My Christmas Gift to You

As the staff was preparing for the Christmas season at the church where I am employed as director of digital ministries, we decided on the theme. "Home for Christmas", as many of us may literally be worshipping in our homes, due to the pandemic. My vision was to film some of our staff members talking about their favorite Christmas memories, and my thoughts turned to my own childhood. 

When I was probably around 10 years old, I remember rushing home from school in December so I could find the daily newspaper that we subscribed to.  A Christmas story was printed in the newspaper, and each day you'd get the next installment of it. I had thought the stories were about elves, but after doing some research, I found they were actually about Santa. The stories were written by Lucrece Beale, and at the time I was reading them, they were reprints from past years. I found a website that has a large collection of those stories, in case you wanted to check them out. The stories were also accompanied by a simple comic strip style drawing, and I later learned that the artist who drew them also drew the Dennis the Menace comics.

My nostalgia got the best of me as I read a few of the stories from the linked website above, and I decided I would write a Christmas story this year for others to enjoy as much I enjoyed these. I'll be posting the first installment of the story right here on December 1.  It'll post at 3:30pm on weekdays and Saturdays, and at 11am on Sundays.  Those were the times that I got home from school or church, and when I read the stories.  

I wanted to capture the same feel as the original stories had, so I asked my daughter, who's a graphic designer, if she would do some simple black and white sketches for each installment.  She agreed, and so you'll find a drawing accompanying each chapter.  I was a science and phys. ed. teacher, but I needed a little help in the English department. I'm thankful that my mother is very gifted in that area, and she was happy to help make this a three generation effort.  I also got some early inspiration for the series from my co-worker Bethany, and some story ideas from my brother, Doug.  I hope you enjoy my Christmas gift to you, beginning on December 1, and ending on December 24.


Location: Lincoln, NE, USA

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