The Smells of Christmas

Bet you were thinking this post would be about gingerbread, peppermint candy canes, and fresh-cut evergreen. You'd be thinking wrong.

My daughter and I shared this whispered exchange about 10 minutes after she had a brief one-on-one meeting with the big man in the red suit...

MissM: "Mom, Santa smelled really bad."
Me: "Well... [insert brief pause here while my brain searched for something appropriate]. I'll bet Santa was hanging out with the reindeer just before he came to your preschool to visit. And reindeer are great big animals, like cows. And remember last time we saw cows?"
MissM: "Cows are stinky, Mom."
Me: "Yep. So Santa smells like stinky reindeer. He was probably out hugging them."
MissM: "Let's go out and see the stinky reindeer! I want to go see the reindeer! Santa's still here, so the reindeer must be outside."
Me: "No, ummmmmm, Santa sent them on an errand. They'll be back to pick him up later."
MissM: "What kind of errand?"
Me: "A secret Christmas errand."
MissM: "Oh, OK. Can I have another cookie?"

Here's hoping your visit from Santa doesn't stink! Merry Christmas!!