It was Christmas morning on Sesame Street. Everyone woke up bright and early and opened their presents Santa Claus left for them. Then after all the presents have been opened, Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and Zoe went to the Furry Arms on the 9th floor, which was the top floor, to visit Lexi and her mother, Joyce since those three are Lexi's best friends.
"Hello kids," said Joyce, answering the door and seeing Elmo, Abby, and Zoe. "Come on in."
The three went inside the suite and went into the living room.
"Why don't you sit on the couch while I make you some hot chocolate?" said Joyce, going into the kitchen.
Elmo, Abby, and Zoe sat on the couch while Joyce was making the hot chocolate.
"Merry Christmas, everyone," said Sherlock Hemlock, entering the living room.
"Oh hi, Mr. Hemlock!" said Elmo.
"Merry Christmas!" said Abby and Zoe.
"Glad you're able to come to the Furry Arms to spend time together," said Sherlock.
"How come you're not in your apartment room above the Fix-It Shop?" asked Zoe.
"Lexi's mother wanted me to come over and spend time with her and her child," said Sherlock. "Joyce and I are good friends, you know."
"How nice," said Abby, with a smile.
"Woof woof!" barked Watson the Dog.
"Okay kids," said Joyce, coming back into the room with cups of hot chocolate on a plate. "Here's the hot cocoa."
"With yummy marshmallows?" asked Elmo.
"Yes," said Joyce. "With marshmallows inside."
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!" cried Elmo, Abby, and Zoe.
"One for Elmo. One for Abby. And one for Zoe," said Joyce, giving the kids each one cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows on top.
"Thanks Lexi's mommy," said Elmo.
"Yeah thanks," said Abby.
"You're welcome," said Joyce. "Enjoy."
"Oh, how I love Christmastime," said Zoe.
"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire," sang Abby.
"Elmo loves the Christmas tree," said Elmo.
"And I love the toys under the tree on Christmas Day," said Abby.
"And I love the holiday cookies," said Zoe. "Yummy!"
"Oh yes!" said Abby. "I love cookies!"
"Elmo wishes it was Christmas every day!" said Elmo.
"Me too!" said Zoe.
"Me three!" said Abby.
"Wait a minute," said Sherlock Hemlock, trying to settle the kids down. "Hold it, hold it. Christmas every day?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" cried the three kids.
"Children?" said Sherlock, sitting on the couch with them. "Did Lexi ever tell you the story about the time she saved Christmas? And then almost lost it again?"
"How did she do it?" said Abby.
"Yes! How, how?!" said Zoe.
"Elmo wants to hear the story!" said Elmo.
"Woof!" barked Watson.
"Alright," said Sherlock, with a chuckle. "I'll tell you. It all began on Christmas Eve, which was on the 24th of December. And everyone on Sesame Street was getting ready for Father Christmas to arrive that night…"
It was Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. Every resident was getting ready for the big man in red to come to their town when night falls.
"Hang the star upon the tree, it's Christmas again," everyone sang. "Candy canes for you and me, it's Christmas again. With jingle bells and pine tree smells and peace on earth to men. So wave the turkey leg on high. Hooray for mince and pumpkin pie. And Santa Claus up in the sky. It's Christmas again!
"Here you go, Lexi," said Alan, giving 10-year-old Muppet, Lexi a plate of decorated sugar cookies.
"Wow!" said Lexi, looking at the plate of cookies. "These cookies look delicious, Alan! What kind are they?"
"Sugar cookies," said Alan.
"Mmmm…" said Lexi. "I can't wait to give these to Santa tonight along with some healthy white milk. Well, I gotta get home now. Thank you, Alan."
"You're welcome," said Alan, with a smile. "And merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas to you, too," said Lexi, walking away from Hooper's Store. "Whoa…I have a lot of yummy, yummy cookies to put near the window for Santa Claus. And this year, I'll definitely see Santa go through the window and eat the cookies and drink the milk. You see, ever since my mother and I moved to Sesame Street, every Christmas, Santa goes through the window of our living room since I live at the Furry Arms Hotel. And hotels don't have chimneys. They have windows. Anyways, when I go to bed tonight, I won't fall asleep like I did last year. No, no, no. Not at all."
When she went past 123 Sesame Street, Cookie Monster appeared next to her.
"Hello Lexi!" said Cookie Monster.
"Oh!" said Lexi, jumping a bit while holding onto the cookies. "Cookie Monster! You scared me!"
"Sorry…" said Cookie Monster, then seeing the plate of cookies. "Ooooooh, those cookies too heavy for little Muppet like you to carry. Hey, how about me eat one cookie or two? You know, maybe lighten your load."
"No Cookie Monster," said Lexi, pulling the cookies towards herself.
"Well, how about half a cookie?" said Cookie Monster. "Maybe crumbs, okay?
"No Cookie Monster!" said Lexi. "These cookies are for Santa Claus!"
"Ooooooh!" said Cookie Monster. "Why you not say so?! Cookies for Santa Claus!"
"That's right," said Lexi, nodding her head.
"Say no more!" said Cookie Monster. "Case closed."
He put on a fake white beard and a Santa hat as he said, "Ho ho ho! Me Santa Claus! Me come for cookies! Ho ho ho ho! And a couple of ha ha ha's!"
