And to Dolls a Goodnight!

Mandy turned the last page while Charlotte and Mariah held the book.

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" Mandy read and closed the book. The dolls all thought about the story.

Suddenly, the dolls all gazed at the ceiling. "What was that?" Billy asked.

"It sounds like someone on the roof!" Jolena said.

The dolls listened.

"It can't be Santa," Mariah said. "We're all still awake."

"Yes," agreed Mandy, "and even the mouse is still stirring."
They all thought about that with their little imaginary doll brains, while Mandy petted the mouse.

"Do we count as creatures, though?" Veronika asked. 

"We're dolls, after all," she pointed out, "not people, and the mouse is a cat toy."

The mouse, or cat toy, or whatever he was, wiggled in Mandy's hand. He was definitely stirring.
"Maybe we could peek down from the stairs," Charlotte suggested in a whisper.

They all nodded in agreement. They got up and crept down the stairs. Charlotte went first, since it was her idea. It was almost dark downstairs, but the lights on the Christmas tree were bright enough that they could see. The dolls peeked between the spokes on the bannister.

As a group, the dolls tiptoed...well, they didn't tiptoe, exactly, because their toes don't bend. They went quietly down the stairs so they could see better. They saw the tree in the corner windows, but no one was there.

They heard humming.
"It sounds like 'Jingle Bells,'" whispered Charlotte.

The other dolls thought it did sound like "Jingle Bells." They wanted to hum along. Then they heard what sounded like paper rattling.
"It sounds like someone is putting presents into stockings," Mariah said. 

The other dolls agreed, it did sound like someone putting packages into stockings. The sound was coming from down the hall. They listened.

Then they tiptoed...well, walked quietly down the hall to the family room. Then they stopped and looked.

The stockings were all lying on the hearth in front of the fireplace instead of hanging from the mantle, where they had been when the dolls went upstairs. They were stuffed full! It must have been Santa, but no one was there!

"The stockings must be too heavy for hanging now," Mandy said.
All the dolls heard bells jingling and a snapping sound from over their heads.

"That was his whip," Mandy said. "He snaps it over the heads of his reindeer, so they know it's time to take off," she explained.
Then they heard a scrunching sound from the roof. "Sleigh runners," Billy said. "My sled sounds like that."

Then they heard a deep voice saying, "Merry Christmas to dolls and to dolls a goodnight!"
"He knew we were up!" Mariah exclaimed.

"Well, we should go to bed now," Veronika suggested. "We have to set a good example for real girls and boys." She made little shooing motions with her hands.

The dolls went upstairs and got into bed.
"One thing I don't understand," Emil said as he and Billy got into bed. "We have a gas fireplace, and it was lit. How did Santa get in and out?"

"I guess Santa knows how to solve problems like that," Billy said. "Some people don't even have fireplaces, but Santa still comes. I guess it's what you call a miracle (MEER-uh-kul)."

In the girls room, Charlotte put on her sleep mask and got ready to go to sleep. She was tying the ribbon on her sleep mask at the back of her head, when she heard a voice in her head.

"Happy Hanukkah, Charlotte," the voice said.
It was Santa's voice! Charlotte smiled. She snuggled down in the bed. Tomorrow was Christmas, and it was also another day of Hanukkah! She had another candle to light. "Happy Hanukkah, Santa!" she replied.

Charlotte went to sleep dreaming of Hanukkah gelt and playing the dreidel game with her sisters and brothers.

She dreamt about lighting one more candle each night on the menorah. They were happy dreams.

The cast of The Doll's Storybook wishes all their readers a very merry Christmas and a happy Hanukkah!

If you haven't read the story about Charlotte's Hanukkah celebration, you can read it here. She explains why she lights the candles and tells us all about Hanukkah. (Emil wasn't with us last year, so she explained it again for him this year.) Hanukkah is a celebration that falls on different dates each year, but Christmas is celebrated at the same time every year. This year Hanukkah and Christmas week come at almost exactly the same time.

Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia
Mouse: A cat toy.

The dolls were reading The Night Before Christmas. This year's book is a Random House PICTUREBACK book illustrated by Douglas Corsline. The original story is attributed to Clement C. Moore and has been printed in many variations. You can find out more here.

You can follow The Doll's Storybook here.

Do you have questions or comments for us? Would you like to order an autographed copy of one of our books? You can email us at thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz, Classic Kidz or Little Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or any organization that supports pediatric cancer research and treatment. We are not affiliated with St. Jude in any way other than these donations.

"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook and More Classic Tales Untold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are available from BookBaby and other booksellers worldwide, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Author's page on Amazon. 

Royalties (net proceeds) go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. If you don't get free shipping elsewhere, buy from Book Baby. Half of the price goes to charity (specific information available upon request). Autographed copies of all three books are available from the author. (Multiple books to the same address have a discount on shipping.) To inquire, email thedollsstorybook@icloud.com.

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