LET’S GO GNOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Hello. My name is Flake.
I am not an elf,
I don’t work for Santa.
I am not a reindeer,
I don’t know how to fly.
I am a gnome, a snow gnome.
I have a fuzzy grey hat,
a big red nose, tree branch arms
and dusty charcoal feet.
I am small but not too small,
bigger than a snowball and smaller than a brick,
the perfect size for a mochi.
Until the first snowflake falls,
I sleep in a cold arctic forest,
tucked behind a glacier rock,
at the edge of The North Pole.
In my forest,
gnome magic is powered by giving wishes,
but the tree of kindness is empty.
Moving north to south,
in a secret network of underground tunnels,
I start my annual winter walkabout.
Without your wishes,
winter will be cold and prickly.
When you are hanging holiday lights,
you might see a few gnome footprints in the snow.
I’m not here to give you presents
or as you what you want.
I’m here to teach you how to write a giving wish
and remind you to use your heart.
Make a wish for everyone you love.
Make a wish for someone you don’t know.
Give something you can’t buy at a store.
Give something that doesn’t fit in a box.
Uncle Jimmy wants a black-and-white puppy.
The postman needs a new pair of shoes.
Dad wants peace and quiet while we watch his team play.
I hope everyone has someone to hug.
Scribbled on a piece of paper,
folded in half and tied in a knot,
hanging from a holiday tree,
each giving wish captures the power of kid sized kindness,
the best kind.
You better watch out...
if you don’t make a giving wish,
I will play a trick on you.
Who put whipped cream in your shoe?
I did.
Who stacked the presents to the ceiling?
That was me.
Before you turn this page,
put your finger on my nose,
close your eyes
and make a giving wish.
That’s the power of kindness
and winter gift giving,
delivered to your home
by a big hearted gnome with a small round hat.
In snowy silence,
I return to The North Pole
to fill up the tree of kindness.
With my gnome magic and your giving wishes,
the winter forest sparkles,
Santa’s workshop starts to whirl and hum
and the holidays are happy.
Rudolph: See you next winter, Flake!
Santa: Good night, good gnome!