A very crazy christmas, p.1
A Very Crazy Christmas, page 1
by ABBY KLEIN
illustrated by
JOHN McKINLEY
To Harry, Shirley, Michael, Susan, Amy, Rich,
Sue, Niki, Ashley, Joel, Josh, and Dani.
Being with you makes every Christmas special!
I love you all!
—A.K.
I have a problem.
A really, really big problem.
My twin cousins, Kelly and Kasey,
are coming for Christmas,
and whenever they’re around,
things get a little crazy!
Let me tell you about it.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Dear Reader
Chapter 1: Happy Holidays
Chapter 2: Jingle All the Way
Chapter 3: They’re Here!
Chapter 4: Wake Up, Rudolph!
Chapter 5: The Perfect Tree
Chapter 6: What’s That Smell?
Chapter 7: Reindeer Food
Chapter 8: Christmas Morning
Freddy’s Fun Pages
Freddy’s Shark Journal
Grammy Rose’s “Secret” Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
Pinecone Christmas Tree
Crazy Christmas Jokes
Freddy’s Other Adventures!
Ready, Freddy!
About the Authors
Copyright
DEAR READER,
I just love the holidays! We spend Christmas with grandparents and cousins, just like Freddy’s family. Our family has some special holiday traditions, too.
We go to White’s Tree Farm and cut down our own Christmas tree. When we bring it home, it makes the whole house smell like Christmas.
We make homemade gingerbread cookies and decorate them. We usually end up eating most of them on Christmas Eve, but we always save a few to leave for Santa!
We sprinkle granola on the front lawn for Santa’s reindeer. They must get hungry doing all that flying!
I hope you have as much fun reading A Very Crazy Christmas as I had writing it.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY READING!
CHAPTER 1
Happy Holidays
“Have a great holiday, everyone!” said our teacher, Mrs. Wushy, as we ran out the door.
I raced out of school, jumped on the bus, and plopped down in my seat. My best friend Robbie sat down next to me.
“This is going to be the best Christmas ever!” I said to Robbie.
“Why?” Max butted in. “Are you going to dance in The Nutcracker ballet?” Then Max stood up and announced to the whole bus, “Guess what, everybody? Freddy is going to wear a tutu and dance in The Nutcracker!”
The whole bus started laughing, and my face got hot. I sank down in my seat.
“Really?” said Chloe. “I’m going to wear a tutu and dance in The Nutcracker. What color is your tutu, Freddy?”
“Yeah, what color is your tutu, Freddy?” Max said, imitating Chloe.
I sank lower in my seat. “I wish I could disappear,” I whispered to Robbie.
Just then my other best friend, Jessie, looked right at Max and said, “What color is your tutu, Max?”
For a minute Max couldn’t say anything. Then he stammered, “I-I-I don’t have a tutu.”
“Yes, you do,” said Jessie. “It’s pink and has sparkles on it.”
The whole bus burst out laughing. Max’s cheeks got red, and he quickly sat down in his seat.
“Thanks, Jessie,” I said. Jessie was so brave. She was the only one brave enough to stand up to Max, the biggest bully in the whole first grade.
“No problem,” said Jessie, giggling.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Nothing,” said Jessie. “I’m just thinking of Max in a sparkly pink tutu. I bet he looks just like a little princess when he wears it.”
Robbie, Jessie, and I started laughing so hard I thought we were going to fall out of our seats.
“So, Freddy,” said Robbie. “You still haven’t told us why this is going to be the best Christmas ever.”
I smiled a big, wide smile. “Kelly and Kasey are coming to visit,” I said.
“Who?” asked Jessie.
“My twin cousins, Kelly and Kasey. Papa Dave and Grammy Rose are coming, and they’re bringing the twins with them.”
“Why are they coming with your grandparents?” Robbie asked.
“Well, their whole family was supposed to come, but my baby cousin Kenny got the chicken pox, so my aunt and uncle have to stay home with him,” I said.
“At least they still get to come,” said Robbie.
“Are they older or younger than you?” asked Jessie.
“They’re older than me, but not as old as Suzie,” I said.
“You sound so excited,” said Jessie.
“I can’t wait! Things always get a little crazy when those two are around.”
“My Christmas is going to be extra special, too,” said Jessie. “My abuela, my grandma, says that this year I’m old enough to carry my own candle for Las Posadas.”
“Las Po-what?” I said.
“Las Posadas,” said Jessie. “It’s a Mexican Christmas celebration. Everybody lights candles and then walks through the streets. It’s kind of like a parade.”
“Cool,” I said. “That sounds really beautiful.”
“It is,” said Jessie. “It’s always my favorite part of Christmas.”
“How about you?” I asked Robbie. “Do you get to do anything special this year?”
“Yes! My mom says I can light the kinara this year.”
“The what?” I asked.
“The kinara.”
“I’ve never heard of that,” said Jessie.
“Well, my family doesn’t celebrate Christmas,” said Robbie. “We celebrate Kwanzaa. The kinara is a candleholder that holds seven candles. We light one each night to celebrate the harvest.”
