When I walked into the kitchen, I spotted the picnic basket my wife had packed. Looking slyly around the room, I slipped my hand into the basket to grab a cookie and felt a hard smack across my wrist.
“You get your hand out of there. That’s for our day with our friends. You’re not going to eat them before we even go!” yelled Anya, a spatula in her hand.
“I just wanted to see what you were packing,” I snapped with a smile.
“I know,” Anya laughed, “but I’ve been looking forward to getting out with our friends Polar Pete and Nippy the snowman for several days. I want them to have the first bite of my cookies.”
“I respect that, especially since it’s been months since we have seen our friends. Can’t wait to catch up with them. So, what did you pack?” I asked.
“Well, if you need to know, I’ve got sandwiches for everyone and some gingerbread cookies.” Anya then reached into the basket, and pulled something I didn’t recognize. “I even made some special fish-shaped biscuits for Polar Pete and carrot shaped cookies for Nippy.”
“Ho, Ho, Ho, they will love those! What about something to drink?”
“Well, no picnic at the North Pole would be complete without some of Judy’s Hot Cocoa.,” Anya explained. “Of course I packed regular chocolate milk for Nippy.”
After slipping on her coat, Anya grabbed the basket full of treats. “Today will be wonderful,” she said and slid her arm through mine.
We left Christmas Village and immediately heard a loud thump, thump, thump coming from our right. It was Pete the polar bear, bounding through the snow, his fluffy white fur dusted with the morning frost. “Hello, my friend!” I laughed, giving the bear a big hug.
Not far behind, Nippy the snowman waddled up, his hockey stick arms waving. “Brrr! What a perfect day to be outside!” he said, adjusting his red plaid hat, so that the flaps covered his ears. “Where to first?”
“How about sledding down Candy Cane Hill?” I suggested pointing to some of the sleds left out by the elves.
Everyone rushed over to grab one. After Anya secured the picnic basket in a safe place, we trudged up-hill through the snow. Intent on racing, we reached the top and lined our sleds across the ridge.
“No one has a chance against me!” Pete bellowed.
Nippy frowned. “Don’t bet on it.”
We pushed the sleds over the crest and kicked up a cloud of powdery snow as we whizzed down the hill. Nippy whooped with glee, his scarf flapping in the wind. Anya screamed, her eyes gleaming with excitement. I gave out a hearty yell, my voice echoing across the valley. Pete bellowed, his sled zipping past all of us at the speed of flying reindeer!
Hitting a mound in the snow, I held on to the sides of my sled and felt it go airborne. Howling in delight, I came down hard and rolled to my right as the sled continued down the hill. “What a ride,” I shouted.
“Are you alright, Santa,” Anya shrieked as her sled surged past me.
“Couldn’t be better.” I hollered and brushed off the snow.
I watched Nippy fly over another mound of snow and lose his balance. Rolling over and over, he soon slammed into Polar Pete, knocking him off his sled. I could not tell what was what as the snowman tumbled with the polar bear in the snow. It was all just a white blur! At the bottom of the hill, they finally came to a halt. Laughing, the two friends stood up and hugged one another. “That was fantastic!” Pete roared.
By the time I slogged through the snow and reached the bottom of the hill, a battle was going strong. Snowballs whooshed through the air, some landing with soft plops, others missing completely.
Caught off guard, I was hit with a huge snowball.
Laughing, Pete made another snowball the size of a pumpkin. Before he could launch it in my direction, Ms. Claus fired one at the bear, clipping him on the side of his head.
“Nice one, Anya,” I yelled while the bear roared in surprise. Slipping behind an icy wedge, I began flinging snowballs as fast as I could make them.
Nippy tossed a snowball in the air and whacked it in my direction with his hockey stick arm. It splatted against the ice.
“Missed me,” I laughed feeling a snowy pellet knock off my hat.
Surprisingly quick and accurate with her aim, Anya came up from behind and hurled an onslaught of snowballs at me. I had nothing to return and collapsed, exhausted and giggling.
“TRUCE!” Pete hollered and held up his enormous paws.
The rest of us gathered around him and slid our arms around one another for a group hug.
“Is anyone hungry?” Ms. Claus asked.
“YES!!!!!!” everyone responded loudly.
After serving hot cocoa, and in Nippy’s case, chocolate milk, Anya laid out a spread of food.
Silence fell over the group, as we enjoyed my wife’s sandwiches and treats.
“You know,” I said, looking around at everyone, “it’s days like this that remind me what’s most important—spending time with the ones we love.”
“I so agree with you, Santa,” Anya yelled.
“This is the most fun Nippy and I have had since Christmas,” Pete added.
We laughed and raised our cocoa mugs in a toast under the glowing aurora borealis. It had been a perfect day at the North Pole filled with laughter, adventure, and friendship.
When my wife and I headed home, hand in hand, we knew one thing for sure, making memories with friends would remain with us for a lifetime.
Notes From Santa
I hope you enjoyed today’s story. Stories are posted on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month, except December. Santa’s next story will be posted on Saturday March 15, 2025. If you have any comments or if there is something you would like me to tell you about, please feel free to leave me a comment. Until the next time . . .
To read more about Santa’s friends please check out:
Santa’s Newest Friends – July 8 2019
Wiggle and Waddle Meet Polar Pete – July 15, 2019
A Visit From Jack Frost – January 20, 2020
The Lost Elves – February 3, 2020
Homesick Penguins – June 8, 2020
Nippy Falls Apart – March 8, 2021
Wiggle and Waddle Go Home – May 31, 2021
Missing Friends – July 1, 2022
Polar Pete’s New Friend – April 15, 2023
Find Cincy Santa (@CincySanta) on:
Facebook – Instagram – Threads – Blue Sky – X (Twitter)
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This brings back many a “neighborhood sled riding” event down our hill! The tick was at the bottom of the hill, you only had 2 spots to go thru the fence!!!! The one thing we ALL said, “Wish we had a tow rope to pull us back up”!! Never did get the tow rope, but we sure had fun!!!! Thanks for a Fun story, oh and Yes, we had “Treats” when we were done!