"No, no, no!" said Lexi, with a laugh. "You're not Santa Claus! You're Cookie Monster!"
Lexi leaves as she sang, "There's smiling Christmas faces and a lot of Christmas cheer!"
"Yuck!" sang Oscar, in his trash can. "Which really makes me grateful that it's only once a year!"
"Oh! Buy a Christmas tree from a monster who is blue," sang Grover, who was selling Christmas trees. "It will make you happier and I'll be happy, too."
Then a tree fell on him.
"Aaaah!" said Grover, getting the tree off of him. "While they last…"
Next to 123 Sesame Street was Big Bird's nest. And Big Bird was with his best friend, Mr. Snuffleupagus as Snuffleupagus was getting ready to go somewhere out of town.
"So long, Bird," Snuffleupagus said to Big Bird. "I'm going to Cincinnati to spend Christmas with my granny."
"You mean…This is goodbye?" said Big Bird, a little sad.
"Yes Bird," said Snuffleupagus. "But of course, it's only for one day."
"Just for one day?" said Big Bird, all surprised.
"Yeah," said Snuffleupagus. "I'll be back on the 26th, which is the day after Christmas."
"Sure, the day after Christmas," said Big Bird. "Well, have a good time, old pal."
"Thanks Bird," said Snuffleupagus, heading his way. "Goodbye and merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Snuffy," said Big Bird, then sighing. "I'm sure going to miss him. But he'll be back."
Meanwhile, in the North Pole at Santa's Workshop, the elves were loading the millions and millions of toys into a giant sack on Santa's sleigh.
"We whistle while we work making toys for Santa's sleigh," sang the elves. "When Christmastime is over, we get a holiday!"
"With jingle bells and pine tree smells and peace on earth to men," everyone on Sesame Street sang. "So wave the turkey leg on high. Hooray for mince and pumpkin pie. And Santa Claus up in the sky. It's Christmas again!"
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!" everyone cheered.
"That's one, one Christmas tree and one Christmas," said the Count. "Ah ah ah."
Back at the Furry Arms in the present day, Abby, Elmo, and Zoe were listening to the story Sherlock was telling.
"So Lexi went home and hung her stocking by the window," said Sherlock.
"Don't you mean by the fireplace?" said Abby.
"No," sad Sherlock. "The Furry Arms doesn't have a chimney. So people who are in hotels put their stockings near the window."
"Isn't that a unique way?" said Joyce.
"I guess so," said Zoe. "You see, I have a chimney at home."
"Elmo does, too," said Elmo.
"And me," said Abby.
"Well, you three live in regular apartments," said Joyce.
"Anyway," said Sherlock. "Lexi put out the plate of cookies and a glass of milk for Father Christmas…"
Back on Christmas Eve, it was finally night time. And Lexi finally reached the Furry Arms as she went into her suite and placed the plate of cookies on the nightstand as well as the glass of milk. Then she got her pajamas on and went into the living room to watch Christmas specials on TV before heading to bed. But she wasn't planning on going to bed tonight.
"I'm going to sit right here," said Lexi, "and wait for Santa Claus to come through the window and eat the cookies and drink the milk. I will stay up all night. I will not fall asleep this year. Nuh uh. Not me, Lexi."
A few minutes later, Lexi fell asleep on the couch. When just then, she heard a voice.
"Huh?" said Lexi, waking up. "What was that? I hear someone."
She got off the couch and went to see what was going on. She then saw Santa Claus at the window. But he was stuck.
"Santa!" said Lexi. "Is that you?!"
"Yes, get me out of here!" said Santa Claus.
"It IS Santa!" said Lexi. "And he's stuck in the window! I better get him out!"
She turned to Santa and said to him, "Don't worry, Santa! I'll pull you out!"
She grabbed Santa's arms as he came flying into the living room and landed on the floor
"Thanks Lexi," said Santa. "I've got millions of toys to deliver. And I got stuck in the window."
"If only the Furry Arms had a chimney," said Lexi.
"That's alright," said Santa. "Anyways, do you know how long I've been going down chimneys?"
"No," said Lexi, shaking her head. "How long?"
"Before you were born," said Santa. "And I never got stuck. Never."
"Oh," said Lexi.
Just then, a small male reindeer came out of Santa's big bag of presents.
"Lightning!" said Santa.
"Hi!" said the reindeer.
"Wow!" said Lexi. "I got a reindeer for Christmas! Hooray!"
"No Lexi," said Santa. "He's one of mine."
"Darn…" said Lexi.
"A reindeer in training and a stowaway," said Santa, then saying to Lightning, "What's the story, Lightning?"
"Gee whiz, sir," said Lightning. "I just wanted to ride in your sleigh to see how it feels. I know I'm going to pull it someday. And if a reindeer gets hurt tonight, I could fill in. I'm fast and I'm strong!"
"You're young and you're grounded," said Santa.
"Awww…" said Lightning, looking down.
"Look, I've could've been stuck in the window all night," said Santa. "Then what would happen? They're would've been no Christmas because of you. And as for you, Lexi, you are a sweet little hero."
"I am?" said Lexi.
"When you pulled me out of the window, you saved Christmas for kids all over the world," said Santa. "So I am giving you a very special Christmas present."
