The weather outside was frightful but inside the Wee Kiwi's were having a delightful evening.   It was Christmas eve and they were bundled snugly in their flannel pajama's and drinking hot cocoa while Grandma Kiwi baked a huge batch of gingerbread cookies. Stasha and Aubrey were very tired from making snow people all day and helping Grampa Kiwi shovel piles of snow off the driveway. It had been a very busy day.

Soon, it was time to snuggle in and go to sleep.   Santa Claus was on his way and the little Kiwi's knew he couldn't visit until they were fast asleep. They poured him a glass of chilly milk, put 3 warm gingerbread cookies on a plate and left a pile of carrots and celery for the hungry reindeer. Grandma Kiwi read them a story and then tucked them in for the night. It wasn't long before they were both dreaming of Christmas morning.

A few hours later, as everyone snored in their beds, there was a loud "BANG" on the roof. Stasha and Aubrey immediately woke up and looked at each other. "What do you think that is?" asked Stasha. Aubrey only stared, her eyes as big as saucers, and shook her head.

The girls listened a moment more and then........"BANG!" went the sound again. With that, Aubrey leapt out of her bed and ran to Stasha's, cozying up beside her. "I think I know what that sound is." whispered Stasha. "I think it's Santa Claus!" "Do you really think so?!" Aubrey replied, smiling. Stasha nodded her head slowly and grinned back at her sister.

The Wee Kiwi's both tiptoed out of their room and snuck down the hall like little mice. They poked their noses around the corner leading into the living room to see what they could see. It was very dark except for the twinkling white lights on the Christmas tree but in the shadows they could clearly see a man wearing a big hat and shiny black boots. The girls looked at each other excitedly and then peeked back around the corner. They watched as the man fiddled with packages under the tree, straightened a few ornaments and then went about eating the gingerbread cookies. The Wee Kiwi's still could not see clearly in the dark but they were quite sure it was Santa Claus right there in their living room.

Stasha pulled Aubrey back down the hall. "We had better go back to bed before he sees us and decides not to leave our presents." she whispered. Aubrey agreed and they tiptoed back to their room and snuggled into bed. Both girls drifted off to sleep dreaming of sugar plums and dancing fairies.

The next morning, before the sun was even up, Stasha awoke. She stretched and yawned before remembering that it was now Christmas morning!  She jumped out of bed and pounced onto her sister. "Aubrey, Aubrey, wake up!  It's Christmas!" she shouted.  Both girls pulled their robes around them and went running down the hall to the living room.  There, under the tree, they saw two shiny new bicycles with helmets and safety gear for both of them. They both squealed with delight.

They were so excited they didn't even notice their daddy sleeping in the chair by the table. It wasn't until Aubrey heard him snore that they saw him. There sat their daddy in his fireman's uniform, still wearing his big black boots and shiny yellow helmet. Beside him on the floor was a big red bag filled with packages. He had fallen asleep right there at the table with a gingerbread cookie still in his hand.

The girls looked at each other and shrugged. "I guess that wasn't Santa Claus we saw last night." said Aubrey. Stasha shook her head. "Nope, I guess not." She replied. "Maybe Santa Claus isn't real after all." Both the girls frowned in disbelief. Daddy continued to snore loudly, his head resting on the table. Stasha and Aubrey were very disappointed that it wasn't Santa Claus they saw in their living room. Just then they heard that same sound they had heard the night before. "BANG!" They were quite startled and both of them said, "EEK!" They held each other tight wondering what the noise could be this time.

And then, with a flurry of soot and a they heard a thud at the bottom of the fireplace.   The Wee Kiwi's slowly peeked into the cloud of dust and there, in his shiny black boots, big floppy hat and fluffy red suit stood Santa Claus. The girls were so surprised that they didn't say a word. "Good morning, little Kiwi's." he said with a giggle. "I'm sorry to drop in on you like this but I think I left my bag here and I still have presents to deliver to the children of the world." Stasha and Aubrey still could not say a word and only watched as Santa grabbed his heavy bag and threw it over his shoulder.

Before he went back up the chimney though he gave the girls a pat on the head. "When your daddy wakes up please tell him thank you for me." Said Santa, smiling. "Wha....wha....what for?" Aubrey stammered. "For helping me out last night. There were so many fireplaces that had fires in them that I needed a fireman to come along and put the fires out for me before I could hop down the chimney. Your daddy put out more than 3,000 fires last night!" The girls looked at each other and beamed.

When they looked back they saw Santa disappearing up the chimney with a twinkle and twitch of his nose. "We have the best daddy in the world." Said Stasha. "We sure do!" said Aubrey. They both got a quilt from the couch and laid it over their tired, snoring daddy, still fast asleep at the table. Stasha and Aubrey agreed that this Christmas was the best one ever!