Ashley Enright and the Search for Santa Claus (8 of 8)

Christmas Eve in Donnybrook was very busy! Luminerios lined the streets that led into town. The stores were open late and provided hot chocolate, eggnog and Christmas cookies. Carolers wandered the streets singing Christmas carols.
The Enright family with Josh and his family slowly wandered through town before going to Midnight Mass.
Ashley and Josh hung back to look at the Christmas tree in the town square. “We’ll be right there,” Ashley yelled to her family. Then she sighed and said, “It looks like everything was done on the Christmas list except the tree topper.”
“Oh well,” said Josh. “There’s always next year.”
Ashley laughed and said, “That’s what my father always says about the New York Mets ‘there’s always next year!’”
“Well,” said Josh. “It’s true.” Then he gasped and looked at the top of the tree. “Ashes, look!” He pointed to the top of the tree where a beautiful angel now sat on top.
“Where did that come from?” asked Ashley.
Then they saw a man in a red velvet suit with white fur trim move from behind the tree. His blue eyes twinkled and his belly shook as he laughed. He winked at them, laid a finger alongside his nose and disappeared.
“Ashes,” whispered Josh in wonderment. “Was that who I think it was?”
“I think so,” answered Ashley. “Merry Christmas, Josh.”
“Merry Christmas, Ashley,” said Josh.

Merry Christmas to all! My wish is that 2008 is filled with love, peace, joy, happiness and prosperity for all! Warm regards, Lauren E. Smith

Ashley Enright and the Search for Santa Claus (7 of 8)

After dinner, Ashley called Josh and told her what her family had told her.

“Well, guess what, Ashes,” said Josh. “My father said that he’s offered a series of school presentations about archeology and my mom volunteered to host the reading hour at the library for a month and signed up her friends for the whole year! My mom said that Kathleen, the reference librarian, offered free quilting classes at the community center.”

Two days before Christmas, The Donnybrook Globe reported that the Community Center’s calendar was being filled with free classes to be offered by town members. The story said that the members of the City Council were overwhelmed by the generosity of the town. The story quoted Council Chairman George Fellmann who said, “Our Christmas wish list is almost complete. There are a few things left to go, but I know we’ll get them.”

The very last thing on the Christmas list was a tree topper for the town square’s Christmas tree.

Ashley Enright and the Search for Santa Claus (6 of 8)

At dinner that evening, Ashley was telling her family about how people in the community were checking items off of Santa’s list.

Gram smiled and winked and said, “That’s true, dear. I’ve organized a group who will regularly visit the residents of Donnybrook’s Nursing Home.”

Ashley was amazed at what her grandmother admitted. She was absolutely shocked when her mother said, “That’s right, I’ve donated a week of public relations consulting to local charities to help them with their fund-raising campaigns. Your father and his colleagues at The Powers Institute of Technology promised whale-watching tours in the spring for local schools.”

“Wow,” said Ashley in amazement. “That’s awesome.”

“Well,” said Gram. “This time of year it’s especially important to think about how we can help others and to do it!”

“Wait,” said Kelly. “What is Santa doing?”

“I’m sure he’s saved some important things on the list for him to do,” said Ashley’s father with a wink.

Ashley Enright and the Search for Santa Claus (5 of 8)

Ashley and her best friend, Josh, were talking about the giant list one afternoon as they sat in their favorite booth by the window in Ella’s Sweet Shop.

“Hey, hey,” said their waitress Carolann as she came to their table. “What’ll it be today? Oh, as if I didn’t know with you two!”

Ashley laughed and said, “Yes, I guess we’ll have the usual. Have you heard about how things on the giant list in Tyler’s Toys’ window are being magically done?”

Carolann laughed and said, “It’s not all magic!”

“What do you mean?” asked Josh.

Carolann shrugged and said, “Well, Kaitlyn and I provided the stacks of newspapers for the animal shelter.”

“Really?” said Ashley.

