Nothing makes the holiday more fun than the actual sound of Santa and his reindeer galloping across your rooftop above a room full of excited children going balistic as we realize that we had better skidaddle and let the big, fat man do his job.

We knew he'd have some trouble getting down our skinny chimney.

But, magic was about to happen.

We really hoped Santa would bring us loads of presents that year.

And, he did.

Only decades later did I realize that my dad was outside throwing rocks onto the peak of the roof and as they rolled and skipped down the slope  of the roof they sure as hell sounded like a dozen or so, galloping hooves!

We even heard a loud, 'HO, HO, HO',  echoe in the cold, crisp darkness of that Christmas eve.

It was simply astonishing how even my mom looked genuinely surprised as we all squealed and shivered with anticipation.

Of course, when my dad came into the house, we all anxiously tried to explain what had just occured outside on the rooftop.

No one had noticed that he had been out.

He just listened and held his breath.

Actually, my dad must have been feeling terribly pleased with himself for making all of his kids laugh, giggle and scream with delight like never before!