Christmas at the Hidden Cabin

Christmas is my favorite holiday, and the reason is simple: people are friendlier, kinder, and more giving. Even with all the hustle and bustle and even stress, our hearts fill with joy, and we want to spread that magical feeling with others. Many of my stories end with Christmas chapters. This one that I am sharing with you today is from my New Release “Sister Witches of Bridelridge Farm.” The children's parents have gone to fight in the war, and Ellie, ten years old, and Peanut, eight years old after accidentally using magic in front of their neighborhood find themselves alone in the hideout cabin in the woods, with no idea when their parents will return. CHAPTER TWO Their first Christmas alone was especially hard for them. One day during homeschool, Peanut asked, “Ellie, how can we have Christmas with our parents gone? Will there be no presents this year?” Ellie thought a moment, “Well, Christmas will come whether they are with us or not. I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we pretend they are here, and celebrate Christmas like they would if they were here?” “We don't know how to do all of that stuff.” “Sure, we do. It is easy; we helped our parents for years. First, we will decorate the cabin. And it will be fun to make homemade gifts for each other. On Christmas Day, I can make a special dinner for us, and you can help make Christmas goodies,” Ellie replied with joy in her voice. She wanted to convince Peanut that they could make it work together and enjoy the holiday, whether their parents were home or not. It wasn’t easy because she did not believe it herself. “Okay, I guess we can do it, but what about a tree, and will Santa find us out here?” Peanut asked. “Silly girl, we live in a forest. A small tree will be easy to find; we will drag one into the cabin and decorate it. As far as Santa goes, I am pretty sure he will find his way to our cabin. C’mon, this will be a fun adventure!” Ellie answered, hoping her words rang true but knowing that their parents would not make it home for Christmas. “Can we start decorating now?” Peanut asked, with a bright smile and excitement in her tone. “As soon as we finish our studies,” Ellie said, trying to be firm and stick with the daily program, determined that they would not fall behind, so her parents would be proud of them when they returned. Peanut’s eyes lit up and asked, “Ah, can’t we count the decorating as an art project?” Ellie saw her sister smile for the first time in days and decided Peanut needed some cheering up. So, Ellie rearranged their schedule a little for her sake. “Yes, absolutely! That is a great idea, Peanut.” Truthfully, Ellie needed cheering up, too. It wasn't easy being an adult with the responsibility of raising her sister. After all, she was only ten years old. “Yay, I will go get the art supplies!” Peanut said, jumping up from her chair and running out of the classroom. Ellie felt a spark of Christmas cheer growing inside of her as she remembered the last Christmas when their parents were home. Next, she started writing a list of things from the forest they could use to decorate with and things they could make with the art supplies. She hummed the Christmas classic, “Oh Christmas Tree,” as her list grew in length. Peanut returned with her arms filled with colored paper, glue, and scissors. She brought a ruler for good measure. Ellie grinned, knowing Peanut planned to make paper chains to hang around the cabin. She was excited to help. They spent the rest of the day making enough for the entire cabin, taking turns cutting the paper and gluing the red and green strips together. They talked and giggled and planned a field trip into the protected part of the forest the following afternoon. They discussed what they could gather to add to the decorations. The sisters decided they would string holly berries and popcorn to decorate the tree. They would gather pinecones and use cinnamon to make everything smell good. The next few weeks, they kept busy secretly creating gifts for each other in their spare time. Ellie, a gifted artist, drew a portrait of Peanut and made a wooden frame out of popsicle sticks. She also carved four little wooden dolls to represent their small family. She dressed them in hand-sewn clothing and painted the faces. She used yarn for the hair. With each stroke, she remembered her hours spent with her mother learning how to sew. Her father taught her carving skills. Ellie loved doing both. Peanut loved art more than any of her other studies. She especially loved working with clay. Knowing Ellie’s love for games, she created X’s, O’s, and a square flat board to play Tic-Tac-Toe. After baking and cooling the pieces, she painted them in Ellie’s favorite colors, sage green and sea blue. The board she painted white and used a soft brown to make the four