Well, it's that time of year. Ol' Santy better bring his A game this Christmas. What? You don't believe in Santy? Well, I confess me neither, and I'll tell you why.

Early Christmas morn, a young lad named Joshua scurried down the stairs to see what Old Saint Nick had left under the tree. "Have I been naughty or nice?" thought the shirtless young boy with a bowl hair cut and spider man undies. That very question had kept him awake all night in anticipation for what the morning would bring.

As soon as daylight hit, Joshua raced down the stairs with his sister to see what Santa had left. The chocolate oatmeal cookies were gone, and the Polaroid camera was out. As soon as the boy began opening his presents, he knew the answer to his long awaited question. "Wow! Hungry Hungry Hippos!" Josh proclaimed as he unwrapped the hottest new game on the market. "Exactly what I wanted!" Filled with glee, the boy began joyfully tossing boxes in the air out of celebration. One by one, each box began making a pile around Joshua. Then one fell on his lap. Low and behold, it was the Hungry Hungry Hippos box.

(read as "The Night Before Christmas"..I know clever)

And what to his wondering eyes should appear? But a k-mart price tag, in the shape of a deer. He looked even closer to see what's the matter, and the price of the gift appeared all torn and tattered. He ran up the stairs to awake mom and pops. He asked, "Have my presents been all bought in shops?" His pop half asleep rolled over in bed. And said,"Go to sleep. Ol' Santy is dead." Not in those words, but the message was true. The boy said to his dad, "This gift was bought by you!" The dad rolled back over with sleep in his eye, and poor bowl cut Joshua started to cry. Cautious about making noise, he left on his tiptoes. And spent the rest of Christmas playing Hungry Hungry Hippos.

There you have it, my Christmas story. The moral of the story? Santy is dead. Christmas is expensive. That's why my kids will work all year round. And I'm talking hard labor like dragging brush or installing above ground pools. So when they say, "Daddy we're tired of working!" I'll say, "You want Christmas don't you." Who's Old Saint Nick now.