My favorite Christmas story obviously involves my children and their innocent imaginations. My first two children were only three years apart, so there was a period when they
both seriously believed in Santa Claus.  Every Christmas Eve we would gather around the crackling fire in the fireplace and I would read to them "T'was the Night Before Charistmas". Then we would prepare a plate of cookies, milk, and of course carrots for the reindeer before putting the kids to bed for the night.  On one particular Christmas Eve we were fortunate enough to have a light snowfall with a full moon.  After the kids had been asleep for awhile, I went outside and with a broom handle drew sleigh tracks in the snow and put bits of carrrots in the snow as if the reindeer had been sloppy while Santa was feeding them carrots. Then I shook the sleigh bells that usually hung by the door untill I heard a stirring upstairs. I bounded up the stairs acting very excited and asking the kids if they had heard what I had heard.  When they said they had, I asked them if we should look out the window to see if we could see anything.  They quickly headed for the window and begin shouting as they saw Santa's sleigh's tracks in the snow. Needless to say it took awhile to get them settled down again, but the look on their faces and the excitement this little bit of deception brought them made it all worth it.  To this day it is one of my fondest Christmas memories as well as a fond memory for my kids! 

Dana M. Ford