"Oh goodie goodie!" said Lexi, getting excited. "What is it, Santa?"
Santa pulled out a brown teddy bear with a pink bow and a tiny snow globe and said, "This little teddy bear or this magical snow globe."
"I like the bear," said Lexi, holding her teddy bear. "Then Teddy will have a new friend."
"Of course, with the globe, you get three wishes," said Santa.
"Really?!" gasped Lexi.
"I would go for the globe," said Lightning.
"Good idea!" said Lexi, taking the little snow globe. "Wow…How do I make a wish?"
"Just shake it and say "Blitzen!"," said Santa.
"Okay, here it goes," said Lexi, making his wish as she shook the snow globe. "Blitzen!"
Then a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting appeared on the nightstand.
"It works!" said Lexi, happily. "Hooray!"
"You wished for a chocolate cake?" said Santa, all confused.
"Uh huh!" said Lexi.
"But why?" asked Lightning.
"Because I was hungry," said Lexi. "And I love chocolate!"
She grabbed a slice of the cake and took a bit out of it,
"Mmmm," said Lexi, licking her lips. "Yummy yum yum!"
"But you could've had anything," said Lightning.
"A life time supply of chocolate cake?" said Lexi.
"A castle," said Santa. "A kingdom."
"A fire engine," said Lightning. "And I mean a real one, not a toy."
"Oh," said Lexi.
"Lexi?" Santa said to Lexi.
"Yes Santa?" said Lexi.
"You got two more wishes," said Santa. "Don't wish them."
"Alright," said Lexi.
"As for you, Lightning," said Santa.
"Uh oh…" said Lightning.
"You are on my naughty list," said Santa. "Now out the window. And sit on the back of the sleigh."
"Awww darn," said Lightning, going through the window.
"And fasten your seatbelt!" reminded Santa, then turning to Lexi and saying to her. "I gotta go now, Lexi. I got chimney's to go down and toys to deliver."
"Okay Santa," said Lexi.
He then grabs the cookies and eats them as well as drinking the milk.
"Oh, my mother said if you eat too many cookies, you'll get really big," said Lexi.
"Your mother is right," said Santa. "Thanks for the cookies and milk."
"You're welcome," said Lexi. "And thanks for the snow globe. And merry Christmas!"
Santa goes through the window off to deliver the rest of the presents to the rest of the world.
"And that's how Lexi saved Christmas," said Abby.
"The end!" said Elmo.
"No, no, no," said Sherlock. "It's only the beginning. Remember Lexi had two wishes left. So the next morning on Christmas Day, she went outside to celebrate and tried to think of a good second wish.
"I wish for more bracelets!" said Zoe.
"I wish to get better at my magic," said Abby.
"Elmo wishes for him and his family, and Baby David to have a good Christmas," said Elmo. "And to everyone else.
"Woof woof!" barked Watson.
Sherlock laughed.
On Christmas Day, Lexi went outside with her new snow globe when she saw Gordon Robinson.
"Why good morning, Lexi," said Gordon.
"Morning Gordon," said Lexi. "Guess what? I saw Santa Claus last night."
"You did?" said Gordon. "But he only comes when you're asleep."
"Well, Santa gave me a special Christmas present," said Lexi, showing Gordon the snow globe.
"That's very nice of him," said Gordon, then giving Lexi a medium-sized present. "Oh, this is for you. From Susan, Miles, and me."
"Awww, thank you, Gordon," said Lexi, giving him a hug. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas to you, too, Lexi," said Gordon, walking away.
"Hi Lexi," said Maria Rodriguez.
"Oh hi, Maria," said Lexi. "Guess what?"
"What?" said Maria.
"I saw Santa Claus last night!" said Lexi.
"Aww, that's nice, Lexi," said Maria, with a smile.
"And he gave me this," said Lexi. "A magical snow globe. It's magic, I tell you! It's magic!"
"Hmm, I bet it is," said Maria, with a laugh.
She paused, pulled out a small present, and said, "Oh! Lexi. I want to give you this present."
"Really?!" said Lexi. "Aww, thank you, Maria!"
"You're welcome," said Maria, hugging Lexi. "Merry Christmas, Lexi."
"Merry Christmas to you, too, Maria," said Lexi.
When Maria left, then came Gina Jefferson.
"Hello Gina!" said Lexi. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas, Lexi," said Gina, giving her a large present. "Here, this is for you."
"Thank you, Gina," said Lexi, happily.
When Gina walked away, Lexi said to herself, "Ooooh, I love Christmas. Everyone stays home, gets presents, eats yummy treats, sing carols, and spend time with their families. How I do wish it was Christmas every day…"
She gasped and said, "Hey! That's my second wish!"
She cleared her throat and said as she looked at the snow globe, "For now on, I wish it was Christmas every day. Starting right away."
She shook the snow globe and cried, "Blitzen!" Then some magic appeared as everything went silent.
"Where's my wish?" Lexi said, looking around. "Everything looks the same. Where's Christmas every day?!"
"Things were quiet at Santa's Workshop," said Sherlock, continuing with the story. "The elves had finished making toys. And were planning their vacations. When suddenly…"
At Santa's Workshop, the Christmasometer started beeping an alarm.
"Hey, what's going on?!" asked a female elf.