lines. Then, remembering how Ellie loved to make lists and notes, Peanut used the ruler to draw two lines through the center of a piece of paper, making it four squares that she cut out. Then, she made and decorated a cardboard box to store them. As a final gift, Peanut retrieved a box of leaves she had flattened and dried in early November. She selected enough to make a strip to hang above Ellie’s bed. She hodge-podged them before gluing them onto twine. “I thought today for cooking class we could make some goodies for Christmas treats,” Ellie said a few days before Christmas. She grinned, knowing Peanut would jump for joy. Peanut leaped out of her chair, as Ellie expected, and shouted, “Yay, can we make sugar cookies first?” Her voice filled with excitement. “That is a great idea, as long as you understand we will follow mom’s tradition and not decorate until Christmas Eve. Okay?” “I know, but we can still eat some undecorated cookies for dessert.” Ellie giggled and nodded in agreement. They made sugar cookies first. Then, Ellie made chocolate no-bake cookies while Peanut made honey, peanut butter, and chocolate balls. They were yummy, and no baking was involved. On Christmas Eve, they played board games, had a dance-off, and decorated sugar cookies. Lastly, they hung their stockings and wrapped their tree with popcorn strings and holly berries before going to bed early. They both hoped their parents would make it home in time for Christmas. In the dark of night, each girl crept out from their bed and hid their gifts under the tree. Each sister made a small gift for their parents, too, keeping their hopes alive. On Christmas morning, they woke at dawn and ran downstairs. They were not worried about gifts from Santa; they hoped the jolly elf had delivered their parents instead. Sadly, they were still alone. Ellie hugged Peanut and cried. Ellie was tearful, too, but said, “It’s okay, Peanut. Maybe our parents got delayed, but they are on their way to us now. Let’s treat this day as we do every Christmas. Who knows, they might arrive later. We will wait to open our presents until this afternoon. Okay?” “Will you make us pancakes for breakfast?” Peanut asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Of course, if you set the table.” “That’s a deal,” Peanut said, producing a smile. While stirring up the batter, Ellie glanced outside the kitchen window and noticed it had snowed overnight. Happiness brewed inside of her. She would surprise Peanut with the news, and, after breakfast, they would go outside and make a snowman. When the sisters finished eating, Ellie said, “Peanut, I think Santa, with some help from our Maker, left a big gift for us outside.” Peanut’s eyes snapped up, and she asked, “What do you mean?” Ellie grinned, “Why don’t you slip on your coat and boots and go see for yourself?” Peanut hopped out of her chair and ran for the coat rack, as Ellie followed, giggling all the way. After slipping on her coat and boots, Peanut pulled the door open and stood in awe at the white wonderland. Recovering seconds later, she turned to Ellie and asked, “Do you want to build a snowman?” Ellie giggled and showed her sister the bag of snowman essentials she gathered while making breakfast, “Let’s get to it.” They spent the morning building snowmen. After lunch, they went sledding. As the afternoon slipped away, they sipped on hot chocolate, ate goodies, and opened their presents. Both girls were excited to see what thoughtful gift the other had made. For dinner, Ellie made canned ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans. She added a small can of cranberry sauce for good measure. For dessert, they ate the sugar cookie they had made especially for each other. After dinner, they played Tic-Tac-Toe and played with the new wooden doll set. As they prayed at bedtime, they thanked their maker for a fantastic day and asked that their parents would be home soon. Ellie secretly thanked him for the snow. It was a prayer they prayed for years. The sisters raised each other with no outside help. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter from when the sisters were still children. Soon they will grow up and find love of their own, but danger follows when their father returns ten years after leaving them to inform them their mother has been captured by an evil traitor witch and her army of witch hunters. They must rescue their mother and end Henrietta and her hunters to save all of their kind from extinction. I had the best time dreaming up Sisters of Bridleridge Farm with my eight-year-old granddaughter, Elizabeth Johnson, while visiting in the fall. Merry Christmas and happy New Year to all! Find me on Amazon, Facebook and Instagram or on my website ruthielmanierbooks.com This image is of Elizabeth dressed in her witch outfit. Elizabeth has a vivid imagination and will be a great writer!