We had our church Christmas party on Saturday. Our 'Santa' was late, so it was unanimous, Paul was the logical choice. When I mean logical choice I mean that he is in the bishopric, wears glasses and is a good sport. He had about 10 minutes to change, so I went with him. Paul used his street clothes to fold up and fashion into a belly. Next we worked to use a couple of the provided Santa outfits to make one that would work. He came out looking a little more like Pere Noel, ( Santa Claus in French) as one the outfits had a long red and white robe with a hood. The French children loved that. He got dressed in five minutes and we spent the other five joined in hysterical laughter. Then I hurried downstairs to take my place with the other ward (church) members in anticipation of Pere Noel's arrival.
He entered exclaiming "HO HO HO" and "Merry Christmas." The children squealed as Paul went up the stairs to take his seat on the stage. One by one the children went up to sit on Pere Noel's lap and share some of their Christmas wishes. He listened carefully and asked if they had been good to their friends or siblings. Only Pere Noel knows the answers, but he said they were treasures. One little girl asked for one of his reindeer, another spoke in French asking for many things, but Pere Noel could only nod and smile. Many of the children had no idea what they wanted for Christmas, but they did enjoy talking about things only Pere Noel could possibly know. One of the children who sat on his lap was a sweet little Mongolian baby. Her parents had her looking so cute and Pere Noel had fun taking pictures with her. She looked like a little angel all on white.
After about 20 minutes, Pere Noel was finished. He left the room wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas" with his voice trailing off into a "HO HO HO" as he went down the hallway. I went out to help him undress and pack away the 'Santa Suit', when all of a sudden about 10 to 15 children started running toward Pere Noel (Paul). He walked as fast as he could to the stairs, but the children started to try to pull his beard and take off his robe. They were bound and determined to see who Pere Noel really was. I ran interference and tried to hold them back at the pass saying "Pere Noel est fatigué." (he is tired) Paul and I retreated to the Stake President's wing of the building and went to a room that we could lock. Soon children were knocking on the door calling out to Pere Noel. Paul was laughing so hard. I went back out of the room to lead the kids away from the discovery of Pere Paul Noel. After about 10 minutes I called out a window, "Goodbye Santa travel safely!" The children heard and screamed in delight as they bounded down the stairs and out back to see if Pere Noel was there. During this time Paul was able to exit. He went back to the Christmas party and the children were none the wiser. What a Christmas Adventure!
We had a nice Christmas Eve dinner, which they shared with us. After dinner We read Luke 2, about the birth of the Savior. Then we watched a Christmas concert special with the Mormon Tabernacle choir and David Archeleta. After that we told them about how we always read "The Night Before Christmas" to our children when they were little. So, I got out my book and they asked me to share it with them. I read a page and then Munkhjin would translate what I said into Mongolian. It was fun to see them react to all of the antics of Santa as he entered down the chimney. We have had many nights before Christmas, but being so far away from home, our Mongolian friends made this one never to forget!
