Jo was stunned. Mum was Santa? and what about his stocking?

The boy cleared up his midnight feast and put the DVDs back where he had found them. But where was the train? He found it unwrapped under the Christmas tree with all the other presents which were in shiny gold paper.

Jo went up to his room and found his stocking lying deflated on the bed. Santa hadn’t been?!

He felt sick from all the cookies and lemonade. At 4pm he fell asleep.

‘Morning.’ Said Teddy bouncing on Jo’s bed. ‘Look what Santa brought.’

He showed his brother the miniature soldiers and the Cadbury’s chocolate bars.

‘What did you get.’
‘Nothing.’ Yawned Jo.

He showed Teddy the empty stocking.

‘What!’
‘Leave me alone I’m tires and I don’t feel well. I want to go back to sleep.’

‘But it’s Christmas, don’t you want to know what presents you got? We are all downstairs having breakfast.’

‘Go away.’ Jo turned over and went back to sleep.

He eventually came down stairs looking red eyes and grumpy.

‘We waited for you.’ Said his Father.

They began opening their presents. Mum had some perfume and a manicure set, Father had a golf set and some brandy snaps and a bottle of Brandy.Ted was trying to guess what his present was by prodding it and shaking it.

‘I give up.’ He said after a while and tore off the shiny gold paper.

‘Oh the Gameboy advanced i saw in the shop. Thanks!’

There was one present left under the tree. It was looking sad and forgotten.

‘That’s yours.’Said Dad

‘But why isn’t it wrapped?’ Jo felt like he was having a rotten Christmas so far and he burst into tears.

‘You already knew what it was dear.’Said Mother gently.

‘But…’ He sobbed. ‘Isn’t there anything else?’

The train set was boring now that he had already seen it. There’re the DVDs but you have already seen those. Father had found one of the boxes he had forgotten to put back in the shed.

‘Ooh!’ Cried the boy

“Cheer up Jo,” said Teddy pulling a little parcel out of his dressing gown pocket.

‘This is from me.’

Jo rubbed his eyes on his sleeve and took the parcel from his brother. He shook it and examined it.

‘Can you guess what it is?’

It was a brand new watch with a flashing light and it could tell the time in every country in the world.

‘Thanks Teddy.’

‘Worth waiting for?’ asked Teddy.

‘Oh yes!’

Jo ran upstairs to get the present for his parents which Teddy had helped him choose. It was untidily wrapped in red paper. He handed it to his parents.

‘We know what it is Jo,’ said his Father.

‘No You don’t,’ said the boy in disbelief.

‘It’s a camera.’

‘How do you know that? It took me ages to find one and it was supposed to be a surprise.’ He yelled, his feelings hurt.

‘We looked under your bed,’ said his Mother.

‘Yeah but that’s private. I hid it really well.’

This was the worst Christmas he had ever had.

‘You spoilt my surprise,’ he cried.

‘Who else had their surprise ruined?’ said His Mother looking out of the corner of her eye.

Jo couldn’t take this. He ran upstairs, banged his bedroom door and lay face down on the bed. He hadn’t meant to spoil their Christmas, or his own. He just wanted excitement and now there wasn’t any.

A year later Mother, Father and Teddy were all in the living room watching telly. Jo came in with the presents he had spent all evening wrapping. He placed them under the Christmas tree with the others.

‘ooh,’ he cried seeing a label with his name on it attached to a large parcel. ‘I wonder what I will be getting this year.’