The Great Candy Cane Shortage

There are certain words you never expect to hear at the North Pole.

“We’re out of candy canes” is one of them.

It happened on a very busy December morning. An elf rushed into my office holding an empty candy cane box with the expression usually reserved for runaway sleighs.

The peppermint delivery was late. The kitchen needed candy canes. The decorating team needed candy canes. Someone in Reindeer Ranch had apparently promised a reindeer one, which raised several additional questions.

For about thirty seconds, everyone panicked.

Then we did what we do at the North Pole when a plan falls apart: we made a new one.

The kitchen switched to gingerbread for the day. The decorating elves used ribbon instead. The Mail Station found peppermint stickers for outgoing letters. And the reindeer received carrots, which was probably a better idea anyway.

By afternoon, the peppermint shipment arrived and the Great Candy Cane Shortage was officially over.

But here is the funny part: some of the backup ideas were so good that we kept them.

That happens more often than you might think. Sometimes Plan B turns out to be better than Plan A.

So if something does not go the way you expected this holiday season, you have not ruined anything. Change the plan. Use what you have. Ask for help. Invent something new.

Christmas magic is surprisingly flexible.

Mrs. Claus

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