Twas The Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house
The Moore Boys were stirring,
all over the house;

The stockings were hung
by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nick
would bring a fire truck and a stick (sword).

The boys were nestled
all snug in their beds,
While visions of rudolph
flew in their heads;

And Mommy in her sweats
and Doug in his baseball hat
Had just settled down
for a long night of wrap(ping) -

When out on the lawn
there rose such a clatter
Indy sprang from the floor
to see what was the matter.

Away to the window
She flew like a flash
Barked at the shutters
and growled at the sash.

The moon on the breast
of the new-fallen pine (needles)
Made it seem like spring
instead of winter time;

When, what to our wondering eyes
should appear,
But a Texas sized sleigh
and eight Texas reindeer,

With a chubby old driver
so lively and quick,
We knew in a moment
we must be hallucinating or sick.

More rapid than eagles
we watched as they came
And Santa whistled, and shouted
and called them by name -

"Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer!
Now Prancer and Vixen!
On Comet! On, Cupid!
On Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the brand new roof,
to the top of the slide!
Now, dash away! Dash away!
Dash and glide!"

As they meet the heat of Texas
and attempt to fly,
They sweat the the rest of us
even in the sky,

So up to the housetop
Rudolph and his gang flew
With a sleigh of toys for the Moore boys (literally)
and St. Nicholas too;

And then in a twinkling,
We heard Santa on the roof
And we thought to ourselves
those reindeer better becareful with their little hooves.

As we looked at each other
and turned around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas
came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur
from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished
with dust from the work happening at our house.

A bundle of toys
he had flung on his back,
And he looked like he had robbed
a toy store and run out the back.

His eyes how they twinkled!
His dimples how merry!
His cheeks were full from cookies,
and his nose like a cherry!

His little old mouth
was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin
was as white as the snow!

The stump of a cuban cigar
he held tight in his teeth,
And Doug asked if he had another
through the smoke that encircled head like a wreath.

He had a broad face
and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed
like a bowl full of Andrew's jelly(o).

He was chubby and plump -
a right jolly old elf
And we laughed when we saw him,
in spite of ourselves.

A wink of his eye
a twist of his head,
Soon gave us to know
We had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word,
but went straight to his work,
And filled all the Moore stockings
then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger
aside (not inside, Andrew!) of his nose,
And giving a nod,
up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh,
and then gave a whistle,
And away they all flew
like the down of a thistle.

But we heard him exclaim
as he drove out of sight,
"Merry Christmas to all
and to all a Good Night!"

More to come on the Moore Family Christmas ...