We have really big news this year ! Petey became a Daddy this past year and now that he has children of his own he loves Christmas more than ever. He always did think Christmas was great but  no way was it ever as much fun as it is now that he has little ones of his own and can see and hear how excited they are about Santa and  everything that goes with this wonderful time of year. It has made him realize even more than he did before how important it is  to try to make others happy ... especially little children!

Being a Daddy is the absolutely best thing that has ever happened to him and because he is so happy this year he wants to share that happiness with everyone everywhere. He has been trying to come up with an idea  for a couple of months now about just how he can do that and he finally thinks maybe he  has an idea which might work. Being a canary, of course he can fly but he hasn't ever tried flying long distances and his idea is to try to help as many children as he can to have as happy a Christmas as he knows his own children are going to have. That will mean covering a whole lot of territory and he isn't sure his wings are strong enough !  He has been doing a lot of practising and exercising by flying all over the house two or three times a day to get in shape  but he still is a bit worried if he will be able to do what he has planned and still get back in time to be with his own kids when they wake up on Christmas morning.

Pixie, his wife, has told him he is crazy to even be thinking of doing what he wants to do  but Pixie is a worrier anyway  and she will see .. he will do just fine ! He just has to come up with a workable plan. And you can just bet he will. Petey rarely gives up when he really wants something and he sure does want to do this. He has even sent a letter to Santa asking him for advice 'cause he knows Santa has that problem all figured out and manages that kind of trip all the time.

 Of course Santa has an advantage. He has Rudolph and the rest of the Reindeer to help him. Petey got to know Comet and Blitzen a couple of years ago  and they told him that the trip was not easy but it sure was worth it knowing that so many children would not be disappointed Christmas morning. They also told him that Santa was a really neat guy so he expects to hear from Santa any day now even though this is his busy time and he probably doesn't have a lot of free time right now. After all, he has to supervise the Elves and make sure all the gifts are ready as well as making sure the sleigh is serviced and ready and the Reindeer are all in top shape. Hey, Santa always answers his mail , everyone knows that !

And today is the day ... Mom just brought in the mail and there is a letter from the North Pole ! "Hurry up and read it to me Mom, what does Santa say ?" " Well Petey, there is a bit of a problem ... Santa has a broken leg , he slipped on some ice outside his Toy Shop. This letter isn't from Santa ... it's from Santa's grandson Christopher. " As Mom read the letter Petey was upset and very worried ... what would all the children do this year if Santa couldn't make his trip? But as she read Mom started to smile and she said " Don't worry Petey, Chris has a plan and he thinks maybe you can help him." As she explained Christopher's plan Petey got so excited he darn near fell off her shoulder !

 Chris was going to make the trip for Santa ! He and Rudolph had it all figured out, And they wanted Petey to come with them ! Chris said he could use all the help he could get as he had never ever made the trip with his Grandfather so it was all going to be new to him. Of course Rudolph had lots of experience and he had promised he would guide them and make sure the children were not disappointed. Only problem ... they hadn't told Santa yet. He was still insisting that he was going to make that trip himself just like always !  Santa was magical of course and probably would manage to do it 'cause  he was also very, very stubborn and would never want to disappoint any child, especially at Christmastime, even though  his doctor had told him there was no way he was going.

Chris thought it might be a good idea if he sent Rudolph to pick up Petey and bring him to the North Pole so he could help convince Santa that they could do the job and wouldn't let his Grandfather or the children down. If it was O.K. with Petey  Rudolph would come by that very night to pick Petey up ! Petey didn't have to write back he only had to give one sharp whistle and Chris would hear him and would know  Petey would be ready when Rudolph got there.

 Well you can sure bet Petey agreed ! He gave such a loud whistle that it almost broke Mom's eardrum. In his excitement he had forgotten he was sitting right beside Mom's ear !! This was the perfect answer to Petey's idea about hoping to make the trip. Of course, he was sorry to hear that Santa had a broken leg but he just knew that he and Chris could do it !

 Rudolph showed up right on time and  told Petey to just hop onto his back and they'd be at the workshop in a flash. WOW !... talk about jet propelled !!! It seemed as if Petey had barely grabbed hold of Rudolph's collar  when they landed in front of the toy shop ! That reindeer sure knew how to fly ! Chris was right there to meet them  and as soon as Petey hopped onto his shoulder he  said ... " Hi Petey ! ... now .. let's go see my Grandpa ."

 Petey was a bit nervous even though he had met Santa before and he had always thought Santa was just about the neatest guy in the whole entire world the way he made so many children happy at Christmas time. He sure did hope Santa would agree to let he and Chris help him this year. He wanted to do this more than anything he had ever done in his whole entire life. As Chris told Santa their plan he saw Santa's eyebrows climb higher and higher and his big grin seemed to totally disappear. He was not at all happy with their plan ! NO  WAY was anyone else making that trip ! NOTHING had ever stopped him before and nothing was going to stop him this time !  BUT ...it seems even Santa  can be human after all.. he forgot one very big thing... Mrs Claus. As they had been explaining their plan to Santa she had come into the toy shop and listened to the entire conversation. When Santa had finished his speech  she said very, very quietly ... " Santa Claus , you will listen to Chris. There is absolutely no way you are able to make the trip this year. I will not allow you to set even one foot in that sleigh .. is that clear ?"

