Samantha headed for the checkout line. This was going to be great - her Secret Santa recipient was going to totally love these gifts! She had found an awesome eyeshadow palette with sparkly colors in every shade of the rainbow, some really pretty earrings that had crystals dripping down like raindrops, and fuzzy socks with aloe soaked right into them. Sam almost wished she was buying for herself, because these were right up her own alley!
A splash of blue on an end-cap display caught her attention and she paused. Oh, these were nice - advent calendars with little chocolates in the windows, one to open for every day until Christmas.
“But, the Secret Santa program doesn’t start until Dec. 6. If you give it to her the first day, she’ll have to eat six pieces of chocolate in one day.”
The little voice in her head sounded suspiciously like Carol, the rail-thin teacher in room one. She had probably never eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one sitting like Sam had. Six pieces of chocolate in one day was no problem, but Sam wouldn’t tell her that.
The rules said the program didn’t start until the sixth, but who was it going to hurt if Sam gave the calendar early? She counted up the presents in her arms. She was supposed to give four small presents, one each day of the week, and end with a fifth present at the party when everyone revealed who they had been Santa to. If she started with the calendar, gave it a week early, but somehow let it be known that the rest of the presents would follow the rules…
Which present would she give at the final reveal, then? The earrings? The image of her recipient flashed in front of her, her smile wide and a macaroni necklace around her neck, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. The t-shirt she wore had a silly giraffe on it. The toddlers in her class loved her.
Shoot, these earrings wouldn’t do. Really, neither would the palette of eyeshadows. Samantha chewed on her lip, thinking. She wished she knew this teacher a little better. It was easier to pick out presents for people she knew well. Hang on….Sam felt an idea simmering.
She returned the other items she had picked up and then grabbed three calendars. She would deliver one calendar a week early, with a note to explain the next gift would come on Tuesday when everyone else was getting their second gifts. The other two calendars would go on the mantle in the living room, where she would be able to watch Shannon and Meghan, her two foster children, enjoy the countdown, too. Now, to get the rest of the presents.
A smile spread across Samantha’s face. She sort of wished she really was Santa Claus, surprising people with gifts was so much fun!
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