'Twas a cold winter night in the North Pole, snow beating on the outside of Santa's workshop. A strong wind howled outside the walls, but not even the harsh weather could dampen Tanya's jolly spirits tonight. This night was the night she had waited for all year, Christmas Eve. The whole year, her and Santa's other elves had worked hard, wrapping presents and preparing gifts, but tonight was the last night.

Tanya huddled into her chair, snuggling up beside the blazing hearth. Her hands clung to the hot mug of cocoa that was warmed by the fire. A pointed green hat rested on her head before being flicked from her eyes. A cheeky grin rose on her face as she slurped on her cocoa, gazing at the Christmas tree beside her.

Glimmering decorations adorned the tree. Candy canes hung from the boughs with golden bells swinging from the branches. She glanced to the top, her favourite decoration resting there, the star. The gold glittered in the light, dazzling with sparkles.

"Tanya, what are ya doing?"

Newt marched into the room, a scowl on his face. Tanya giggled at the sight, his pointed ears, lime green hat and fancy uniform that matched hers made it difficult to take him seriously. Newt frowned, "We're gonna be late!"

She squealed in excitement, eagerly rising from her chair. "Relax, we won't be late!"

Newt folded his arms. "We will if ya don't hurry up. The last batch of presents still needs to be loaded into the sleigh. If Santa Alby gets here and they're not ready, Christmas will be ruined!"

"Well, come on then!" Tanya exclaimed as she set down her cocoa and headed into the workshop room.

Newt and Tanya ran into the giant room. The familiar scent of wood and gingerbread lingered, only encouraging Tanya's excitement. Conveyor belts spat out gifts into stacks of presents piled up to the roof. Gold, blue, and silver wrapping paper covered the Christmas gifts, sparkling in the bright red and green lights. Jeff, another of Santa's elves, came to greet them.

"We're all set! All that's left is to make sure all the presents in the last stack are here, and then Santa's helpers will load them into the sleigh." Jeff said, checking off things on a crumpled sheet of paper in his hands.

Tanya mischievously rubbed her hands together as she approached the last stack of untagged presents. Leaning down, she and the other elves began to assign the presents.

After an hour or so, all the presents were done and each given a gift tag, an address, and had been logged on Santa's GPS. Newt plopped down to the ground, propping his arms on his knees. "Good work, everybody."

"Quickly, stand up, he's coming!" Jeff shouted, sending Newt shooting up from the ground. All the elves held their heads high, waiting for the present-wrapping overseer to arrive to make sure that everything was up to scratch.

All of a sudden, the door swung open, the overseer stepping inside. He eyed them suspiciously whilst going towards the presents, a golden bell on his hat chinkling with every step.

"Here's Santa's GPS log, Overseer Gally." Tanya chirped, handing him a tablet. Gally's expression softened as he took the tablet, a small smile rising on his face.

His eyes scoured the tablet. Instantly, his expression turned sour. "It's gone! One of the presents is gone! Someone has stolen a present!"

Newt scratched the back of his head, glancing around the room. "Just calm down, alright? It might just be lost."

"Lost? Presents here don't get lost!" Gally protested, placing his hands on his sides, "We must find it, or Christmas will be ruined!"

Tanya's heart sank, she had wanted this to be the perfect Christmas, but now it might be ruined.

The door opened again, a cold wind escaping through the crack. Tanya shivered as she shifted her gaze to the door.

Two of Santa's helpers jogged over to the elves, shaking the snow from off their hair. One of them went to speak, immediately cut off by the other, "Don't worry, I got this Minho," Thomas turns to Gally, "Are the presents ready to load into the sleigh?"

Gally's face fumed with anger, his eyebrows raised high. "No, Thomas, the presents are not ready! Someone has stolen the last present!"

"We must search inside the building! I shall go and check the stables," Tanya said.

Newt nodded firmly, "So will I! Jeff, you stay here and search. Everyone else can look around the rest of the workshop. We have to find it before Santa arrives for the last batch!"

Without any debate, everyone begins their tasks. Tanya unhooked a red, furry coat from the wall as she prepared to go outside. She tugged her hat further down on her head, grabbing a pair of leather boots from beside the door. Newt threw a coat on top of his uniform before opening the creaky door. Both the elves went through, the freezing snow pounded against them.

️

The blizzard blew around them. Tanya's boots sank deep into the snow, each step harder than the last. She wrapped the coat tightly around her, sheltering her from the snow. Through the strong winds, Newt spotted the reindeer stables. Without delay, the two elves hustled through the door and into the stables.

Warm lights shone on them, already melting the pile of snow on their heads. Tanya shivered before removing her coat and stumbling to the crackling fire at the other side of the room. An empty doorway led to where the reindeers slept, but this room was for Teresa.

Tanya held her hands near the flames, basking in the heat of the glowing flames. Newt wrenched off his hat, rubbing his hands together. "Teresa?"

"Yes?" a muffled voice shouted back. Teresa popped her head through the doorway, glaring at the new arrivals. "What are you doing here?"

Newt scratched the back of his head. "Looking for a lost present, don't suppose you've seen it?"

