Book Sample

The Making of Christmas

A Story of Theo and Santa's Magical Team

by Theodore A. Franks

When the video ends, many of the Elves and Helpers have tears in their eyes. They now understand how important their work is. Because of their work, the little girl will learn how to be a kind mommy one day. The little boy will learn to love spending time with his daddy. And the two brothers will learn how to share and work together. These special lessons are made possible by Santa, Mrs. Claus, the Elves, and the Helpers, all working together for the children.

Santa looks out at the crowd, and now he has tears in his eyes. He grins and asks, “My dear Elves and Helpers, do you have any questions?” Everyone answers together, “No, Santa! When can we get back to work?” Santa bellows, “Ho Ho Ho! A new year begins. Another year of love and magic for the children!”

The Making of Christmas: A Story of Theo and Santa’s Magical Team is a classic Christmas story with a fresh and distinctive premise. While many children believe Santa’s elves simply make the toys, this story reveals the extraordinary organization behind Christmas itself, the teamwork, care, and unseen effort required to ensure that every child, everywhere, experiences the same sense of magic and belonging on Christmas morning. Written with warmth and sincerity, this book is designed to comfort and uplift. I believe there is a strong and enduring audience for stories like this, stories parents and grandparents want to share, and children want to return to year after year. Below is the first five chapters of the book. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

Chapter Five – What Christmas really means to children

The first video shows a little girl sitting by a Christmas tree. She opens her gift and sees it is a baby doll. She jumps up and yells, “Mommy! Daddy! I have my very own doll! Thank you!” Her mommy asks, “What will you name your doll?” The little girl hugs the doll and says, “I will name her Baby. I will love her and take care of her, just like you take care of me. You are such a good mommy. I want to be just like you.” Her mommy and daddy sat together with happy tears in their eyes.ristmas presents.

The next video shows a boy opening his gift. Inside is an RC car. The boy’s eyes grow wide. He shouts, “Mommy! Daddy! I always wanted an RC car! How did Santa know? Can I play with it outside? Daddy smiles and says, “We sure can” The boy says, “Thank you, Mommy and Daddy! The next part of the video shows the boy and his dad outside. They are playing with the RC car together. The boy hugs his dad and says, “Daddy, I love spending time with you.

The Making of Christmas - A Story of Theo and Santa's Magical Team

Chapter Four – Santa gathers his Magical Team

After Christmas was over, the time off felt very long. Then, like the blink of an eye, the break is done. During the week, Santa heard about the complaints. As the days passed, there were fewer complaints. Still, Santa knows the start of a new Christmas season is very important.

The first thing to do is have a big meeting in the Village Square with all the Elves and Helpers. Mrs. Claus walks up to Santa with a worried look. “Santa,” she says, “if some Elves and Helpers are still unhappy, how will we finish our work and deliver toys to the children?” Santa smiles with rosy cheeks and a twinkle in his eye. “Mama,” he says, “we have been doing this for a long time. I have a plan. I will remind everyone why we do this work. Christmas is about love and magic for the children. And this year, I have a surprise for everyone. Come on, dear. Let’s go to the Village Square.”

The Village Square is full of Santa’s Elves and Helpers. It is an amazing sight. When Santa steps up to speak, everyone is quiet. Santa looks rested and happy. There is a twinkle in his eye. “My dear Elves and Helpers,” Santa says, “it is so good to see you. I hope you enjoyed your week of rest. I know I did. Every year, there are more children and more toys to deliver. This year will be the same.”

Santa pauses and then asks, “I have said many times about what makes Christmas special. Can you tell me what makes Christmas special?” All at once, the Elves and Helpers shout, “Christmas is about love and magic for the children.”

“That’s right!” Santa says with a smile. “Instead of just telling you about love and magic, I want to show you what your hard work really means.” Suddenly, as if by magic, big screens appear all around the Village Square. A video starts to play. It shows children opening their Christmas presents.

Chapter Three – Santa, we have a problem

Santa is just waking up when there is a knock at the door. Mrs. Claus opens it and sees the leaders of Santa’s Magical Team standing outside. There is Happy Elf, the leader of all the Elves. Snowflake White, leader of toy coolness. Jingle Bell, leader of making the toys. Ginger Snap, leader of Santa’s Helpers. Angel Fly, leader of the reindeer. And Alair Cheer, leader of Letters to Santa. Mrs. Claus looks surprised and just a little bit unhappy.

Happy Elf speaks first. “Mrs. Claus, we know you said not to interrupt Santa this week so he can rest. We are sorry to bother you, but we have a big problem. We need Santa to know about it. It will only take a minute.”

Mrs. Claus smiles and gives a friendly wink. “All right,” she says. “Come inside. It is very cold out there. Santa just woke up. Why don’t you tell me the problem, and I will tell Santa?” Happy Elf replied, “Thank you, Mrs. Claus.” The team leaders come in and sit at the table. They all look worried and serious. Mrs. Claus says “You and your teams worked hard to make Christmas happen. I can see you are worried. Whatever it is, I know Santa can help. Take a deep breath and tell me what is wrong.”