            “Sure,” said Carolann. “Kaitlyn and I were talking one day about the list and we realized that this was something we could do. So, we went around town one day and collected newspapers. Even Ella helped out and provided fifty pounds of dog food and fifty pounds of cat food.”

“Wow,” said Josh. “That’s incredible! Ella always watches over her penny candy table like a hawk. Who knew she had a heart?”

        “Of course, Ella has a big heart,” laughed Carolann. “She just doesn’t like people to know it! Even Fred Beasley and the other officers at the Donnybrook Police station have gotten involved and donated 100 new books to the library.”

Ashley Enright and the Search for Santa Claus (4 of 8)

             One morning at the breakfast table in the Enright house, the family was discussing how things were being steadily checked off the list.

“I’ll bet it’s Burt Summers who’s doing this. After all, he is an expert at woodcarving,” said Ashley. Burt Summers was the apprentice to the town’s master woodcarver.

“Well, you should ask him the next time you see him,” said Ashley’s father as he folded the morning paper.

“Maybe it’s really Santa Claus,” said Ashley’s 6-year-old sister, Kelly, with wide eyes.

“It might just be Santa,” answered Ashley’s mother. “Have you written your letter to Santa yet?”

“No,” answered Kelly. “Where’s some paper? I’ll do it right now!”

Ashley laughed and said, “You might want to finish your breakfast first, silly goose!”

Ashley Enright and the Search for Santa Claus (3 of 8)

        The day after Thanksgiving, Christmas decorations appeared all over town almost as if by magic! The street lamps in town were wrapped with green garland and tied with big red bows. The huge fir tree in the town square was decorated with huge ornaments and strung with colorful lights. Each summer, the storeowners had a meeting to decide the theme for their Christmas window displays. Last year, the theme was a Victorian Christmas. This year, the store windows were decorated with holiday scenes from literature and popular Christmas stories.

            Two weeks before Christmas, Ashley was in town with her mother picking up a few Christmas gifts. She stopped to look at the window displays as they walked through town. Ella’s Sweet Shop’s display featured children nestled all snug in their beds while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads. Ralph’s Electronic shop window showed Bob Cratchit in Scrooge’s counting house. Charlie Brown and his friends gathered around a Christmas tree in the window of The General Store. The windows of Schroeder’s Diner showed the Grinch and his dog Max dressed up as Santa and his reindeer. Jay’s Hobbyland’s window displayed a bell on the branch of a Christmas tree and a copy of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” Ashley smiled to herself and thought about how this scene was from her father’s favorite movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

            The window of Tyler’s Toys had a giant copy of Santa’s list. The list included items that were on the City Council’s “to do” list: like a new handicapped ramp for the entrance to the Senior Center and a new playground for the community center.

            People in town were all talking about how some of the things on the list were being done by a mysterious person. The Donnybrook Globe had a small story on the front page about how a ramp had mysteriously appeared at the Senior Center overnight. The headline read, “The Search for Santa Claus.” Three days later, there was another story about how the community center now had a new playground.

Ashley Enright and the Search for Santa Claus (2 of 8)

             “Hey, Ashley,” said her father at the breakfast table. “It looks like you’re in for a real adventure with Josh’s calendar.”

            “I guess so,” Ashley said. “It should be cool! I sort-of thought he’d make it like a comic book. But, I’m sure glad he did!”

            “That’ll be a real keepsake some day,” said her father. “Once Josh’s comic books get published, he’ll be famous!”

            “Believe me,” said Ashley. “I plan to hold onto this!”

            “Gee,” said Ashley’s mother with wide eyes. “You do?” Ashley’s mother was teasing her because Ashley liked to keep things. Her mother even said that she would still have her baby teeth if the tooth fairy hadn’t taken them!

            “Oh, Mom,” said Ashley with a laugh. “You know I like to hold onto important stuff with memories.”

            “I know,” said her mother. “As long as your room is clean, I don’t mind how much stuff you keep.”

            “Yes,” her father agreed. “And if it ever starts to overflow, I’ll clear out some space in the shed for your stuff!”

            “Thanks, Dad,” said Ashley. “That’s nice to know!”

