The Christmas Shop

This was my third Christmas Story I ever wrote. It was in a time when I was trying to give a little edge to my writing, edge and Christmas don't really mix. A fact about my writing...I HATE to write dialogue. It pains me to do it. I love descriptive writing. I would rather lay out a landscape, tell you what smells you are smelling, and the feeling you are going to get, than to dialogue. So, needless to say this was a very descriptive piece for me, that was my point in writing it. I've grown in both, I think, since then. I hope you enjoy "The Christmas Shop" and the message it was trying to bring....

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Dear Fredrick,

I am enclosing a little story that I wrote over Christmas break, I know that I no longer work for the paper, but if you could just take a look at it, and consider it, that would be much appreciated. Let me know as soon as possible if it’s Harrington material.

Thanks,
Kristen McFallen

The Christmas Shop

There is a place where magic happens. REAL MAGIC! Not all that fake stuff conjured up by some bored old man that has nothing better to do in his life but to pull rabbits out of a faded black hat. This place resides in a town oddly enough called Summerton. You ask, “Why is this weird?” Well for one, the shop is called ‘The Christmas Shop’, and by mere coincidence that is exactly what it is. A shop filled with every Christmas thing you could possibly dream up, and some that you couldn’t. It is opened year round. Now, if you simply peeked in this shop you wouldn’t think that anything out of the ordinary was going on. In fact you might find it cluttered with worthless junk that usually gets lost in the bottom of a card board box, packed away forever never to see the light of another Christmas again. But as you know magic just doesn’t show itself straight out. It hides until the right person comes along at the right time. Then it shows itself in all its glory to these people who have lost their childhood ideals, and have no time for anything fun or well, to put it quite bluntly, magical. This story is about one person in particular that just happened to find that miracle for herself. So sit back, grab a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate, and dare to believe…




…The long dirt road seemed to never end. The same scenery kept repeating itself over and over. Krista felt her nerves fraying as she slowly rolled the window to get a breath of fresh air, and was impaled with dust and suffocating air. She quickly rolled up her window and turned on the radio. Some soothing music would help to calm her nerves, and relax those muscles that had been strained by so many hours behind the wheel. All that was on her mind was a hot bath and a cool bed. It was going to be very easy to sleep for days. She finally decided to turn off the radio after surfing and finding one station that played Christmas music. She found this totally ridiculous, not being a festive sort of person at all. Why had she told her friend Cynthia she would come for Christmas? Was it the loss of her job that drove her to the insanity of replying with, “Sure I would love to spend Christmas there,” or the thought of getting away from the cold and uncaring world to take a small step back in time? The closer she drew to Summerton she felt a small still voice raging in her telling her to turn the car right around and go back home. Then she saw it. The old dilapidated sign that read in crooked, hand carved letters…Summerton. “Oh God, I have walked off the face of the earth,” Krista commented to herself as she scanned the very small town.

The town was littered with old little shops. A bakery, a pharmacy, a market, a clothing shop, a doctor’s office (no hospital), and up on the left there was a three way stop. To the north about two miles was the local drive-in something that this town took great pride in. To the west and east were houses scattered across the landscape, ranging from small shacks with outhouses to huge dollhouses right out of a magazine. A person would have to admit that this town was the ideal, off the wall, picture post card. Something you would send your old aunt Gracie who carried hundred watt hearing aids, but managed somehow to say, “What was that dear?” You could just hear her high-pitched voice say in the most over exaggerated way, “Isn’t the town in that post card just darling.” All Krista could think was getting to Cynthia’s house for that hot shower and that several day sleep.



As Krista pulled into the long driveway she began to wonder why Cynthia had asked her to come for Christmas. They had been best friends throughout high school, but had lost touch when college came around. They managed to send cards on birthdays and holidays, but neither of them had bothered to get together in over 15 years. She just couldn’t figure out why Cynthia had called her now at one of the worst times in her life and invited her to do some girl bonding. She placed her foot lightly on the brake and placed the car in park. She turned the key and felt the motor die under her fingertips. Krista opened her car door and gazed at the house she saw before her. “Boy, oh boy did Cyn come into the money or what?” Krista thought to herself as she was getting her luggage out of the trunk. The house was beautiful on the outside, and Krista could only imagine how much grander it was on the inside.

