Christmas Prompt, Mad Lib Style

Last week for Christmas, my family threw a talent show for each other. All the kids were involved and some of the adults did as well.

For my talent, I had everyone shout out words and I had to write a story using every one of the words. I gave myself just a few minutes and came up with this:

Words:

peaches
Snuffleupagus
lamppost
Polar bear
tree
bacon
dog
star
banana
tractor

Story:

Santa scratched his head at this year’s Christmas list. The requests were a little different than he’d had before and he didn’t know how he would make it all work. There was a knock at the door, so he answered it, but no one was there. He looked around outside and found a small dog under a lamppost. How had he gotten so far north?

Santa stepped outside and whistled for his polar bear, Steve, and waited for him to come. He pulled a banana out of his pocket and took a bite.


“You called?” said the polar bear.


“Could you help this poor puppy find his way home?” Santa asked. He motioned to the puppy. “He could probably use some bacon if you can find some.”


The polar bear nodded and walked off with the puppy yipping happily at his heels.


Santa went back inside to study his list again. Where in the world was he going to find peaches at this time of year? Brazil? Maybe. He’d have to stop off there before heading off to Russia. He went to his shop and shrunk his tractor so he could put it in his bag. He’d need that to get through to the peach farms. He knew they were hidden by the Tooth Fairy at this time of year and she had pretty tough security.


At last the sleigh was filled to the brim and Santa climbed in. He directed his reindeer to Brazil and flew there swiftly. He only had a small amount of time and this could take a bit. He found a small clearing near the rain forest.


He took off his hat and jacket—it was blazing hot—and took out his slingshot. He only had one star left for ammo and he had to make sure he had a good shot. He hefted the bag with his tractor on to his shoulder and headed off to find the tree he knew had the best fruit.


Once he was inside the barrier, he pulled his tractor out and unshrunk it. He climbed in and put it on stealth mode before moving forward. He moved quickly over the rough terrain until he found the tree he was looking for.


But the way was blocked. He pulled out his sling, grinned, widely, and said, “So, we meet again, Snuffleupagus.” Christmas would be a little late this year.