a tale of mischief for you! Bella and Cheyenne are in SUCH a pickle!”

For the next few minutes, the five elves shared stories of the shenanigans their assigned kids had gotten up to.

“…and then they set off a glitter bomb and the WHOLE kitchen was sparkling!” Lil finished the story with relish.

Mrs Claus laughed gently with them. “Alright, alright. It sounds as though your charges have been getting up to quite a bit of mischief as well. Let’s see what you can do to direct their energies elsewhere.”

“Why didn’t you want Mrs. C to know about Lucile?” Pepper asked Nim as they made ready to head their separate ways.

“I don’t know. It just seems like cheating somehow. Having a helper.”

“I don’t think it’s cheating at all. Especially when this supposed helper ends up causing more harm than good!”

“Maybe you’re right…”.

“She is absolutely right,” said Smarti. “Harold is out of control. Last night, he tried to ‘help’ by making extra cookie dough.”

“Well,” said Pepper. “That actually seems rather helpful, Smarti.”

“It would have been…if he hadn’t filled every empty container in the kitchen with sugar cookie dough. Including the kitchen sink!!!!”

All the elves stopped, imagining a sink filled to the top with sugar cookie dough.

“It sounds like heaven,” Lil murmured.

Smarti harrumphed.

“The carpet is covered in snow,” Flaky offered.

The other four elves stared blankly.

“Fake snow,” Flaky clarified. 

“Oh, well, I guess that’s…better?” Lil said with a frown.

“Yes, it will make it easier to clean up.” With a smile and a salute, Flaky rose into the air, and flew off, leaving the others wondering what happened, and just who the culprit was. 

***

What Flaky didn’t tell the group, was that the snow was actually attic insulation that fell down in the living room as the result of an accidental rocket launch into the ceiling. The rocket was, of course, Gretyl’s idea. Mostly. 

Unfortunately, the brunt of the blame landed squarely on Sabine’s shoulders. You see, her parents did not believe in the Elves of Christmas and so every catastrophe or triumph was Sabine’s. 

“We’re going to make it up to her tonight, Gretyl,” Flake admonished as he pushed a toy lawn mower in from the garage. “All we need is the fuel for this contraption, and we’ll have this mess cleared up.”

Gretyl smiled, knowing exactly where said ‘fuel’ was. “One moment!” She raced from the room and came back with two bottles of Super Bubbles. “Here it is!”

Flaky smiled. “Ok, let’s get to work!” 

The Book: “Take responsibility for the messes you make. Don’t leave a bubble-covered mess behind!”