Even when I was a kid, I wondered how Santa would get into houses that didn’t have a chimney. I know that our house didn’t have one…
A couple of years ago, Adrian Darakai recorded a song called Santa, We Have Ducted Heating. This inspired one of my favourite writing prompts:
Write a story that explains how Santa enters a home when they don’t have a chimney!
It’s so much fun to see kids explain how Santa enters homes that don’t have chimneys. There’s been everything from magic keys to Santa having the power to walk through walls, to…. well, let your imagination run away with you. It’s always a lot of fun.
Here’s one story that I wrote in Virtual Writers Group this year, to give you one idea how it can be done:
Dear Charlie,
Thank you for your letter.
I’m sorry I won’t be able to grant you a white Christmas this year as you live in Queensland, and the weather will be too hot for snow. There are, however, a lot of beautiful white flowers that bloom in Summer, so you could have a white Christmas that way.
I will see what I can do about the items on your list. I make no promises, however you should receive at least one or two items. A pet dinosaur may be problematic, however. Have you seen Jurassic Park?
Did you know the whole chimney thing isn’t real? I’m not a fan of confined spaces. The story began a long time ago when a child came to check on the tree while I was still there. They had a large fireplace, so I tried to hide. It didn’t work very well. The child saw me and that’s how the story about me coming down the chimney began.
As for how I actually get into homes, I have a magical button that I put on the outside of a building that allows me inside. The logistics of how it works are complicated, I just know that it works.
I am able to enter homes with the exact gifts I need for each child, put them in the correct place, eat any snacks, and move on to the next home.
Sometimes, the houses are so close together that I don’t have to get back in my sleigh! The button lets me into the next house. The reindeer love it when that happens as they get some extra rest and time to enjoy all the carrots and reindeer food children leave out for them.
I trust this answers your question and I hope you are well. I look forward to seeing you fast asleep in your bed on Christmas Eve.
From
Santa
P.S. Mrs Claus has told me that I need to cut down on cookies this year. A ham and cheese sandwich with some of your grandma’s homemade pickle would be a wonderful snack, along with some oats I can take out to the reindeer.
