Author: Reena Saxena

It was quite the dilemma when you consider that here was a guy who had everything and if he didn’t have it he could conjure it up or have the elves put in the long hours required to pull off the impossible.

It was a good thing that Santa was not all that materialistic. He was more your giving type of person so when, as happened each year, he was asked what do YOU want for Christmas he would always feel tongue-tied trying to think of what he might like.

It occurred to him that his needs were not what he got but rather what he gave.

There were so many people out there doing it tough. It had been a hard year for everyone what with the pandemic and the worry of climate change. Even the North Pole was a different place these days, with less snow, more rain…

In 1966, ‘What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted’ was written for the Detroit Spinners, but Jimmy Ruffin who was the older brother of Temptations lead singer David Ruffin persuaded the writers (William Henry Weatherspoon, Paul Riser & James Anthony Dean) to let him record it.  At the time they were all hustling for material, so Jimmy walked up to the guy who wrote the lyrics, James Dean, while he was singing the rhythm track alongside the producer William Weatherspoon.  Jimmy was told that the song was intended for The Spinners, but he told them that he thought he could do a better job with the recording.  They let him try and they liked the way he sang it, so about two weeks later they finished recording it and getting the strings put on it.  This song is filled with heartache and misery, as Jimmy Ruffin’s love has departed, he is alone, in pain…

Seems strange, yes it does
That one who brings presents 
To people all over the world 
Would require a present for himself



But a bit of reciprocation won’t go amiss 
Perhaps, he too would want to be rewarded 
For being thoughtful and kind to everyone 
It will also gladden his big heart to be remembered 


But! You ask what could Santa possibly want?
Someone who has everything, what would he desire 
Think deeply and the answer is self-evident 
Can you guess or do I spell it out?


Santa would love to receive the gift of love
Not for himself but the love we bestow on each other 
He would be absolutely chuffed if he could see
That people really, truly love each other 
Irrespective of their religion, race color, or culture 


And this my dear would be the best gift we can give
To ourselves too!

Written for RXC #…

My mother loved to wear loud colors, especially red. Her laugh could be heard above the din of any crowded room.

Not me.  I dress mostly in black, try to fade unnoticed into the background of other peoples’ lives.  I avoid parties.

But my eyes crave color, my hands long to manipulate texture and shape, to form visual ideas that enhance and delight.  I have a hidden closet full of rainbows—painted, embroidered, knitted, woven into intricate arrangements.

All those vivid narratives remain unworn by my own days, the ones I dress in, their stories patterned and purple.

As night surrounds me, only then do I take them out to display, to embellish my own possibilities.  I close my eyes and enter a parallel world, one in which I cover myself with a thousand glittering mirrors, quilted with moonlight, seams stitched with prismatic stars.

For dverse, where Lisa asked us…

Any guy who has the address of every naughty girl in town, doesn’t really need anything more, but Santa does deserve some type of present, although I have no idea what he wants.  I guess he wants all the boys and girls to be good, so he can give out more toys, which will keep the elves busy.  When the elves get time off, they are always thinking up new ways to get into mischief, which causes all types of trouble for Santa.  Santa is always happy when Mrs. Claus is baking cookies, as that gives him time to visit some of those really naughty girls.

Written for Reena’s Xploration Challenge #211, where today she would like to know, “What would Santa want for Christmas in 2021?”