My kids awoke the day before Christmas with the usual childhood excitement that every child feels during Christmas. At that time they were two, four and eight years old - the perfect ages to watch as the moment draws closer to the arrival of that Jolly Old Elf.

I had to work that Christmas Eve day so I shuffled the kids off to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa. In my children's eyes, Grandma and Grandpa's house is home away from home. My parents have always played a very important role in their grandchildren's lives. I knew that there would be no better place for them to be, especially on this Christmas Eve.

You see, this was our first Christmas on our own and I was worried about how Christmas without dad would affect the kids. As I dropped them off, my four year old daughter asked if she would see daddy this Christmas, bringing tears to our eyes. Once again, as I had done many times in the past week, I assured them all that they would be spending Christmas day with their daddy.

I kissed them all goodbye and as I drove away, my heart weighed heavy. It saddened me to see my children carrying such a large emotional burden at what is supposed to be the most exciting and magical time of year. I wondered if the Spirit of Christmas would find us and work it's magic to help us through this Joyous season.

After work I hurried to pick up the kids, as I was anxious to show them that very little would change at Christmas. I wanted to make sure that we continued the same traditions and routines as we had done the years before. We delivered our gifts to our friends and family and drove around to look at the Christmas lights.

When we got home we built a cozy fire, hung our stockings and put out the milk and cookies for Santa. It was now time for us to gather around the fireplace and read "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," our final tradition of the evening. As we cuddled together, my kids asked about their father again and I reassured them that they would see him in the morning.

I then began to read the story and as they quietly listened and looked at the colorful pictures with delight, we heard a faint yet very festive sound in the distance. I stopped reading and we sat quietly and listened ever so carefully. As the sound got closer to the house, we realized that it was jingle bells, like the ones on Santa's sleigh. My kids shrieked with delight:

"It's Santa Claus, I think he is here already!"

The next thing we knew the jingle bells were right outside our door but by the time the kids opened the front door, the bells had moved past and were slowly making their way around the house. I followed my kids as they chased the sound, running from room to room looking through windows hoping to catch a glimpse of Jolly Old Saint Nick.

The jingle bells made one full round of the house and then disappeared without a trace. Who ever it was, made sure to keep one step ahead of us as we never even saw a shadow in our search for the visitor.

All worries and troubles my kids were experiencing vanished in an instant. They were now their usual selves and filled with Christmas excitement. Their only focus was to hurry into bed and get to sleep so Santa would have time to come back and leave his treasures. I questioned everyone I knew hoping to find out who it was that paid us this special visit on Christmas Eve and nobody seemed to know anything about it.

It is now 13 years later and to this day, I still do not know who was behind this amazing act of kindness. This event had such a great impact on my kids, that each one of them clearly remembers that special night, even my 15 year old son, who was only two at the time, recalls this as his first real memory of Christmas.

Every year at this time, we remind each other of that very magical Christmas. I hope that the person, who came to our home that Christmas Eve, is reading this story today. I would like you to know with that one single act, you restored our faith and hope by giving us our very own Christmas miracle. You created a memory for us that will last us a lifetime.

Thanks to you, our "Secret Santa," that Christmas is not remembered as our first Christmas as a single mom family. It is remembered as our most magical Christmas ever and is now our all time favorite Christmas memory. I raise my glass to you each and every Christmas as we recall this story. You are always dearly remembered with warm thoughts every year.

From our family to yours, we wish you and your loved ones a very happy holiday season this year and for the many years to come.

           ~ Written by Colleen Guiney and used with permission ~

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