Merry Christmas McRollers to all who celebrate.


Christmas at Nonna's Operation: Santa Visit

As the early morning sunshine peeked through the high basement windows, Angie stirred in the bed she was sharing with Joan. Her eyes flickered open slowly. She yawned and stretched, then bolted upright.

A smile spread across her face as she remembered where she was and, more importantly, what day it was. She shook Joan awake.

"Wake up, Joanie! Wake up, DJ! It's Christmas! We have to see if Santa came."

Joan and DJ exchanged excited glances. They'd both stayed awake the previous night until Angie was sound asleep and then crept upstairs and with Steve and Danny's help left "proof" that Santa and his reindeer had visited.

"I hope he liked the cookies!" Joan bubbled as she put on her slippers.

"And I hope the reindeer found the carrots we left outside for them!" DJ said.

The excited voices woke up Grace and Kendra and a minute later they all raced up the stairs. It was Angie who burst into the living room first to find the adults were already up.

Her eyes darted around the room, taking note of all the changes since she'd seen it last. There were a few new presents under the tree so she knew Santa had managed to find them in New Jersey.

Just like she knew he would.

Before she could put much thought into the gifts something else caught her eye.

There.

Beside the fireplace.

She gasped at the sight before her. "Mommy! Daddy! Look!"

She squeezed her hands together and her whole body shook with glee.

Catherine and Steve grinned at their daughter's excitement.

"What is it, baby girl?" Catherine asked.

Angie pointed to the 'snowy' footprints leading from the fireplace to the plate of half-eaten cookies and empty glass of milk.

"Look at the footprints, they're Santa's!" She squealed. "And he drank the milk and ate the cookies! I knew he'd find us in New Jersey!"

"Wow, look at that," Steve said, crouching down to examine the prints. "Those definitely look like Santa's boot prints. What do you think, Danny?"

"Those are one hundred percent Santa's," he said with a nod.

Joan and DJ, practically giddy with excitement at the success of their plan, ran to peek out the window. They were eager for Angie to see the next phase of Operation: Santa Visit.

"Cousin Angie, look, there's something outside, too," Joan said.

Angie followed them to the door and gasped when they opened it to see hoof prints leading from the yard to the porch.

"Santa's reindeer landed right here!" The six year old exclaimed. "And they ate all the carrots! Come see, everybody!"

"Merry Christmas, Angie!" DJ grinned and wrapped an arm around his sister.

"Perfect job," Catherine whispered to DJ and Joan.

Nonna appeared from the kitchen. "Buon Natale, mio bambini! What's got my darlings so excited?"

Angie bounced over to Nonna, her voice bubbling with pure delight. "Santa came, Nonna! Look at his footprints and there's reindeer footprints outside!"

Nonna clapped her hands together. "He must have been very quiet. I didn't hear a thing."

"Maybe the reindeer were wearing boots so you couldn't hear them on the roof," Danny teased.

"You're very silly, Uncle Danno," Angie said. "Besides they left hoof prints in the snow so they weren't wearing boots."

"That's my girl," Grandma Ang said proudly. "Polishing her detective skills already."

The sound of laughter filled the room and Danny couldn't help but think back over all the joy he'd experienced in Nonna's house over the course of his life.

"I think it's wonderful that Santa left us a sign that he was here!" She grinned at the older kids who were beaming. "Now everyone come and have some breakfast and fill your bellies just like Santa did."

Angie's eyes lit up. "Can we have cookies?"

""I'm afraid you'll have to settle for frittata, bambina," Nonna said. "But there are plenty of cookies for later." Her eyes twinkled. "Unless Santa found them in the pantry." She took Angie's hand. "We better go look."

A few minutes later a relieved looking Angie darted back into the living room and announced, "Santa didn't eat the cookies in the pantry so we still have plenty. And Nonna said to tell you all it's time to eat."


The front door opened and DJ, Joan and Angie hurried in, noses red from a morning of sled riding.

"Take all your winter things off right here," Catherine reminded them. "Don't track snow all over Nonna's floors."

"Don't worry about making a mess," Nonna said as she entered the foyer. "We can clean it up later. The important question is did you have fun?"

"YES!" Angie, DJ, and Joan cheered in unison.

Grace and Kendra joined their cheer causing all three of the younger kids to dissolve into giggles.

"Daddy and Uncle Danny had a race," Angie said.

Elizabeth, who had come to help corral the coats, boots and scarves and make sure they got hung up to dry for later chuckled. "Who'd have guessed."

"As soon as my body thaws out I think I'm gonna remember why I don't do stuff like that anymore at my age," Mary chuckled.

"Gabby nodded. "Same here."

Steve, Danny and Aaron came in the door followed by a gust of cold wind. "The sleds are all put away."

"Very good," Nonna said. "Just in time for lunch."

"I just finished working off breakfast," Aaron said.

Nonna patted his cheek. "Good. Then you have plenty of room. Now let's go eat and you can tell those of us who stayed home all about your sledding adventure."


After lunch the family gathered in the living room around the twinkling Christmas tree, sharing stories and, as Angie reminded them all, making memories. Her determination to commit every moment of this trip to New Jersey to memory was still going strong.

Nonna was sitting in her favorite armchair, a mug of hot cocoa in hand, enjoying the lively chatter of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Grandma Ang was in the matching recliner enjoying her tea while Aunt Deb told a story about singing to Steve when he was a toddler refusing to sleep.

"He was a very stubborn baby," Deb said with a chuckle.

"That's funny," Danny teased. "I called him the very same thing last week."

"Aunt Deb, can I have another cookie, please?" Angie asked as she reached out for another treat from the plate on the coffee table. "A pizzelle this time I think."

She was sitting on the floor with DJ and Joan working on a Disney puzzle Santa brought.

"I'll have another one too, please " DJ said.

"Me too." Joan looked at DJ. "What kind do you want?"

He shrugged. "Surprise me."

Joan studied the plate for a few seconds before selecting a gingerbread man for herself and one for DJ. "Thanks, Aunt Deb."

Deb chuckled, "Of course, my sweethearts. It's Christmas, after all."

She winked at Steve and Mary, who simply shared an eye roll and shrugged with matching grins.

"You're welcome," she patted Joan's hand and when she looked up and caught Catherine's eyes, she said, "Promise kept," with a blown kiss.

Steve dropped his arm across Catherine's shoulders and whispered in her ear. "It's great seeing Aunt Deb so happy."

Catherine smiled, her eyes sparkling as she glanced around the room. "It really is. And Nonna and Grandma Ang look like they're having the time of their lives."

"Angie's right." Steve kissed her cheek. "It feels good to make memories."

THE END


Find all our stories (in chronological order!) on our website: marirealmcroll dot wixsite dot com backslash real-mcroll

Or in the McRoll in the REAL World community here on fanfiction dot net Find us on Tumblr: mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com

You can join our mailing list by emailing us realmcroll at yahoo dot com with: Add me, please! in the subject line. Or just drop us a line to say hi! We love hearing from our readers.