The exterior of the house was a sweet baby blue color; it was two stories and the roof arched into a great point. Two chimneys extended on both sides of the house.
“Fireplaces in this town, what a joke!” A porch wrapped around the house like a bow on a present. The porch was painted white to match the white shudders and white window boxes. The house was set on a picture perfect landscape. Cynthia had told Krista that they had 45 acres, but she never said how beautiful. Trees wrapped the house like a blanket, and extended on past the house as far as the eye could see. Just along side of the house were a cleared field and a barn. Krista couldn’t wait to see the rest of the property. It might just inspire her to write again. Just then Cynthia bounded out from the door and rand down the steps. “Krista, I’m so glad you could come, here let me help you with those bags.”
“Wow, Cyn you look great, this country air must be doing wonders for your skin.”
“Thanks come on in the house. I have some hot chocolate and fresh baked cookies on the table. I can’t wait to catch up on old times. The kids are finishing up there last day of school, and Tom is working in the field so we won’t be bothered.”
“Great, but did you say HOT chocolate, do you have any idea how hot it is?”
Cynthia laughed, “Of course I do, but it’s a lot different inside.”
The two old friends, with Krista’s bags in hand, traveled into the house and into another world.



The house was more beautiful on the inside than Krista could ever imagine. Oak and cherry were throughout the house. A winding staircase took you to four cozy bedrooms, a playroom for the kids, and two and a half bathrooms. There was a basement with Tom’s study, and a storage room bigger than Krista’s apartment. The first floor however was the real eye pleaser. The kitchen walls were painted a pale peach. White counter tops with little peaches hand painted on them allowed the whole room to come alive. It had all the trimmings to boot, including two convection ovens. Two other rooms were on the first floor that didn’t get much use, a formal dining room done in royal purple, and an odds and ends room in pearl white.

The true treasure of the house was the den. It made you feel like you were in another world. The walls were draped in a dark green, which allowed the rich wood to jump out at you. Family portraits and do-dad’s covered the walls. Two dark couches were placed opposite of each other in the center of the room. A small nook revealed a reading chair worn on the arm rest from hours and hours of traveling to distant lands. 12-foot ceilings made the room feel amazing. A fireplace covered an entire wall. “That is the biggest fireplace I have ever seen in my life,” Krista said wide-eyed.
“Yes, we had it custom made. We can build a fire in it later. I have one more place to show you before we go get that hot chocolate and cookies,” Cynthia said with a bright smile.

Krista began to think that her friend had completely lost her marbles. All this talk about hot chocolate and fires, but as she walked to view the next part of the house Krista felt something weird. It was the cozy feeling you get after being outside in the freezing snow all day, and you’ve come in to cover up with your favorite blanket. How could this be?

This final stop proved to be the most rewarding. It was a beautiful glassed in porch which overlooked an amazing lake. Krista guessed at least 500ft in diameter. The pines, willows, and oaks hovered over the water, as if protecting it from harm. Their reflections danced on its smooth body. Krista knew she could stay here forever.
“Well, it’s time to get you settled in. The kids will be home soon, and I know we won’t be able to do a thing once they’re here.”
So Krista and Cynthia headed back into the house for some hot chocolate and cookies, and though Krista didn’t know it yet, a vacation that would change her life.



The heart of the town was just as intricate in detail as Tom and Cynthia had made their home, and the town’s people seemed to bubble over with excitement about the holiday season. They almost floated over the beautiful cobblestone streets of the town nodding and saying, “A Merry Christmas to you, may God keep and bless you and your family,” to everyone they met. The spirit of Christmas was well imbedded in each person’s heart here in Summerton. The more that Krista walked the streets, and looked in the quaint little shops all filled with endless treasures the more she found herself humming a little hum, and skipping a little skip, and smiling when someone offered her their holiday greeting. She felt alive. Secretly in her room she had begun writing again feeling the tingle of the words jumping from her pen onto the paper. She had to admit she was becoming less of a scrooge and beginning to enjoy Christmas.

Tom, Cynthia, and the kids treated her like a part of the family. Including her on every adventure they took. The finding of the most perfect tree in the woods, bringing it back home to decorate with strung popcorn and overly exaggerated colored lights, to the daily joy of washing dishes. Krista never complained but did these things with joy and satisfaction in her heart. The days were sewn together with laugher and joy like the marshmallows atop a sweet potato soufflé all smashed and melted together.

The place that she enjoyed going to most was the Christmas Shop. The shop wasn’t nestled amongst the cobbles and bustles but rested on a hill overlooking the town. It sat proudly like a beacon of hope for those in the town. The Christmas Shop looked like an old wooden cabin. Large round logs made up the structure, hand made windows fit snuggly in the wood becoming giant kaleidoscopes that sent rainbows shooting and spinning everywhere with dizzying enjoyment. A fire was always burning in the fireplace which made the shop feel cozy instead of unbearably hot due to the temperature outside. The smells of pine, warm gingerbread, and homemade apple cider wafted through the shops four walls filling your mind with memories of Christmas’s past. Hand made ornaments hung on a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It all took you back to a more simple and peaceful time. Krista’s favorite thing to do was to get a big piece of gingerbread and a glass of apple cider find a comfortable corner table and people watch, especially children.