"The Christmasometer is beeping!" said a male elf.
"The toy machine is going again!" said another male elf, seeing toys being made. "What exactly does this mean?!"
The elves gasped and said, "It's Christmas again?!"
"But we just had Christmas!" said another female elf.
"Well, we got it again!" said a third male elf. "Work stations! Everyone get to work!"
"What about our vacation?!" said the first female elf.
"Forget about it!" said the first male elf.
"Oh no!" said the female elf. "We've gotta tell our boss! Oh Santa! Santa!"
The two elves went into Santa's bedroom and said, "Santa! Santa! Help!"
"What's going on?" asked Santa.
"It's Christmas again!" said the female.
"It can't be!" said Santa, all surprised.
"Did you give someone three wishes again?!" said the male elf.
"I did," said Santa, with a sigh. "The little 10-year-old autistic Muppet who lives on Sesame Street. Her name is Lexi. I better go talk to her. Give me the sleigh and hitch up the reindeer!"
"But they're all sleeping," said the female elf. "Last night was tough."
"It's an emergency," said Santa. "Who else we got?"
"Me!" said Lighting, running to Santa.
"Lightning?" said Santa.
"He may be small, but he's very fast!" said the male elf.
"But he's a kid," said Santa.
"Yeah, but he's all we got!" said the female elf.
"Oh please, Santa!" said Lightning, begging. "Please Santa! Please! Santa, Santa, Santa! Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaase?!"
"Okay, okay!" said Santa. "Hitch him up!"
Back on Sesame Street, inside Hooper's Store, people were watching the small television behind the counter.
"We interrupt this program for a special news report," said the voice on the TV. "We take you now live to Kermit the Frog for a breaking news story. Kermit?"
"Thank you," said Kermit the Frog, on the TV. "Hi ho, Kermit the Frog here. Where everyone is suddenly buying more Christmas presents. Now as you know, last night was Christmas Eve when kids hung up their stockings. And this morning, they opened their presents. But here's the amazing news, folks. Tomorrow will be Christmas again."
Everyone gasped in shock.
"Christmas again?!" everyone said.
"So get ready for more Christmas, kids," said Kermit. "Because these folks are buying more Christmas presents and shopping like crazy. We now return to your regularly scheduled program."
"Yaaaaaaaaaaay!" said Lexi, jumping for joy. "I got my wish! It's going to be Christmas again!"
"That's one, two…Two Christmases," said the Count. "Ah ah ah."
"Christmas again?" said Alan, then shrugging. "Well, I've got some shopping to do."
Everyone left Hooper's Store and started to do their shopping again. Then on the 26th of December, it was Christmas again.
"Hang the tinsel on the tree, it's Christmas again," everyone sang. "Candy canes for you and me, it's Christmas again. Again, again, again, again, again, again, again! They're putting toys on Santa's sleigh. Today is just like yesterday. Cause Christmas hasn't gone away. It's Christmas again!"
"Again!" said Lexi, happily. "Hooray! Christmas again makes everyone happy, happy, happy!"
"Not quite everyone," said a voice, coming to her.
It was Santa Claus.
"It's Santa!" said Lexi.
"Lexi, what have you done?" said Santa, not happy.
"I wished for Christmas to be every day," said Lexi.
"But you can't have Christmas every day," said Santa.
"Yes you can," said Lexi.
"No you can't," said Santa.
"Yes," said Lexi.
"No," said Santa. "Lexi, if people don't work, who will make the things we need? And if kids don't go to school, how will they learn things and get an education?"
"I never thought about that…" said Lexi.
"Christmas every day is a really bad idea, Lexi," said Santa. "Forget about it."
"But why, Santa?" said Lexi.
"Because it's better to wait for Christmas and have it once year and have a life in between," said Santa. "Christmas is fun, but Christmas every day is too much."
He then paused and sang, "Everyday can't be Christmas. That wouldn't be such a treat. You can get tired of chocolate candy when that's all you eat. Every day can't be your birthday. That wouldn't be much fun. Too many birthdays aren't half as nice as one, that you wait for...Wait for joy and recall. That if every day was Christmas, there wouldn't be Christmas at all."
"But Santa, I want Christmas to be every day," said Lexi, not convinced. "You gave me three wishes. They're my wishes. And I wished it was Christmas every day!"
"I thought this would happen," said Santa, with a sigh. "I want you to see for yourself exactly what you wished for."
"How?" asked Lexi.
"I got you your own special sleigh and a reindeer you know who will pull it," said Santa.
"Who?" asked Lexi.
"Me!" said Lighting, tied to the front of the sleigh.
"Lightning!" said Lexi, all surprised.
"Check it out, Lexi!" said Lightning.
"You're going for a sleigh ride," said Santa.
"A sleigh ride?!" gasped Lexi. "Oh boy! This will be fun!"
"Where did Santa Claus want Lexi to go?" asked Abby.
"To the future," said Sherlock.
"What's the future?" asked Elmo.
"The future is tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and the day after that," said Sherlock.
"And the day after that?" said Zoe.
"That's right, Zoe," said Sherlock. "You see, Lightning could take Lexi there because he can fly very fast. Faster than time."
"Wooooooooooooooow…" said the kids.
Back on Sesame Street on the 26th, Lexi climbed into the small sleigh Santa gave to her to ride with Lightning and sat down in the sleigh.
