‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the homestead
Everyone was filled with holiday dread.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
But the dogs pulled them off with a deafening tear.

The children were out doing ‘Holiday chores’,
Feeding the goats and the rabbits outdoors.
And I in my apron and big comfy socks,
Was baking some cookies for the final gift box.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the kitchen, spilling the batter.
As quick as the Flash, I ran to the door
To find the goats running loose, and my kids on the floor!

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Shed plenty of light on the chaos below!
When what to my wandering eyes should appear,
But my neighbor Nick and his daughter Rose here.

The girl was distraught, clearly leading the way,
When her dad mouthed ‘the chickens’ I understood right away.
More rapid than fire, and quick as a flame
She whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

“Now Tootsie and Rusty, come here Elsa and Bitsy!
Dodo and Big Bird and Holly and Fitzy!
Come back to the coup, come back to me now!
Get your butts back home!” She said with a scowl.

We collected the Chickens, we collected the goats,
The temperature dropped and we zipped up our coats.
So up to the house, the kids and I flew,
With a bag full of presents from Nick’s family of two.

When we got back to the house, the cookies had burned,
The goats getting out had been our only concern.
I cleaned up the kitchen and threw the cookies outside,
The night before Christmas was going awry!

I looked at my husband for his helpful input,
But his clothes were all blemished with ashes and soot.
He had just finished loading our wood-burning stove,
And he looked like a sight that was hard to behold.

His eyes – how they watered, his cold was quite scary
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry.
I bundled him up, and to bed he was sent
Then off to wrap last minute presents I went.

The kids were in bed, having just brushed their teeth,
The smoke from the woodstove encircled the house like a wreath.
The house was now quiet, as I sipped my tea
The presents were wrapped, all under the tree.

I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,
While mending the stockings, I turned with a jerk.
My husband’s snores could be heard from afar
Like the revving and roaring of a rusty old car.

One final glance, at the tree, I did take
Tomorrow the kids would be up at daybreak.
There were presents to open, and food to be ate,
Laughter to have, and memories to create.

I walked to my room in the dead of the night,
Tomorrow would bring a day of delight.
I thought to myself as I crept into bed;
‘Merry Christmas to us, here on the Homestead!’

~

I hope that this makes you smile and laugh, and I hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I wanted to do something different for my Christmas post this year, so I thought that it would be fun if I re-wrote the ‘Night Before Christmas’ poem to fit a new audience. 😉 Let me know what you think in the comments below and feel free to share this with your friends and family!

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year from me and my family on the homestead. And as always, smile, have an amazing rest of your year, and best of luck to everyone in the new year! ❤