The expression in a little girl’s eyes when she found the perfect dolly, holding it ever so delicately in her arms, whispering into its ear, “Oh little doll I’m going to ask Santa Claus for you, and you can come live with me and I’ll dress you in find clothes and I’ll call you Molly. There, there Molly you’ll be safe here.” With a wink and a nod she carefully places the doll back in her place and latches onto her Mama’s hand traveling off to another land with Molly not to far away from her thoughts. Or the young boy who has been transported to the Wild West by a red cowboy hat and a wooden gun. “Pow! Pow!” escapes his lips as he aims his gun at the bank robber or the kidnapper and imagines himself the hero. Blowing onto the still smoking gun, he is brought back to reality when his Daddy says, “Johnny put the toys away, it’s time to go.” Johnny slowly puts the wooden gun back where he found it, and before putting the hat back where it belongs rubs it and thinks, “Someday!”

Krista also loved it in the evening time when very few people were there and she could look through the different treasures casually. The more time that she spent at the shop the more she began to feel that there was something more than the clutter and twinkle. There was something magical contained within these four walls. The elderly shop owners, Mitch and Hedda, without Krista knowing, watched her as she rummaged through the Christmas things, and casually they would wink at one another.


Time flew by for Krista in a sweet mysteriously glorious whirlwind, and before she knew it her eyes opened up to Christmas Eve. She awoke with a tingle from head to toe and what felt like a chill. She shrugged it off to excitement and lazily got out of bed to take a shower. The temperature had gradually decreased throughout Krista’s stay, but it was hardly winter, more like a cool spring. When Krista stepped out of the shower, however, the shock of cold air hit her and gooseflesh welled up across her body. She peaked out of the bathroom window and saw a haze begin to cover the beautiful blue sky. She had the strange sense that the haze was announcing clouds in the afternoon forecast, snow clouds. The smell of bacon, eggs, biscuits, honey and hot rich coffee quickly took her mind off the cold and haze. She hurried to get dressed and down stairs to quiet her grumbling tummy.

Christopher and Madeline were jumping off the walls singing a made up song about Christmas Eve, “Christmas Eve is here what joy what joy, Santa’s bringing toys.” Tom and Cynthia sat back watching the two children with smiles on their faces, holding hands, as Tom gently stroked Cynthia’s lower neck. Krista felt a longing well up in her along with fear that she may never have a family of her own. She had to fight back the tears with a big smile and a loud, “Good Morning and Merry Christmas Eve!”
“Good Morning and Merry Christmas Eve Auntie Krista!” Christopher and Madeline said with gleeful giggles and more enthusiasm than a mall Santa Claus. They jumped up, one taking each of Krista’s hands, and dragged her to a kitchen chair.

After breakfast Tom took the kids ice-skating. The sounds of caroling were heard coming from the car as Cynthia and Krista waved good-bye. Then, it was back inside for dish duty. Cynthia and Krista talked over dirty dishes, dish soap, and scalding water. They reminisced about old times. Never had either of the women talked so freely and openly with one another. They ended up spending the rest of the morning with tissues, memories, pain, joy, and promises that they wouldn’t wait this long again to see each other.


Tom, a little frazzled, brought the kids back late that morning and went up to take a nap. Cynthia and Krista spent the rest of the afternoon baking for the “Big Event” that evening. After baking, the women decided to go out on the porch to gaze at the beautiful lake and relax for a couple of hours. The now bitter wind required them to take blankets to snuggle in. As they casually chatted Cynthia’s eyes became heavy and her replies to Krista were becoming the quiet dreamy “Hmmm’s”. Before Krista knew it her friend was sleeping and she was left alone with her thoughts. As the sun slowly sank behind the horizon clouds began to dot the purple-pink sky. The sky became thick with clouds, and the sun sank into its resting place with a great sigh as if it knew its job was complete. Krista wrapped herself tightly in the warm folds of the patchwork of memories and fabric.


