My Buddy Aaron used to love Christmas but now he’s at the age where he’s too old for toys. Instead he gets clothes and gift cards and it’s just not fun for him anymore. He tends to get moody around the holidays as he mopes around the house. So I suggested we get some fresh air. It seemed to do the trick as the cold winter air invigorated him. “Hey Walter! Whatcha got there?” he called out.

While I was digging through some snow I had uncovered a cell phone.

When we got home Aaron t turned on the phone but was unable to make it work. When he hit the power button a familiar looking face appeared on the screen. The username said K. Kringle. 

“I can’t unlock the phone” a frustrated Aaron grunted.

Before he could turn it off the phone began to buzz. Aaron had no idea what was going on. Then a call came through as the ringtone repeated the phrase ‘Ho! Ho! Ho!” over and over again. And then it stopped.

Loud noises could be on the rooftop.  BOOM! BOOM! It sounded like someone or something was stomping overhead.

“Keep it down!” Aaron’s father cried out.

“It wasn’t me!” he responded.

Curious, we headed outside to see who or what was causing all the ruckus. It was only a reindeer. Wait…..a reindeer! And not just any reindeer, it was Rudolph!

“So you’re the one that found Santa’s phone. He lost it last year and he’s been looking for it everywhere. Come with me and I’ll explain everything on the way there.”

“On our way where?” Aaron asked. “You mean the North Pole?”

“Hurry up or we’ll miss our flight” Rudolph announced.

There was no Donner, Comet, or Blitzen however. Instead we sat in coach on North Pole Airlines packed with elves and other Arctic critters.

“We need your help. Santa got on the wrong flight and ended up in The South Pole. He won’t make it back in time for Christmas Eve” Rudolph explained.

“But why me?” Aaron wondered.

“Santa keeps all of his information on his iPhone now. And you just happened to find it.”

The trio arrived at The North Pole. There was nothing to see for miles except ice and snow. 

“Looks like we’re in for a long walk” Rudolph mused.

“What? It’s freezing out here!” Aaron balked.

“Just a little reindeer humour kid. We’ll be taking the Candy Cane Express when it arrives at the train station.”

”Ahh, here’s the young man that found Santa’s phone. Nice to meet you Aaron” a cheery Mrs. Claus smiled.

Santa’s Village was just as Aaron had imagined. The place was full of mischievous elves, candy, and toys. The entire house was even made of gingerbread.

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” the elves insisted as they took Aaron to their workshop.

 It was a magical place where the elves built all of the toys from scratch. And these were the old fashioned toys that some children still wanted. I could see the sparkle in Aaron’s eye as he helped build toy trains and other playthings he grew up with. We were having so much fun building, singing, and laughing that we completely lost track of time.

“11 o’clock! It’s time to go!” one of the elves shouted.

“With Santa on the other side of the world, you’re going to have to deliver the presents yourself” Mrs. Claus smiled.

“Me? But how?” a stunned Aaron replied.

“You’ll have Rudolph guiding your sleigh tonight with the other reindeer. The full list of toys and addresses are on the iPhone. All you need is a Santa suit. And here it is!”

Mrs. Claus had sewn together a makeshift outfit from some of Santa’s old suits. She even added a white beard made of cotton balls that tickled Aaron’s nose.

Mrs. Claus hustled Aaron and I onto the sleigh. A little smile formed at the corner of Aaron’s mouth. I could tell that deep down that even though he was nervous, he was loving this.

“Uh, how do I start this thing?” Aaron asked. “I can’t remember the words. Um, on Comet! On Cupid….”

“Just press the red button and the deer will do the rest” Mrs. Claus said.

“Whoa!!!!!!!!!!” Aaron cried out as the sleigh blasted off into the cold night sky.

“What do I do? I don’t even have my license yet!” Aaron screamed.