“That sounds like the menorah that my family lights for Hanukkah,” said Max.
I didn’t even know he was listening to us.
“It is a lot like a menorah,” said Robbie.
“Do you want to know what my favorite part of Hanukkah is?” asked Max.
“Not really,” I whispered to Robbie.
“It’s when my mom makes potato pancakes.”
“That sounds disgusting,” said Chloe, wrinkling up her nose. “Who makes pancakes out of potatoes? “
“For your information, little prissy princess,” said Max, “they are delicious!”
“That does sound good,” said Jessie. “It sounds like a giant hash brown.”
“That’s exactly what they’re like, and they taste really good with applesauce,” Max said, licking his lips.
“You know, Chloe,” said Jessie, “you really shouldn’t say something sounds disgusting if you’ve never tried it.”
“Yeah,” said Max.
“Hmph,” Chloe said as she tossed her strawberry-blonde curls and turned away.
“My favorite Christmas food is gingerbread cookies,” I said, patting my stomach.
“I love those, too!” said Max.
“I like putting all the colored sprinkles on them,” I said.
“Yeah. That’s my favorite part, too!” said Max.
“Wow! Something we have in common,” I whispered to Robbie.
I smiled at Max.
I think he might have actually smiled back at me.
Just then the bus pulled up in front of my house.
I jumped out of my seat. “Good-bye, everybody,” I called. “Happy holidays!”
“Good-bye, Freddy,” said Robbie. “Hope you have a great Christmas!”
“Oh, I will! This is going to be a very crazy Christmas!”
CHAPTER 2
Jingle All the Way
That night at dinner I was so excited I was bouncing in my seat.
“Freddy, please calm down,” said my mom. “You are going to fall out of your chair.”
“I can’t sit still, Mom. I am so excited about Christmas! This is going to be the best Christmas ever!” I started to sway and sing, “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.”
“It’s going to be the worst Christmas ever if you keep singing,” said my sister, Suzie, covering her ears.
“Suzie, that’s not very nice to say to your brother,” said my dad.
“Well, he sounds like a sick goat in the manger,” Suzie said, laughing.
I didn’t care what she said tonight. I was in too good a mood. I just kept singing and swaying. “Jingle bells, jingle bells.”
“Freddy smells,” Suzie sang.
I ignored her and sang louder. “JINGLE ALL THE WAY!” But this time I swayed a little too far to one side and fell right off my chair.
“Ha, ha, ha!” Suzie laughed. “That was a good one, Freddy!”
My mom jumped out of her chair and ran over to me. “Freddy, Freddy, are you all right?”
I looked up at her from my spot on the floor, and then I popped up, ran over to Suzie, and sang in her ear, “Jingle bells, Suzie smells.”
Suzie stuck her tongue out at me.
“That’s enough, you two,” said my dad. “This is the holidays. A time for peace and love. Freddy, go back to your seat.”
“Papa and Grammy and your cousins are coming any minute,” said my mom.
“Really?” I said. “I can’t wait!”
“Tomorrow we are going to take Kelly and Kasey with us t
“At White’s Tree Farm,” I interrupted. “We get to chop down our own tree. Right, Dad?” I jumped out of my chair and pretended to swing an ax. “Hi-ya!”
“That’s right,” my dad said, laughing. “But we are not ninja woodcutters. We will be using a little saw.”
“I can do that!” I said, sawing at the air.
“Hey, Shark Breath, we are not playing charades,” said Suzie. “Sit down and let Mom finish.”
“Sorry, Mom. I’m just so excited!” I sat back down.
“I think I’ve almost got all of the presents wrapped,” said my mom. “We had so many extra presents to wrap this year.”
“Really?” I said. “Extra presents!” I leaned across the table. “Did you hear that, Suzie? We get extra presents this year! This really is going to be the best Christmas ever!”
“I didn’t say you get extra presents,” said my mom.
“Oh,” I mumbled.
“Yeah, Ding-Dong,” said Suzie. “The extra presents are for our guests. Right, Mom?”
“You mean Papa and Grammy and the twins?” I asked.
“No, the Easter Bunny,” said Suzie.
“I didn’t know that the Easter Bunny got Christmas presents.”
“Freddy, are you for real? Of course she means Papa and Grammy and the twins!” said Suzie.
“I just know Kelly and Kasey are going to love the present I picked out for them,” I said.
“The present you picked out?” said Suzie. “I was the one who picked it out.”
“No, I did!”
“I did!”
I skipped right over to her chair, bent down, and whispered in her ear, “I did.”
Suzie jumped up and started chasing me around the table like we were playing duck duck goose.
As we were running, my dad stuck out his arms and grabbed us. We both froze. “Listen, you two. We have a lot to do before Christmas. If you can’t behave, maybe we’ll just have to cancel Christmas.”
I stared at him. “Did you just say ‘cancel Christmas’?”
“Yes, I did.”
“You can’t cancel Christmas! Our cousins are coming, and what about Santa? You can’t just cancel Santa!”
“Well, then, I think you should both sit down and listen to your mother.”
