Toksie Find Out About Christmas
Toksie Turbie was told that every year there is a special dinner with Santa for all the people in circus and the elves. Each year it changes, just for fun. Sometimes, it is a big, formal affair with tuxedos and long gowns and much ado about everything, including a special fork or spoon for each course in the meal.
Other times, it was very, very casual with boxed dinners and sitting on the floor in jeans and T-shirts. And at other times it was something in between.
Mrs. Claus always decided how the dinner would be served and what would be eaten and all the other important details that go into a big, huge dinner like this. She usually decided how fancy it would be by figuring out how busy everyone was, getting ready for Santa’s yearly ride around the world to deliver presents.
If they were ahead of schedule, the fancy-schmancy dinner with tux and gowns would occur. If they were waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay behind schedule, it was the boxed dinners eaten a bit quickly, but fun, nonetheless. And, so on.
This year they were not ahead of schedule, nor were they behind. So, Mrs. Claus planned a lovely, semi-casual dinner. A buffet. Serve yourself and no fuss, but not very hurried. Everyone was told to dress nicely, but not too fancy.
Toksie had never been to a dinner party of any kind. Crudville really didn’t do parties. So, she was looking forward to finding out what this was all about. And, she was wondering what Santa was going to say about Christmas, because she sure was curious about all this fuss and bother. It seemed like a lot of fun and she wanted to know what it was all about.
Toksie Turbie really loved her new red pants with the green top. She had new blue shoes, too. She decided to wear those. And, for fun, she decided to make her hair, skin and teeth match the red and green striped wallpaper in her room.
Toksie Turbie looked at herself in the mirror and was sooooooo glad not to be wearing beige and normal people colors she laughed out loud. This is what the mirror saw when Toksie looked at it:
All ready, Ms. Toksie Turbie put on her pink parka and walked to the dining hall. There was Santa to greet her at the door. He had a big smile on his green face that looked like this:
Santa was greeting all his guests, so he didn’t have time just then to explain Christmas to Toksie. So she wondered over to the buffet table to see what a buffet actually was. OH, MY GOODNESS!!! Toksie had never seen such a lovely bunch of things to eat in her life. There was ham, turkey, roast goose, beef brisket, almond chicken, egg rolls, lumpia, dolmades, rice pilaf, lasagne, baked bree, tamales, hummus, fresh veggies and so much more she didn’t know where she would begin. And she hadn’t even seen the dessert table yet.
OOOOOOOOH, MYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOODNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS! The dessert table!!!!!!! It had chocolate cake and angel food cake and strawberry cake and cinnamon cake and whipped cream cake and lots and lots of every kind of cake you could ever imagine. And pies, oooooooooooh, the pies, pumpkin and apple and cherry and blueberry and blackberry and apricot and peach and pecan and chocolate and lemon meringue and all the pies you ever wanted to taste in your life.
Then there was the ice cream table. A special frozen table with chocolate, strawberry, vanilla (who let vanilla into this fun group?), peppermint, chocolate chip, licorice, and every ice cream you ever loved in your life.
And pastries, OMG, pastries, chocolate eclairs and cream puffs and napoleans, and so many more scrumptious things you’d never know where to put it all in your tummy.
Toksie Turbie was really looking forward to this meal!
Morty found her looking a the desserts and suggested they sit together at the big, huge dining table. Toksie thought that was just a perfect idea and the two of them went off and found some seats. Soon after, Mrs. Claus announced that it was time to eat. So everyone lined up at the first table and got their turkey, egg rolls and whatever else they wanted from there.
When everyone was seated, again, Mrs. Claus asked Santa to say a prayer. Everyone bowed their heads and Santa gave thanks for what they were about to eat. He asked for a blessing on everyone present and that all the circus people would be safe in their performance and all the children of the world would get their presents without a hitch. Then Santa said “AMEN” and everyone else did, too.
After they had eaten their main courses, but before everyone visited the dessert tables, Santa asked each elf and circus member to say a few words about what Christmas meant to them. The first elf said that Christmas was a time to bring children joy. The lion tamer mentioned that Christmas made him joyful because it had an opportunity to bring fun to the elves. Each one at the table mentioned something that had to do with giving of themselves and how it made them joyful.