One by one, the leaders told her what they heard in Santa’s Hall. Many of the Elves and Helpers are tired. It is not just a few of them, it is a lot of them. Happy Elf said, “Mrs. Claus, we are worried that next year we will not have enough Elves and Helpers to make Christmas happen.”

Just then, Santa walks into the room. He says, “Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas! I heard everything, and I promise you; everything will be okay.” The leaders look surprised. “Santa,” they say, “how can you be so sure? We are worried.” Santa smiles. “I hear this every year after Christmas, the Elves and Helpers are very tired. When people are tired, they grumble. It is really okay that they do that.”

Happy Elf asks, “Why is that okay?” Santa replies, “The Elves and Helpers work with their hearts. Sometimes those hearts feel tired. Talking about those feelings helps. After they rest and talk, they remember why they do this. They do it for the children.”

Santa continued, “In one week, we will meet in the Village square. I will talk to everyone about love and magic for children. They will be ready again. Christmas happens because of love.” Santa smiled warmly. “Now go home. Enjoy your week off.”

Mrs. Claus and the team leaders stand there with wide eyes. They already feel better. Everything will be okay. When they leave, Mrs. Claus hugs Santa tightly. “Santa,” she says, “you are wonderful. You are right. Christmas comes from our hearts.” Santa laughs with a twinkle in his eye. “Mama,” he said, “I’m glad you think I am wonderful, but after all I am just Santa Claus.”

Chapter Two – A little time off to grumble

The next morning, Santa’s Village was quiet. Santa, Mrs. Claus, the Elves, and the Helpers all slept in. They had worked very hard to make Christmas happen. They know why, it is all for the children.

Each year after Christmas, everyone takes the next week off. They sleep, rest, and spend time with family and friends. Sometimes they even grumble a little about working so hard. And every year, there are more children and more toys to deliver on Christmas Eve.

During the year, breakfast in Santa’s Village usually starts at 5 o’clock as there is so much work to do. But today is different. Today, there is a special brunch at 11 o’clock to give everyone a little extra time to sleep in.

All the meals are served in Santa’s Hall. The Hall is big, with long tables that can fit everyone. It is filled with Christmas decorations. The decorations stay up all year, because in Santa’s Village, it is always Christmas. At each end of the Hall there are big fireplaces with warm fires burning. After all, the North Pole is a really cold place.

Since everyone is together, the Elves and Helpers have time to talk. This time, the talk is not just about happy things. Some of them start to grumble.

“Every year there are more toys,” one Elf said. “How can we keep up?”

“I know we do this for the children,” said another, “but we get tired too.”

A Helper sighed and said, “I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this.”

Another whispered, “Every year I think about leaving. Can I really keep going?”

Santa has a Magical Team. He cannot get children their toys without them. Just like any team, Santa’s team has team leaders. Some of the leaders help decide which toys are the coolest. Some of the leaders help make the toys. Others make sure the toys do not break. There are leaders that take care of the reindeer. Other leaders deliver letters to Santa. These are just a few parts of Santa’s Magical Team.

The team leaders eat in Santa’s Hall too, just like the Elves and Helpers. While they are eating, they hear the grumbling. This makes them feel worried. When brunch is over, the leaders decide they need to talk to Santa. They want him to know what is being said in the Hall. If the Elves and Helpers stopped working and left, Christmas would not happen.

Chapter One – Another Christmas is finished

It is a cold, snowy, and windy night in Santa’s Village. Everything is quiet. The Elves and Helpers had finished all their work. Everyone was finished, except Santa Claus and his loyal reindeer.

Santa was late coming home. Mrs. Claus is beginning to worry. She thinks, “I know Santa has a big job delivering gifts to children all over the world, but he has never been this late. I hope he comes home soon.” Just then, the front door slowly opens. Santa walks in. A cold, snowy wind rushes into the warm house. Mrs. Claus felt so happy. She hugs Santa tight, kisses his cheek, and says, “Santa, I was so worried about you. You have never been this late. I am so glad you are home.”

Mrs. Claus looked at Santa and sees how tired he is. “Oh my,” she said, “you look more tired than ever.” Santa smiled and looked into her eyes. “You’re right, Mama,” he says. “This Christmas was harder than ever. There are more children every year and more toys to deliver. But we do it for the children. It is not just me who is tired. The reindeer work hard pulling my sleigh. The Elves work hard making toys. And our Helpers work all year to keep everything going. I will keep doing this as long as there are children. We all do this with love and magic for the children.”

The last video shows two brothers sitting by the Christmas tree. The older brother opens his gift. Inside is an Xbox. When he sees it, he feels so happy. He had always wanted one. He smiles and thinks, “I wrote to Santa this year. He got my letter. Thank you, Santa.” His little brother asks, “I love Xbox. Can we play with it together?”

The older brother thinks for a moment and replies, “This is my gift from Santa, but we can share it. Yes, I will help you learn how to play.” The little brother jumps up and hugs him. “Thank you!” he said. “I will learn fast. This will be so much fun!” The boys were learning something important, how to share and work together.