We ran back to our seats and sat down.
“You both helped pick out the present, and I’m sure your cousins are going to love it,” my mom said.
“I know something else we have to do, Mom,” said Suzie. “The cookies!”
“Mmmmm, gingerbread cookies,” I said, licking my lips.
“Of course we have to make gingerbread cookies,” said my mom. “It’s a Thresher family tradition.”
“I can taste them already,” said my dad.
“Me, too!” I said.
“It wouldn’t be Christmas without homemade gingerbread cookies,” said my mom.
“Did you get the rainbow sprinkles?” asked Suzie.
“How about the little candy buttons?”
“And the raisins for eyes?”
“I got it all,” my mom said, laughing. “I thought it would be fun to bake the cookies when Grammy and your cousins were here.”
We heard the crunch of tires on snow. Then a car door slammed.
“Shh, I think they’re here,” said my dad.
“Woohoo!” I said, and pumped my fist in the air.
The doorbell rang.
“They’re here! They’re here!” Suzie shouted, and she went running toward the door.
I raced after her, smiling. “Now things are going to get a little bit crazy,” I said.
CHAPTER 3
They’re Here!
Suzie threw open the front door, and Kelly and Kasey burst into the house. “Merry Christmas, everyone!” they shouted.
They grabbed Suzie’s hands, and the three of them started jumping up and down and squealing.
“Where’s Freddy?” asked Kasey.
“Here I am!” I yelled, and before I could even say hello, they both ran over and tackled me to the ground. “Merry Christmas, Freddy Spaghetti!” they said.
“We are so glad you girls are here!” my mom said.
“Thanks for inviting us, Aunt Debbie,” they said.
“Hey, where are Papa and Grammy?” I asked.
“Here we are!” they said. “We were just grabbing some things out of the car.”
I ran over to them and gave them a great big hug. “I am so glad you are both here!” I said. “I love it when you come for Christmas!”
“And we love being with all of you,” said Grammy Rose.
“And this Christmas will be extra special, because we brought your cousins along,” said Papa Dave.
“Bringing Kelly and Kasey is the best Christmas present ever!” said Suzie. The three girls all started squealing again.
“Boy, am I glad I only have one daughter,” my dad said, laughing.
“Let’s put everybody’s things away, and then we can all have some hot chocolate,” said my mom. “Freddy, would you please help Papa and Grammy take their things up to your room?”
My room? I didn’t know they were staying in there. “Where am I sleeping?” I asked.
“In Suzie’s room with your cousins. I thought that might be fun.”
“Yeah!” said Kelly and Kasey. “It will be like a big slumber party!”
“Me and three girls. That should be interesting!” I thought.
“Come on, guys, follow me,” said Suzie. “I’ll help you put your stuff in my room.”
“Give me that bag, Papa,” I said. “I’ll carry it up for you.”
“This bag is really heavy,” said Papa Dave. “Maybe I should carry that one.”
“Nope. I’ve got it, Papa,” I said as I grabbed the suitcase and started dragging it up the stairs. I didn’t want to look like a wimp in front of my cousins.
“Wow! You’re strong!” said Kelly.
“Like Superman!” said Kasey.
I smiled.
When they had all put their suitcases away, we went down to the kitchen to drink the hot chocolate.
“Here you go, girls,” my mom said to the twins as she handed them each a mug.
They both just stared at their cups.
“Is there something wrong?”
“It’s just that we’re used to drinking hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows,” said Kasey.
“No problem. Coming right up!” said my mom. “All you have to do is ask.”
“All you have to do is ask?” I thought. Whenever I ask, I’m usually allowed to have only one or the other!
“Freddy, would you please get the whipped cream out of the refrigerator while I get the marshmallows? “
“Sure thing, Mom,” I said, licking my lips.
I grabbed the can and handed it to Kasey. “Here you go,” I said. “Whipped cream is one of my favorite things in the whole world.”
“Mine, too!” said Kasey.
The next thing I knew, Kasey popped the top and started spraying the whipped cream on my chin.
Just then my mom came back to the table with the marshmallows and saw the whipped cream on my face. “Freddy! What are you doing?” yelled my mom. “That is supposed to go in your hot chocolate, not on your face!”
I tried to say, “Kasey did it,” but my mouth was covered in whipped cream.
“Look, it’s Santa!” said Kelly, pointing at me.
“Ho, ho, ho,” I said. “I’m Santa Claus.” I turned to Suzie. “Have you been a good little girl?”
Kelly and Kasey started giggling, and then Suzie joined in. Pretty soon everyone at the table started laughing.
Usually I get in big trouble when I play with my food, but this time all my mom could do was laugh. “Oh, Freddy, you are so silly,” she said.
I stuck out my tongue and started to lick the whipped cream off my face. “Ooooh, yummy!” I said.
“Freddy!” said my mom. “Let me wipe that off your face, and then you can put some in your hot chocolate.”
My mom cleaned me up, and I squirted whipped cream into my cup.
I started to drink, but Kasey grabbed my arm. “Wait, wait, wait! You forgot something,” she said.
“I did?”