She pulled off a pair of antler ears, tossing them on a chair. "What? You think I stole it?"

Teresa shrugged, heading towards a stove near the fireplace. Pouring herself a hot cup of tea, she continued, "Feel free to look around, you won't find anything."

Tanya and Newt began searching the stables. Neither in the reindeer stalls nor Teresa's room could the present be found. After long last, they gave up, and with sorry hearts, they returned to Santa's Workshop.

Upon entering the workshop, something strange had occurred. The lost present lay in the centre of the room, untouched. Maroon wrapping paper and a silver bow covered it as the light bounced off the paper. Tanya and Newt gave each other a confused look, reluctantly approaching the present.

Newt bent down to the gift, lifting the label. "It says to...Chuck. This is it! It's the missing present!"

Tanya furrowed her brow, her mouth gaping in surprise, "How did that happen? We were just here!"

Tanya paused, squinting her eyes. "Wait...isn't Jeff supposed to be searching this room?"

The door to the living room swung open, slamming against the wall. Gally, Minho, and Thomas waltzed through as they entered the workshop. Gally and Thomas' bickering soon subsided as they spotted the present. Thomas ran over, grabbing the present before cradling it in his arms. "Is this it?"

Minho snatched the present, pulling at the label. "What else could it be?"

Gally brought out a checklist from his pocket, his eyes narrowing. Swiftly, he tugged at the presents, ripping it from Minho's grasp, "This is the missing present! Christmas is restored..." He paused, eyeing Thomas suspiciously, "...no thanks to you!"

"Wait, guys, why would the thief put it back?" Newt blurted.

Thomas rolled his eyes, "Who cares? All that matters is that we have the present!"

Minho folded his arms as he turned to Santa's other helper, "Of course it matters, slinthead."

"Whoever did this must be found..." Gally stopped, shifting his gaze to Thomas, "...and punished."

Thomas shrugged uncomfortably as he took the present and loaded it into the mini Santa sack on his back. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in from the open door. Santa Alby sauntered inside, combing snowflakes from off his white, cotton beard.

"Alby!" Newt shouted, his face eager with excitement.

"It's Santa," Gally scowled.

Santa Alby stroked his long beard before gazing toward the elves, "Ho, ho, ho, what a cheery night it is! Is the last sack of goodies ready to depart?"

"Well, there was a small delay...but don't worry! We handled it...sort of." Tanya chirped in, fidgeting with her fingers.

Santa's eyes shot open. "A delay? Why? What happened to disrupt our present-giving?"

Jeff appeared from behind one of the present dispensers, his face dreary. His head sagged as his hands hung from his sides. "It's my fault. I took the present."

Endless chatter erupted from the elves, soon followed by Santa's helpers. Gally gasped, his eyebrows furrowed. "You!"

Santa hushed the crowd and began to speak, "What could be the cause for such an action?"

"I didn't know it belonged to someone! We always have spares!" Jeff protested.

Gally crossed his arms. "Well we didn't, did we?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that I never get any presents! All year, I wrap and plan, wishing I could have a gift too. I didn't think anyone would mind if I took a spare present. Once I realized it belonged to someone, I put it back." Jeff responded, his voice soft.

Santa Alby creased his brow as if deep in thought. After a brief moment of silence, he began to speak, "I see, and I forgive you, as you are sorry, but this has brought to light a severe problem..."

Tanya turned to Newt, her eyes wary. What could he mean? Newt returned the glance, also wondering about what Santa would say.

Santa Alby pulled his hand over his ears before continuing, "...while I am grateful to you all, from the elves to the overseer to my very own helpers, it never occurred to me to reward you with presents. I can see now that I was wrong. I do believe we shall celebrate! I shall handpick presents and we shall have a proper Christmas Eve!"

Cheers erupted from the group. Those with hats tossed them into the air except for Gally, who had already spent enough time trying to get it to fit on his head.

"I can make cocoa!" Tanya exclaimed as she grinned from cheek to cheek.

"We'll find more presents!" Newt remarked, pointing to Jeff.

Thomas glared at Minho rolling his eyes. "Minho and I can make cookies."

"I'll join you," Teresa chimed, suddenly appearing beside Thomas.

Gally released an exasperated sigh. "I suppose I can make my eggnog...but someone better not take my cloves!"

Each helper took to their jobs, doing their part. Tanya took to the cocoa alongside Gally as he grouchily prepared the eggnog.

After an hour or so of preparation, everyone had completed their tasks. Warm drinks and glimmering presents soon filled the room. Tanya gazed into the crackling fire, sipping on the warm cocoa. She glanced around to her friends, then back to the fire. This was what made it worth it, a year of planning and preparation, just for this moment. Tomorrow the world would wake and see the wondrous presents waiting to be opened.

Tanya smiled once again, Christmas was saved.

️ Author's note: This update, as you might have noticed, was a lot longer than normal because I had to fit the whole story in. Let me know what you thought in the comments! I hope that you enjoyed reading it as I did writing(for most of it...) Have a great New Year and God bless! 🍪

Greenie