"Now Lightning?" said Santa to Lightning.
"Yes sir?" said Lightning.
"I want you to fly past the morning sunrise into the days after tomorrow," said Santa. "So Lexi can see what Christmas will be like in the spring time, when it's warm. And in the summer, when it's hot. And in the winter, at Christmas time. So Lexi can really see if she really likes Christmas every day."
"Okay Santa," said Lightning.
"Do this well and maybe someday you can help pull my sleigh," said Santa.
"Sir yes sir!" said Lightning, all excited. "I'll do it! I'll do it!"
"You got your snow globe in your backpack?" Santa asked Lexi.
"Yes Santa," said Lexi.
"I would go with you," said Santa, "but thanks to you, I'm going down chimneys again. Now get going."
"Giddy up, Lightning!" said Lexi.
"Here we go!" said Lightning, started to pull the sleigh and fly into the sky. "We have liftoff!"
"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" said Lexi, giggling.
"Christmas every day…" said Santa, shaking his head. "Why didn't I give her the teddy bear instead?"
He sighed.
"And so, Lightning carried Lexi out of snowy winter," narrated Sherlock. "Lexi looked down and saw the world getting greener and greener until a puff of warm wind told Lexi it was springtime."
"This is fun!" said Lexi, enjoying herself. "Hehehehehe!"
"We're coming in on Sesame Street," said Lightning.
"Slow down!" said Lexi, holding on tight.
"I thought I was!" said Lightning. "Where should we land?"
"The park," said Lexi. "Weeeeeeeeee!"
They landed in the park with a crash.
"Boy, that was some landing, Lightning," said Lexi.
"Thank you very much, Lexi," said Lightning, then looking in front of him. "Hey look! We made it!"
"Wow!" said Lexi, amazed. "There's no snow! It's Christmas in springtime! Whoa…Oh! I've never seen Christmas with so many flowers. Everyone must be very happy. Come on, Lightning."
"Okay," said Lightning.
They go to the Arbor and saw everyone at the front of 123 Sesame Street.
"Merry Christmas!" said the Count. "Today makes 124 Christmases I've counted one after the other. Ha ha! And you think you think you're having fun, it's Christmas again! And it's springtime!"
"Cherry blossoms in the trees, it's Christmas again," everyone sang. "Tell ladybugs and bumblebees, it's Christmas again. The birds of spring go caroling in every glade and glen. The snow has melted clean away. There's only grass for Santa's sleigh. And though it's very warm for May. It's Christmas again!"
"Closed for Christmas," said Lightning, reading the sign on the door of the Fix-It Shop.
"Look at that," said Lexi, seeing a bunch of toasters on the table. "That's a lot of toasters."
Just then, Maria and her husband, Luis Rodriguez came with some presents in their hands.
"Hi Maria! Hi Luis!" said Lexi.
"Hi Lexi," said Luis.
"And who's this?" asked Maria, seeing Lightning.
"This is Lightning, my reindeer friend," said Lexi.
"Hello Maria and Luis," said Lightning.
"Hi there, Lightning," said Maria. "Nice to meet you."
"How come you two aren't fixing the toasters?" asked Lexi.
"We're too busy celebrating Christmas," said Luis.
"Yeah," said Maria. "Wrapping presents, unwrapping presents, cooking turkeys, eating turkeys…It's a full time job. Who has time to work?!"
They walked away with a laugh.
"Get your Christmas trees!" said Grover, from a few feet away. "Get your Christmas trees here! Get them while they last! Get your Tannenbaums here! We deliver! Get your Christ-"
He saw Lexi walking over to him and said, "Oh, hello there, Lexi."
"Hello Grover," said Lexi, then seeing a tree with no needles. "Say, is that the best tree you've got?"
"Why it is not only the best, Lexi," said Grover, "but the only tree I have. It has been Christmas for 124 days!"
"Tell me about it…" said Mr. Johnson.
"Oh, hi Mr. Johnson," said Lexi.
"Hi Lexi," said Mr. Johnson. "How are you?"
"Good," said Lexi.
"The forest almost cleaned out," said Grover, "but I have left is this little beauty for my customer, Mr. Johnson."
"But it has no needles," said Mr. Johnson. "That's a used Christmas tree."
"No, no, no," said Grover. "Not used, sir. Previously owned. One ornament on it."
"Well, if that's all you got," said Mr. Johnson, getting ready to leave, "forget about it."
"Wait, wait, wait!" said Grover, stopping him. "What I meant is, this is all I have in this size. Nobody buys the big ones, however, I do have a big one over there. But you would not be interested."
"Oh yes, I would!" said Mr. Johnson. "If that's all there is, I'll take it!"
"Okay," said Grover. "That'll be three dollars, please."
"Here you are," said Mr. Johnson, giving Grover three 1 dollar bills. "Follow me home."
"He should've added one more dollar for shipping," said Grover.
Grover then grabbed the big Christmas tree and started to drag it.
"Christmas every day has got to stop!" said Grover.
Meanwhile, at Big Bird's nest, Big Bird was writing a letter to Snuffleupagus.
"Your best friend, Big Bird," said Big Bird, writing the last of the letter.
