Storytime: The Christmas Maker

Julian reached over to grab the glue gun once again making sure not to burn himself while keeping his focus level on the job at hand. Carefully, he glued on the last piece of the little toy train and held it up to the light to examine his work.

"I believe I've done it.", he said with a sigh of relief and a grin.

Julian worked throughout the year repairing broken ornaments from homes all over the world that landed on his workshop desk. He didn't know how it happened, just that it happened by some sort of magic, as each day new ones would appear. He loved repairing them and every new ornament that he received he would fix with the utmost love and care, always doing his best to add some little touch of something that wasn't there before to make it more special for it's owner.

"Daddy! Daddy!", his daughter Melony came running into the room grinning and screaming at the top of her lungs. Her little face filled with pride as she said, "I've done it, I've fixed one myself!". She held up a round red ball ornament that Julian had passed off to her earlier that day, it now had a ribbon tied around it in a neat little bow to cover a piece that had been chipped off from someone that had been a bit too careless. The ribbon was tied neatly around the bulb and the bow itself was perfect for the size of the ornament adding that special bit of flair that Julian himself loved to add to his work. It was simple yet beautiful.

'Like father like daughter' he thought to himself smiling softly to his youngest child.

"It's beautiful", he said, "you take after me and add your own personality to it too!" He gave her a big kiss on the cheek, "lets send them back to their owners, huh?"

The 10 year old beamed, "Really?"

"Yes", he knew that she would remember this moment for years to come as her first ornament to send back to it's respective family and it was exciting. Melony herself knew that her father took his business very seriously and wouldn't have given it to her to work on if he didn't really want her to try and send it out. She also knew her father wouldn't let her send it out if it wasn't really good enough. This was a big moment and a big accomplishment for her.

"I've finished mine also", he exclaimed while holding up the toy train he'd spent the past few hours on, "we'll send them out together!".

Holding her hand he walked her over to the fireplace on the far wall of his little workshop and together they held up the toys over the low flames making sure as to not burn themselves or singe their hard work.

"Do you know what to say?", Julian asked his daughter.

"Yep!" Melony replied with a giggle.

Together, they looked at one another with huge smiles and exclaimed, "Up up and away!". In an instant, there was a blue flash of light and a zap followed by a wind that picked up from the chimney shaft and off the ornaments went to their families.

Melony, fully delighted, flashed an even bigger smile at her father and hugged him before quickly running out of the room to go tell her mother about her first ever 'ornament send'.

Julian knew that each of the ornaments they had sent off would land right where they were supposed to, but couldn't help wondering what the stories were behind each one. Only special ornaments that were designated to him landed in his workshop and he could tell this by how well loved and worn they were when they arrived.

It was just a matter of time before it wouldn't be him expertly crafting ornaments to make Christmases more special for families, but eventually Melony herself would take over one day. He could tell that she would love crafting, creating, and coming up with new ideas just like he did.

A pink flash came from the corner of the room where his workshop desk was and he walked over to sit down and examine his next piece. It was a well loved little doll that just needed to feel beautiful again. He thought of his daughter and all she might come up with for this little doll, while smiling to himself he thought that this truly was the best Christmas season with his family yet.

"A little Christmas maker", he sighed under his breath and continued to paint into the night.

Dedicated to my father and sister, you both have a genuine and unique talent for restoring lost and broken things.