Then it was Toksie’s turn. Morty smiled at her, knowing she hadn’t the foggiest idea what Christmas was, and recalling his first visit to North Pole Village and how Santa had explained things to him. Morty thought he knew what was about to happen.
Toksie hemmed and hawed and stuttered and sputtered till Santa said, “Toksie, have you ever celebrated Christmas?”
“No”, she said.
“Well”, Santa said softly, “come sit up here on my lap and we will all explain things.”
So, Ms. Toksie Turbie in her green and red striped body, hair and teeth, wearing her new red pants and green shirt, walked and walked and walked from her spot at the loooooooooong table to Santa. She sat on his lap. Mrs. Claus smiled and softly said, “Santa, don’t be too hard on her.”
Santa smiling back at his wife, whispered, “Don’t worry, dear”.
With Toksie safely settled in Santa’s big lap, he began, “Two thousand years ago, a man was born in Bethlehem. His name was Jesus. Christmas is His birthday.”
“What’s a birthday, Santa”, asked Toksie.
“That darned Crudville”, said Santa, under his breath.
“What?” asked Toksie.
“Nothing”, replied Santa, “A birthday is the day you were born. On that day, your friends and family celebrate it and, lots of times, you get some presents.”
“I never had a birthday”, Toksie said.
“Yes, I know, you fell out of the sky and no one knows who your parents are or when you were born. But, you do have a birthday. We just do not know when it is. We will pick a day to celebrate yours, just so we have an excuse to eat ice cream and cake and give you presents. But, that is not Christmas. You shall have another day for your birthday.”
Santa continued, “Now, back to Christmas. Jesus was a special person. There are lots of different things that people believe about Him. Some believe He was God. Some believe He was just a good man. Others believe that He was a prophet. But in spite of what people believe about Jesus, almost everyone agrees that His birthday is worth celebrating. So, people of all walks of life and different religions, sometimes come together to celebrate His birth.”
Santa went on to say, “In each person’s home or church, they will celebrate what they believe about Jesus. Prophet, man, reincarnated god, God the Son, and many other things that are too complicated for you, Toksie, to understand right now at your young age. But when people come together at work, clubs, or anyplace else where people of all walks of life gather, they celebrate together the fact that a good person, a holy person was born. And that is what Christmas is all about. It is a birthday party.”
“So”, asked Toksie, “you bring presents to everyone on their birthday?”
“No”, laughed Santa, “I bring presents to children on Jesus’ birthday.”
“If it is Jesus’ birthday, and people get presents on their birthday, the why doesn’t Jesus get His presents?” Toksie was thinking that Jesus was getting gypped on this deal.
“HO! HO! HO!” laughed Santa, “I never thought of it that way. But, you see, Jesus is in heaven. So, He can’t accept presents. Toksie, a Christmas present is a very special thing. You see, Jesus isn’t here to accept it, so we give to each other. People want to give Jesus a gift, so they give one to someone they care about. That person accepts it for Jesus. When you choose a Christmas gift for someone, it is your gift to Jesus. And, they should accept it on behalf of Him. That is why each gift should be carefully chosen and graciously accepted. Especially by those who believe that Jesus is both God and man.”
Santa continues, “Someday, you will learn about all the different religions in the world and what they believe. Tonight, you are learning how all religions can celebrate Jesus’ birth together.”
“OK”, said Toksie, “But Santa, how come you give presents to all the children in the world?”
“Because”, Santa said, “Jesus loves all the children of the world. And, I honor Him by giving them each a gift. I like to think I give it to them from Him. That one special thing they want most, or need most. I choose each gift carefully for each child. I have lots of help, though.”
With that, Santa announced that it was time for dessert. Everyone has a great time at the remainder of the dinner party . And everyone was ready for Christmas in their hearts, too.
Toksie Turbie has her own board at Auntie Shoe’s Pinterest account. Sharing it with you here also feeds the SEO Nag Monster. 🙂
Picture of Toksie on the wall by Auntie Shoe.
Picture of Santa from a purchased font and colored by Auntie Shoe, with permission.
(C) 2013 Auntie Shoe. All Rights Reserved.