He looked at his teddy bear and said to it, "Well Radar…I'm writing another letter to my best friend, Mr. Snuffleupagus. He's in Cincinnati spending Christmas Day with his granny. He's been there for 124 days now. Every day I write him the same letter because it's how I feel. Here, I'll read you one."
He picked up the letter that he had just written and read:
Dear Snuffy,
I miss you.
Your best friend,
Big Bird.
"There's just one big problem," said Big Bird. "It's Christmas. And on Christmas, they don't pick up mail."
He sighed and said, "Well, I guess he'll have to read them when he gets back. If he gets back…And if he can learn to read. Oh, I hope it stops being Christmas soon…"
"I don't think he's having so much fun," said Lightning, with a frown.
"But did you see all the toys Big Bird has?" said Lexi. "He'll have fun. I-I hope…So don't worry, Lightning. But despite that, Christmas is fun in the spring. Everything is going great. Christmas every day is wonderful! Now I want to see Christmas in summer time!"
"Okey dokey, Lexi!" said Lightning. "Let's go!"
"And the sled flew from spring when it was just warm, to summer when it gets really hot," narrated Sherlock.
"Where are we going, Lightning?" asked Lexi.
"How about the fourth of July?" suggested Lightning.
"Christmas in the fourth of July?!" said Lexi. "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"
They then landed with another crash.
"Well, that landing wasn't so bad," said Lightning.
"But it wasn't good," said Lexi.
"Look Lexi!" said Lightning.
"Wow!" said Lexi, seeing American flags everywhere. "It's Christmas in summertime!"
"Yeah!" said Lightning. "Let's check it out!"
They go to the Arbor.
"193," said the Count, shaking his head. "Happy Fourth of July. I have counted 193 straight Christmases on Sesame Street."
"Happy Independence Day, it's Christmas again," everyone sang. "Let the marching music play, it's Christmas again. So ring the bells and sing the wells to tell the minutemen. The stars and stripes are waving high. The fireworks are in the sky. And on this fourth day of July. It's Christmas again!"
"I like Christmas in the fourth of July," said Lexi.
"But look at all those toasters at the Fix-It Shop," said Lightning, seeing more toasters than before.
"Something tells me that Maria and Luis still aren't working," said Lexi.
Just then, Maria and Luis entered the scene.
"Are Maria and Luis still celebrating Christmas?" asked Lexi.
"Yes," said Maria. "Same old, same old."
"We've been eating turkey and watching "It's a Wonderful Life", "A Christmas Story", "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", "A Charlie Brown Christmas", "Frosty the Snowman", and many other Christmas specials for six months now," said Luis. "Not working in the Fix-It Shop because it's still Christmas."
"The work is really piling up," said Maria, looking at the table of toasters.
"Cause it's always Christmas," said Lexi.
"You know, I remember before it was always Christmas," said Luis. "We would open up the shop in the morning. We would wave hi to everyone going by."
"Yes," said Maria. "And they would bring us stuff to fix. And we would fix it. We worked!"
"But Maria," said Lexi, "Christmas is fun."
"I'm sick of having fun, Lexi!" said Maria, getting mad. "I want to fix toasters! I'm going to fix one right now!"
She grabbed a toaster, but all the toasters fell off the table and onto the ground.
"We'll never catch up…" said Maria, sadly.
"Lightning," Lexi said to Lightning. "Maybe Christmas every day doesn't make people happy like I thought."
"You said it, I didn't," said Lightning. "But you're right, maybe Christmas every day wasn't such a great idea. People seem to be getting sick of it."
"Hey!" said Oscar, opening his lid. "Speak for yourself, Bambi face! I love it! An ugly pile of toasters by the Fix-It Shop. Trash full of wrapping paper and worn out Christmas trees. And nothing on television but Christmas specials. Yeah, it's a bah humbug Christmas every day. Heh heh."
"Oh yeah, Oscar?" said Lexi. "Well, just you wait until it's a real Christmas again. With snow. Everyone will be happy. You'll see!"
"Sure hope not," said Oscar, closing his lid.
"Oh yes!" said Lexi, then saying to Lightning. "Come on, Lightning. Take me to the day when it's really Christmas."
"Okay Lexi," said Lightning.
"And so, Lightning took Lexi ahead in time to December 25th, the day that will call Christmas," narrated Sherlock. Lexi hoped people would be more into the Christmas spirit on that day."
"We're landing, we're landing!" said Lexi.
The sleigh landed on the ground, but with no crash this time.
"We've landed!" said Lightning.
"Where was the crash?" asked Lexi.
"I'm getting better at landing," said Lightning. "But look at Sesame Street…"
"Huh?" said Lexi, looking at Sesame Street, which was quiet and gray. "What happened to Sesame Street?"
"I don't know," said Lightning. "But there's snow on the ground. It sure look like the real Christmas."
"But it doesn't feel like it," said Lexi. "Where's the decorations? Where's the lights?"
They then saw the Count in front of the Furry Arms as Lexi said to him, "Merry Christmas, Count."
"Likewise…" said the Count.
"Well, this is the real Christmas Day, isn't it?" said Lightning.
"Ah yes," said the Count. "December 25th, once the official Christmas Day. This year, just Christmas number 365 and I am tired of counting them!"
"But you love to count, Count," said Lexi.
