Santa's Biggest Christmas Eve Mistake

Santa had checked the runners, the bells and the cocoa flask. He had checked his boots twice, because last year one had contained a sandwich.

“Ready!” he announced.

The sleigh rose into the sky. Behind him, something went FWIP.

Then FWIP-FWIP-FWIP.

A red ribbon streamed past his shoulder. A green ribbon curled around the cocoa flask. A gold ribbon settled on a reindeer’s antlers.

Santa looked into the sleigh.

No present sacks.

Only wrapping ribbon. A truly spectacular amount of wrapping ribbon.

“Oh,” said Santa.

“Festive,” said the elf beside him.

“Oh dear,” said Santa.

He had read the wrong line on the loading sheet. Instead of collecting the finished gifts, he had collected supplies for the wrapping room.

Santa turned the sleigh around.

Back at the loading dock, the elves stared at the enormous trailing bow.

“I made a mistake,” Santa said. “I checked the sleigh, but I didn’t check what was inside it. Will you help me switch the load?”

Nobody had to guess what had happened. Nobody had to pretend it was someone else’s fault.

One elf fetched the present sacks. Another untangled the ribbon. Santa carried boxes until his hat slid over his eyes.

They could not get back the minutes they had lost. They could still make the next part go better.

“New plan,” said Santa. “We read the loading sheet together.”

This time, they checked the sacks, the labels and the cocoa.

“And the sandwich?” asked the elf.

“Not in my boot,” Santa said proudly.

The sleigh lifted off again. One tiny gold ribbon remained tied to the rail.

Santa left it there.

A little reminder to check twice—and a very stylish decoration.