Krista did not know what made her leave her best friend in dreamland to venture out into the cold, but as she walked on the cobblestone streets she felt a purpose in her heart which pushed her forward in the chill of the night. She was sure that she was supposed to do something, but unsure of what it was. Suddenly, the Christmas Shop came into view and the warmth of the building came calling to her like a Mother calling her children for supper. She picked up the pace and before she realized it she was running to the door. She expected to see tones of people bustling with energy in the shop with a tingle of anticipation of tonight’s events on each one of their faces, but it was if someone had yelled fire. There wasn’t a sole in site, not even the shopkeepers. Krista began to strum her fingers across the artifacts of the store as she had done so many evening before. Feeling the texture of each little treasure and breathing in deep the rich smells of the store. She leafed through Christmas books, jingled bells, examined ornaments, and as she was picking up a hand made stocking she discovered a small box with a Christmas tag on it. Curiosity got the best of her and she picked the box up and looked at the tag. With a little shock she read the name on the tag again, “Krista.” She couldn’t believe it. Mitch and Hedda must have gotten her a gift and accidentally left it in the shop. She hesitated for a second, but then overcome with the urge, went in search of something to open the box. It took her a while but finally she ran across a hammer underneath the counter. Using the back of it she pried the top off the wooden box. Shredded paper used for packing material covered the mysterious contents within the box. Krista gently parted the material and reached in with the excitement and fear of a kid with his hand in a candy jar.

Krista sat in the floor of the Christmas shop looking at the beautiful snow globe while tears streamed freely down her face. Within the snow globe, carved in great detail, was the town. Everything was the same except for the Christmas Shop and what was in its place left Krista speechless. It baffled her and a great feeling welled up in her that was far more powerful than she had ever felt or ever imagined she could feel. She kept repeating over and over, “I’d forgotten, oh how I’d forgotten.” Just then she felt a hand on her shoulder and swirled around with a start. The four gentle eyes of Mitch and Hedda gazed at her. Mitch and Hedda helped Krista to her feet and led her out of the shop. Hedda whispered in her ear, “You don’t want to miss this.” She gently wiped tears from Krista’s face. Krista took a deep breath and managed a weak smile.

Krista let Mitch and Hedda guide her into the woods behind the Christmas Shop. They traveled along a weather warn path for about a half a mile and then the trees began to step back making way for the travelers. Before Krista’s eyes was a great clearing shaped in a circle. All the towns people had gathered and were beginning to join hands when the three arrived. Mitch and Hedda led Krista to Tom, Cynthia, and the kids. Krista grasped Cynthia’s hand forming another link in the man made chain. Cynthia squeezed it and smiled a reassuring smile. The next several hours were stirred together with Christmas songs, shared memories of Christmas’s past, a message of hope from each person there, and finally ended with a beautiful prayer. It seemed like only moments had gone by instead of hours and Krista was saddened when the chain began to break and people began to journey back through the woods. Then Krista felt something cold and damp on her cheek. Her eyes looked up and a gasp of air slipped between her teeth. It was snowing. Great big beautiful flakes were falling to the ground. All of them with their own character and style. She was almost knocked off her feet as Christopher and Madeline began pulling and tugging her back through the woods. Her numb feet finally began to move with a little forced effort and soon she was walking silently among the trees and the winter wonderland that was magically forming before her eyes. As they once again approached the clearing of the trees more than a half a foot of snow had fallen. It was impossible but it was real. Clearing the last set of trees Krista’s legs failed her and she fell to the ground at the site before her. She began to cry uncontrollably. Cynthia came and sat next to her. Hugging Krista tight she said, “It’s okay let it all out.” Tom scooped the kids up and they quietly walked away from the two women. Before Krista’s eyes was what she had seen in the snow globe. The clouds rolled back and underneath a bright beautiful star stood a stable. In the stable were horses, pigs, oxen, and in the center kneeled a young man and woman over a manger. In the manager slept the most magnificently beautiful child. As the words crossed her lips she knew why these individuals in Summerton were so filled with joy at Christmas. It wasn’t the presents, the lights, and all the bustle. They had never forgotten the true meaning of Christmas…

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good tidings of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign unto you: you will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will to all men.” – Luke 2:9-14

Krista had forgotten the most important gift. She found the true meaning of Christmas in a small town with good people and amazing friends. She would never forget again.

Miracles do happen!

Dear Kristen,

High rate material. Most definitely Harrington material. Meet me in my office Monday 8am to go over the details. Great to have you back kid. – Fredrick

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Christ is reborn each time someone receives Him as their personal Savior. We carry the meaning of his birth, life, death, and resurrection each day as Christian’s. We are, in many ways, the visual representation of His existence. We don’t need a visual to remind us what He had done for us and the magnitude of what His birth entailed. We should keep Christmas in our hearts year round. He is a gift to wonderful not to share this holiday season.