"My little friend," said the Count, "the Count is Christmased out. And so is Sesame Street. Come, I will show you."
The Count led Lexi and Lightning to the front of 123 Sesame Street where there were people trying to sing, but all had raspy voices and were coughing.
"I'm sorry," said Bob Johnson. "We sang so much that we lost our voices."
Everyone walked away.
"Oh no…" said Lexi. "No lights, no decorations, no singing. I thought this Christmas would be special."
"My dear child," said the Count, "when it's Christmas every day, Christmas is no longer special. Too bad, I loved counting Christmas cards."
The Count left.
Then Lightning and Lexi went to the stoop of 123 Sesame Street where Maria was trying to cheer up Big Bird, who was crying.
"Snuffy's been spending Christmas Day at his granny's for a whole year," said Big Bird, sobbing. "Every night I hoped Christmas will end and he'll come back. But every morning when I wake up, it's still Christmas."
"I know how you feel, Big Bird," said Maria, patting Big Bird's back.
"I'll never see him again!" said Big Bird, crying harder. "Never!"
"Awww," said Maria, frowning.
"What's wrong, Big Bird?" asked Lexi.
"I'm never going to see my best friend again," said Big Bird, still crying.
"What's that?" said Lexi, seeing Luis hammering a sign on the Fix-It Shop door that read "Out of Business". "What is Luis doing?"
"He's closing up the Fix-It Shop," said Maria, with tears in her eyes. "For good."
"No…" said Lexi, started to get sad. "You can't close the Fix-It Shop! I didn't want that to happen!"
"We can't work on Christmas," said Maria. "And since it's Christmas every day, we can't work at all!"
"But what will you do?" asked Lightning.
"That's a very good question, Lightning," said Maria. "What will we do?"
"Well, that's that," said Luis, walking to the group. "Goodbye Fix-It Shop."
The group left sadly leaving Lightning and Lexi on the stoop.
"I thought Christmas every day would make people happy," said Lexi, looking down. "But it's making them sad. The Fix-It Shop is closed, Big Bird is crying, nobody is celebrating. And the Count says Christmas isn't special anymore because it's every day."
She sighed sadly and said, "I guess Santa was right. Every day can't be Christmas."
Lexi then started to sing while walking around Sesame Street, "Everyday can't be Christmas. That wouldn't be such a treat. You can get tired of chocolate candy when that's all you eat. Every day can't be your birthday. That wouldn't be much fun. Too many birthdays aren't half as nice as one, that you wait for...Wait for joy and recall. That if every day was Christmas, there wouldn't be Christmas at all…"
She covered her face and started to cry.
"Hey, I heard that song before," said Santa, entering the sad scene.
"Santa Claus?" said Lexi, sniffing.
"Santa!" said Lightning. "What are you doing here?!"
"I'm telling all my reindeer in person," said Santa. "Lightning? I decided to retire."
"You mean you're not going to deliver Christmas presents anymore?" gasped Lightning, not believing his eyes.
"That's right," said Santa. "I'm getting out of business and moving to Florida."
"But there will be no Santa Claus, Santa," said Lexi.
"Yeah," said Lightning.
"Lexi, I can't carry heavy bags of toys every night, you know," said Santa. "I'm a senior citizen. Besides, nobody seems to care about Christmas anymore."
"Come on, Santa!" said one of the elves. "We're going to Walt Disney World!"
"I'm coming!" said Santa. "I gotta go. The elves are waiting for me."
"Wait Santa!" said Lexi. "What should I do about Christmas every day?"
"I wish I could help you," said Santa, "but I don't have a wish. If somebody had a wish, they could make Christmas the way it used to be."
He then turned to his reindeer and said, "Pull the sleigh!"
He left.
"A wish…" said Lexi. "Who has a wish?"
"You do, Lexi," said Lightning. "Remember? You have the snow globe. And you have one more wish left."
"Oh yeah!" said Lexi. "The snow globe! I remember now! I almost forgot!"
She takes the snow globe out of her backpack and said, "It was in my backpack. Okay everyone! I have a wish to make! Hey guys! Hello?!"
Everyone on Sesame Street came towards Lexi.
"Come on out, everybody!" said Lexi. "Gather round! I have great news! Santa gave me this magic snow globe. And I used it to wish for Christmas every day."
"You did what?!" everyone said, not happy.
"Lexi!" said Maria. "How could you!"
"But I have one wish left!" said Lexi. "Please don't be mad at me. I'm going to wish it was Christmas was what it used to be. One day a year."
"Lexi, wish for Christmas once a year," said Gina. "Please?"
"Yes please?" said the Count. "That's two pleases."
"Please?" said Bob.
"Please Lexi," said Big Bird. "So I can see Snuffy again?"
"Okay, here I go," said Lexi. "I wish that everything on Sesame Street was the way it used to be. When Christmas was only once a year."
She shook the snow globe, but lost her grip on it as it flew into the sky and landed on the ground as it broke into pieces.
Everyone gasped in horror.
"Oh no!" said Lexi. "Blitzen, Blitzen, Blitzen! Nooooooooooo! Now my wish won't come true!"
"It's Christmas forever," said Luis, all sad.
"Goodbye Snuffy," said Big Bird, starting to cry again.
Everyone left all sad.