Santa  tried to convince her that he HAD to do it but  she told him  ... " be quiet ... Chris and his friend Petey  will do just fine ... after all, Rudolph will be looking after them  and hasn't he always looked after you pretty well? And don't forget.. you have been telling me ever since Chris was born that you wanted him to take over for you some day... well this will be a good way to give him some really great on-the-job training ! It's settled .. Chris and Petey are doing the trip this year."

 After a whole lot of 'harrumping' and 'buts' Santa finally agreed but he insisted that he would  supervise every single step as they made the preparations for the trip. He already had the Elves packing everything ready to load on the sleigh and the Reindeer had all been  prepared for the trip. He had his list all ready and wanted to go over it all with them to be absolutely certain they didn't miss even one of the children. That would take a couple of days at least  so Petey would have to stay at the North Pole right until Christmas Eve. He told Petey he would send a message to Pixie that Petey wouldn't be back home until Christmas morning and tell her not to worry.

 Now, the hard work started ! They had so much to  do before Christmas Eve and they had to learn all the special stuff only Santa knew. Like the fact that he really didn't do it all alone after all.  He had a whole crew of Angels who helped him as well ! They were the Childrens' Christmas Angels and it was their job to help Santa make very certain that no child was forgotten or overlooked. No matter where they lived in the world  ... if they believed in Santa they MUST be visited on Christmas Eve because each and every child on this planet had an absolute right to be happy on Christmas morning.

Santa suggested that Petey should be in charge of the list  of children and Chris would be the one actually  taking over the deliveries. Of course, Rudolph would do as always and navigate. He explained to Petey that he thought  it best Petey be in charge of the list as he knew that way no child would be forgotten. Chris was going to be too busy sorting out who was getting what to worry about keeping track of the names and addresses. Santa also knew that Petey was such a smart little guy that he would learn how to read faster than Chris. Chris had only just started school  this year and was not reading too well yet.

 While Chris and Rudolph worked with the Elves packing the sleigh Santa spent most of his time with Petey making sure he had the list memorized.  In record time everything and everyone was ready and even Santa began to relax as he realized they were going to do just fine. They even had time to enjoy the Elves' Workshop Christmas party the day before Christmas Eve.

 Now, it was Christmas Eve  and time to  take off. Mrs Claus, Santa, and all the Elves were all  beaming as the sleigh took off. Petey was so excited he thought he should pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He was really and truly going to be a part of spreading happiness around the world to all of the children on Santa's list.  What more could a guy ask ? Bringing a smile to the face of a child had to be the best present of all. And he was getting a chance to help bring smiles to the faces of millions of children all over the world ! No wonder Santa was always so happy. He got to do this every year !

 Because Chris and Petey had promised Santa that they would not tell any of his special secrets,  the details of the trip  would have to remain their secret forever, but they would always know what had happened and  he knew he would not ever forget  one single minute of this wonderful journey. Everything had gone perfectly and as they circled for a landing back at the North Pole as daylight was making it's appearance Petey just had to tell Chris what a super fantastic job  he had done filling in for his Grandfather. Chris had acted as if he had been doing this trip all his life. He had not hesitated for a second even once. Even the houses without chimneys hadn't been a problem. Everything went like clockwork. 

 Of course, Rudolph had been a very big part of the success of the trip. He had been there every step of the way pointing out things  they didn't know, or reminding them of things they might have forgotten if he hadn't been there with them, and even making suggestions to make things easier for them.  And he did all that without ever sounding like a know-it-all. He was one neat Reindeer! The other Reindeer had been fantastic as always of course, but Rudolph was definitely  deserving of the biggest gold star  they could find.  Weeell, maybe  not a gold star, maybe Rudolph would rather have a great big carrot. Whatever he wanted, he darn well deserved it ! 

As the sleigh landed Santa came hurrying out of the workshop on his crutch with a huge grin on his face and right behind him was Mrs Claus with hot chocolate for Chris, carrots for all the Reindeer, and a huge piece of lettuce for Petey. She looked at her watch and said only one thing ."sorry Petey but you have to take right off again ... It's almost daylight where you live too and I know you want to be there when your children wake up ..  so Rudolph you have one more job to do  before you can rest ... take our very special friend home to be with his family."

 Although Petey would have liked to talk for hours about the trip  with Chris and Santa he also knew Pixie would be waiting for him  and  he really did want to be there when the kids woke up. After all, bringing happiness to children around the world was wonderful and very rewarding but  bringing happiness and love to your own children was the very best of all. He quickly shook hands with Santa and Chris, said goodbye to the Reindeer and the Elves and thanked Mrs Claus for everything, and hopped up onto Rudolph's collar once more. Before he could say another word they were airborne and almost before he could blink he was home. Wow ! that Rudolph sure did know how to travel !

He wasn't quite sure how to explain to Pixie and Mom just how much this adventure had meant to him. How do you possibly put into words the happiness you feel when you know you have played a part in bringing happiness to so many others? Knowing that children are really the same all over the world and that it only takes love and kindness to communicate with them even if there are differences in languages and customs is maybe the most important lesson that he had learned from this adventure. He sure did wish he could pass that lesson along to everyone. It definitely would make the world a whole lot happier place.

 For now though .. he just wanted to show his own kids how much he loved them and to wish them the Merriest Christmas ever !   Then, after he got some sleep,  maybe he would think of a way to  somehow get others to understand the lesson he had learned from his magical Christmas adventure. After all, it wasn't only at Christmastime that it was important to be kind and bring happiness to others.