As those who have been reading this blog will know, I have been posting an extract from two of my Christmas books every day for the past twelve days to coincide with The Twelve Days of Christmas. Today, though, in this festive bumper blog, I am posting both stories in full.
The Twelve Months of Christmas is fully illustrated and available to buy in hard cover, paperback or digital editions. However, The Twelve Sleighs of Christmas is a previously unpublished story and has not yet been illustrated but it will hopefully supply a few Christmassy laughs on this particularly festive day – especially as Santa will be busily flying around the world tonight!
So please, enjoy these two seasonal stories on me and have a very merry Christmas!
On Christmas Eve Santa and Rudy spread good cheer,
But what do they do for the rest of the year?
January
In January, Santa and Rudy deserve a good rest,
Because after Christmas they’re both a bit stressed.
They’ll take it easy this month, put their feet up and relax –
And forget about chimneys and bulging toy sacks!
February
It’s back to work in February to dream up new toys,
To deliver next Christmas to good girls and boys.
They always come up with some magical thoughts,
They’ve got loads of ideas for gifts of all sorts.
March
March is when they do their Spring cleaning –
They polish the warehouse until it is gleaming.
Santa likes to have lots of tea breaks,
Rudy loses count of how many he takes!
April
In April it’s time to hire new elves,
Santa and Rudy interview each one themselves.
To work with Santa is every elf’s goal,
To make toys in his factory at the North Pole.
May
In May Santa and Rudy sort out the route,
But with so many countries it’s a lot to compute!
It’s all very confusing and hard to work out,
But when Christmas Eve comes they can be in no doubt.
June
June is the time for reindeer revision,
To the one who knows most, a prize is given.
The highest scoring reindeer wins a gold statuette,
Which is the best award a reindeer can get!
July
In July Santa and Rudy take their Summer vacation,
Which is good enough reason for a small celebration.
They like to build sandcastles and lay in the sun,
To sightsee, go swimming and have lots of fun!
August
In August Santa’s Christmas training is due to begin,
Because to squeeze down a chimney he has to be slim.
He needs to cut out all the burgers and fries,
And start each day with some light exercise.
September
By September Santa and Rudy are on Chimney Drill,
As getting down one quickly takes some skill!
Various equipment is given a test,
But it’s the straightforward jump that works best!
October
October’s the time for the sleigh’s test flight,
Which always takes place on a bright, clear night.
They’ll fly it over Sydney, New York and Rome,
And when the sleigh’s fully tested they’ll finally head home.
November
It’s November already and Rudy’s rushed off his feet,
The sleigh’s almost packed but it’s not yet complete.
Santa’s busy too, double-checking his list,
As he has to be sure there’s no children he’s missed!
December
December is finally here at last,
Twelve months have gone by so incredibly fast,
Santa’s now ready for his Christmas Eve flight,
So if you’re very good you might see him tonight!
This is the story of Santa’s many sleighs,
Some will surprise and others will amaze.
But for fifty years each sleigh should last,
So they’re built to be strong and designed to go fast.
Yet not every sleigh has been that easy to master,
In fact most have been a complete disaster!
Each day you can read about a different one,
And with a bit of luck you might have some fun!
The Eighth Sleigh…
For Santa’s next brainwave he really excelled,
He was going to build a sleigh that was rocket propelled!
It would launch from a ramp somewhere in Lapland,
An idea the elves thought incredibly grand.
The ramp was enormous and rose up into the sky,
It must have been over a thousand feet high.
The rocket on the sleigh was the size of a truck,
To control all that power Santa would need some luck.
He and Rudy had to wear flame proof suits,
Along with goggles, helmets and emergency chutes.
The reindeers also had to wear special kit,
Because the heat from the rocket could burn quite a bit.
Each reindeer also had to go on a course,
To help them cope with the effects of G-Force.
Because flying at such speed would not be easy,
As it could make them feel dizzy and a little bit queasy!
The course also involved zero gravity training,
But they agreed to it all without complaining.
There was no test they weren’t willing to face,
For the chance of flying that rocket sleigh into space.
The sleigh blasted off in a huge cloud of smoke,
The elves all laughed but it was really no joke!
Up it went, passed the Moon and the stars,
If they hadn’t turned round they’d have landed on Mars!
They delivered presents at the speed of light,
Blasting along through the Christmas Eve night,
But travelling that fast was incredibly hard,
So after fifty flights, the sleigh was finally retired.