"I'm sorry!" said Lexi, feeling bad. "Come back! Please! Ooooh, this is terrible! Now what'll we do?!"
Lexi started crying again.
"Don't cry, Lexi," said Lightning. "We'll think of something."
"But what can you do?" asked Lexi, wiping her tears with her sleeve.
"I can pull a sleigh, of course," said Lightning.
Lexi was then hit with an idea.
"Lightning, that's it!" said Lexi, as she gasped. "Maybe we can go back!"
"Back to where?" said Lightning.
"Back to when I pulled Santa out of the window into the living room on Christmas Eve night!" said Lexi. "You know, before I wished for Christmas every day!"
"Great idea, Lexi!" said Lightning. "If I can fly us here, I can fly us back! Let's do it, Lexi!"
"Let's go!" said Lexi, getting into the sleigh. "And this time, I'll chose the teddy bear!"
"And so Lightning took Lexi back," said Sherlock. "Back, back through fall and summer and spring to the Christmas Eve where it all started. With Lexi pulling Santa out of the window."
Lexi found herself pulling Santa into the living room of her suite. Then Lightning came out of the bag of toys.
"It worked!" said Lightning. "We're back to where we started! And it was your idea, Lexi! You saved Christmas!"
"That's right," said Santa. "You saved Christmas. When you pulled me out of the window, you saved Christmas for kids all over the world. So I am giving you a very special Christmas present."
Santa pulled out the brown teddy bear with a pink bow and the tiny snow globe and said, "This little teddy bear or this magical snow globe."
"I will choose the teddy bear," said Lexi. "Now Teddy will have a new friend."
"Here you go, Lexi," Santa said, giving Lexi the teddy bear.
"Thank you, Santa," said Lexi.
"You're welcome," said Santa, then turning to Lightning and said, "And as for you, Lightning, I have a feeling that you've got the right stuff."
"Really sir?" gasped Lightning.
"I want you to sit up front with me and I'll teach you how to be one of Santa's reindeer," said Santa.
"Oh boy!" said Lightning, all excited. "Oh boy! Thank you, sir!"
"And maybe next year, you'll be pulling the sleigh," said Santa. "Now out the window."
"Alright sir!" said Lightning, going through the window. "Thanks Lexi! Bye bye!"
"Bye bye Lightning!" said Lexi. "Thanks for the ride! Come and see me again!"
"I will!" said Lighting, going through the window. "Every year!"
"And fasten your seatbelt!" reminded Santa, then turning to Lexi and saying to her. "I gotta go now, Lexi. I got chimney's to go down and toys to deliver."
"Okay Santa," said Lexi.
"You know, this job is not half bad," said Santa, grabbing the cookies and drinking the milk. "I think I almost retired."
"Yeah…" said Lexi, nodding her head. "Goodbye Santa!"
"Goodbye Lexi!" said Santa, going through the window. "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"
Back at the Furry Arms Hotel on Christmas Day, Sherlock was finishing up the story.
"And that's how Lexi saved Christmas," said Sherlock. "And learned something, too. She learned you cannot have Christmas every day. That's the moral of the story."
"I'll say," said Zoe. "Whew!"
"Yeah!" said Abby.
"What Abby and Zoe said!" said Elmo.
"But you know you can keep the spirit of Christmas alive," said Sherlock. "All year long."
"Where?" asked the kids.
"In your heart," said Sherlock, then starting to sing, "When Christmas time is over and presents put away, don't be sad. There'll be so much to treasure about this Christmas day. And the fun we've had. So many happy feelings to celebrate with you. And, oh, the good times hurry by so fast. But even when it's over there's something you can do to make Christmas last."
"What's that?" asked Abby.
"Keep Christmas with you. All through the year," sang Sherlock. "When Christmas is over, you can keep it near. Think of this Christmas day when Christmas is far away. Keep Christmas with you. All through the year. When Christmas is over, save some Christmas cheer. These precious moments hold them very dear. And keep Christmas with you all through the year."
"Christmas means the spirit of giving," sang Joyce. "Peace and joy to you. The goodness of loving. The gladness of living. These are Christmas, too."
"So keep Christmas with you. All through the year," everyone sang. "When Christmas is over, save some Christmas cheer. These precious moments hold them very dear. And keep Christmas with you all through the year."
"And keep Christmas with you all through the year," sang Sherlock and Joyce together, singing the last verse.
Just then, Lexi came out of her room and into the living room.
"Hi everyone!" said Lexi.
"Lexi, you just missed an awesome story!" said Abby.
"What story?" said Lexi.
"Mr. Hemlock told Zoe, Abby, and Elmo the story on how you saved Christmas," said Elmo.
"Awww…" said Lexi. "I did miss it. But I was taking a nap. Opening presents and eating cookies makes me tired."
"That's alright," said Sherlock. "At least you know Christmas only comes once a year, right Lexi?"
"Right Sherlock," said Lexi. "I'm never wishing for that ever again."
"Good girl," said Joyce, rubbing Lexi's hair. "Merry Christmas, Lexi."
"Merry Christmas, mother," said Lexi, giving her a hug. "And merry Christmas, everyone!"
"Merry Christmas, Lexi!" everyone said.
"Woof woof woof!" barked Watson, happily.
THE END