            They were startled by the sound of shuffling coming from the hallway.

            “Oh dear,” said Ashley’s father. “Guess who’s coming?”

            Sure enough, Kelly shuffled into the kitchen in her rumpled pajamas and messy bed-head.

            “Good morning, sunshine,” said Ashley’s father. He reached out, pulled Kelly into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

            “Daddy,” said Kelly with a huge sigh. “I’m not sunshine, my name is Kelly.”

            They all laughed. Ashley’s mother smiled and said, “Don’t worry, honey, your father knows your name. He just likes to call you sunshine because you light up the room!”

            “Daddy,” Kelly said. “You are weird.”

            “I agree,” said Ashley. “Who ever saw sunshine with bed-head?”

            “Now, now,” said Ashley’s father. “She’s my little ray of sunshine no matter what her hair looks like!”

            Ashley’s mother got up from the table to get some cereal for Kelly. “Hey, don’t you know what day it is?”

            Kelly looked puzzled and said, “Thursday?”

            “Yes,” answered Ashley’s mother. “But, it’s also the first day of December and you know what that means?”

            Kelly thought for a moment and then said, “Oh, my calendar! I get to open up a door on my Advent calendar!”

            “You sure do,” said Ashley’s father. “Go for it!”

            Kelly went to the refrigerator and opened up the door for marked ‘1’. The first picture was a drawing of Santa Claus with the heading “Guess who’s coming to town?” “Cool,” said Kelly. “Santa Claus is coming to town!”

            “That’s right,” said Ashley’s father. “You know what that means?”

            “I know, I know,” said Kelly. “I’d better be good.”
            “For goodness sake,” said Ashley with a laugh.

Ashley Enright and the Search for Santa Claus (1 of 8)

Twelve-year-old Ashley Enright loved the way that the town of Donnybrook, Maine looked during the weeks before Christmas. She loved this time of the year and had made an Advent calendar for her younger sister, Kelly, to help her count the days until Christmas. She showed the calendar to Kelly after Thanksgiving on November 30th.
“Look, I made something for you,” Ashley said proudly as she walked to the kitchen table where her little sister was coloring.
“What is this?” asked Kelly looking puzzled. She put down her crayon.
“It’s an Advent calendar,” answered Ashley.
“What’s a vent calendar?” asked Kelly.
“Not ‘vent’, silly goose,” answered Ashley with a laugh. “It’s an Advent calendar to help you count down the days until Christmas. Every day in December, you open up a door on the calendar. Before you know it, it will be Christmas!”
“Can I open all the doors right now and then it’ll be Christmas?” Kelly asked excitedly. She started jumping up and down in her chair.
“No, silly goose,” said Ashley. “Santa won’t be ready if Christmas is right now!”
“Oh,” said Kelly dejectedly. “I guess you’re right. His elves are probably still making toys and things.”
“You bet,” said Ashley. “You can’t rush elves! We’ll hang this up on the refrigerator and tomorrow morning you can open the first door before you go to school!”
“Yipee!” said Kelly. “Christmas is coming!”
Ashley used scotch tape to put the advent calendar up on the front of the refrigerator.
Later that night, when Kelly had left the dinner table, her mother smiled and said, “Ashley, that was so thoughtful of you to make an Advent calendar for your sister.”
“It was fun,” said Ashley. “I think she’ll like it!”
“I’m sure she will,” said Ashley’s mother. “And this way, she won’t have to ask every single day how many days there are until Christmas. So, thank you for that! Where’s your Advent calendar?”
“Oh, right,” said Ashley. “It’s in my room, I’d better bring it down.” Her best friend, Josh Stewart, made an Advent calendar for her and she’d made one for him. Josh was a talented young artist who loved to draw comic books featuring superheroes. She always had to laugh to herself, because Josh didn’t seem to realize that his superheroes had the same initials that he did: J.S.
Ashley was not at all surprised the next morning when she opened up the first door on her Advent calendar and saw the title:
“The Adventures of Jasper Snowden-Santa’s Chief Elf”