Stacy was sitting on the bean bag with a Christmas book on her lap that she hadn't opened. She wasn't in the mood to do much and couldn't get into the Christmas spirit. She looked around the room at how the teachers had decorated the playroom with snowmen, stars, and lots of red and green Christmassy things. Some kids were at the table making tree decorations, while others were playing with Christmas-themed toys. Everyone except her was bubbling over with joy and excitement.

When three kids walked into the playroom, only Stacy appeared to notice them. Not even the teachers paid them any attention. They were all dressed in these red outfits with white trim. All coordinated like that, Stacy assumed they were siblings. They looked about the same age, so she figured they must be triplets. The three kids split up, walking around and looking at all the other kids. They would go to where a kid was, stand there looking at them for a few minutes, and then move on to another kid. None of them played or engaged with any of the activities. One of the three kids looked over at Stacy and came over to the reading corner. The girl had pigtails tied off with red and white yarn, wearing a red dress with fuzzy white around her neck, wrists, and bottom hem. It was the type of dress Stacy would love to wear to the school Christmas concert, but she knew her mom would never buy her something like that. Stacy looked right at the girl and gave a weak smile.

The girl's eyes immediately went wide, and she looked behind her before turning back to Stacy.

"Hi, what's your name," Stacy asked?

"Umm, uhhh," the girl looked over to the other two that came in with her. They were too far away to hear what was going on. Turning back to Stacy, "Candy. My name is Candy."

"Hi, Candy," Stacy responded. "Do you like to read? We have lots of books. The teachers brought in some fun Christmas ones."

Candy reached up and pressed the center of the star on her necklace. It pulsed in light.

"That’s pretty,” Stacy commented. “I wish I had a light-up necklace like that.”

“Thanks. It was a special gift from Mrs. Cl . . . Mrs. C.”

“It goes nicely with that dress,” Stacy said admiringly.

Candy smiled.

One of the other kids dressed in red and white came into the reading corner, “Candy? What’s up?”

Candy twisted her face and smiled oddly, “Dash, this is Stacy. She really likes my necklace.”

Dash immediately looked at Stacy, then Candy, and back at Stacy.

“Hi, Dash,” Stacy smiled.

“Aaaaaahhhh, Hi,” Dash reached up and tapped a snowflake pin on his shirt three times. He looked around the room and then tapped the pin again three times. “Nice to meet you, Stacy.”

“Are you Candy’s brother?”

Candy shook her head back and forth while holding back a giggle.

“No,” Dash responded with a smile. “We just wor . . . spend a lot of time together, especially this time of year.”

Just then, a lady wearing a similar outfit to the three kids came in and over to Stacy, Candy, and Dash.

“Hi Dash, what’s up,” the lady smiled, looking around?

“Mrs. C, this is Stacey. She was asking if Candy and I are brother and sister.”

Mrs. C smiled down at Stacy, “Was she now? I can see how she might think that. Hi Stacy, nice to meet you.”

The other little girl who came in with Candy and Dash came over to the reading corner. Stacy looked at the three kids dressed in red and white, along with Mrs. C in a similar outfit, “Hi.”

Mrs. C looked at Dash, “Are you done in this room?”

Dash pulled out a tablet and tapped on the screen several times, “Yeah, we have everyone.”

“Then why don’t you go on to the next room. I want to talk with Stacy,” Mrs. C directed.

Candy smiled and waved before turning to leave.

“Bye, Candy,” Stacy waved with a slight smile.

“Candy,” Mrs. C stopped her. “Stay here for a moment, please. Dash, can you and Holly handle the rest of the daycare center?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Dash responded before motioning with his head for Holly to follow him.

“Candy, why don’t you sit next to Stacy.”

Candy pulled another bean bag chair over and sat down. Stacy reached out and squeezed her hand. Mrs. C pulled over a small stool to sit on.

“Stacy,” Mrs. C looked at the little girl dressed in a shirt and pants. “Did you know you are a very special little girl? Candy, Dash, and Holly are magical and have an invisibility shield hiding them from ordinary people. In rare situations, a child has a powerful inner light that allows them to see through the shield. I am called in whenever one of these special children is found.”

“Magical? Invisible?” Stacy looked over at Candy, who was nodding her head and smiling.

“They are Christmas elves who help Santa ensure he gets things right with every kid.”

Stacy’s eyes went wide. She looked at Candy and then at Mrs. C, “Christmas Elves? Wait a minute. Mrs. C? Are you Mrs. Clause? You are, aren’t you? You’re Mrs. Santa Clause.”

Mrs. C smiled and nodded her head.

“Really, that’s cool. But . . . what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the North Pole cooking cookies for the elves, wrapping presents, or getting the reindeer ready for their Christmas trip?”

“Although I cook cookies for the elves and sneak the reindeer an extra carrot or two, the elves take care of all the stuff to prep for Christmas. I get to help where needed, and today I am needed here with you.”

“Me? Why? I’m no one special.”

“Every kid is special. Kids have a magical power inside of them that helps them see the world in ways others can’t. Kids can find joy in little things and honestly share their love for others. As for you, specifically Stacy, you are extra special. For you to be able to see past the Christmas Elf Invisibility Shield, your inner light must shine extremely bright. So, let’s see why. Candy, can I see your necklace please?”

Candy took her star necklace off and handed it to Mrs. C.

Bringing her wrist out in front of her, Mrs. C placed the star necklace on top of her watch. A beam of light came from the two, and a picture of Stacy was projected.

“Hmmm, let’s see here,” Mrs. C said as she tapped the picture, causing it to shrink and display a bunch of text next to it. “Santa's good list for 10 years. Always nice to the other kids. Even when teased, you walk away instead of being mean back. Nice, very nice. Looks like you want some typical toys for a girl your age, nothing out of the ordinary there. Oh, here it is, what you are hiding."

"What? Santa can see what I am hiding?"

"He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good, for goodness sake," Mrs. C stated. "Yeah, with Christmas magic, he sees all. He puts a little Christmas magic in each collection device before sending the elves to visit all the children. It helps him double-check his lists."

Mrs. C smiles at Stacy and then looks back at the information displayed, "This says you got in a fight last night with your Mom and Dad about wearing a pretty Christmas dress."

"Yeah, they won't let me have one because they are certain I will try to wear it everywhere."

"I see. Is that why you are sad right now?"

Stacy nodded her head up and down.

"Stacy, please take this star necklace and put it up against your chest, right where your heart is," Mrs. C said as she took Candy's necklace off her watch and pressed the ends of each spike on the star.

Stacy took the necklace and did as instructed. She felt so honored to have a little Christmas Magic in her hand and against her heart.

After about a minute, Mrs. C asked for the necklace back and returned it to her watch, "Ahhh, your innermost secret wish. The one you won't even tell Santa. Very interesting."

Stacy blushed, "Years ago, Mom and Dad said I can't have it, so there was no reason to ask Santa for it."

"I see. There are always things that Santa can't give you. It is true that your particular innermost desire is something Santa can't give you. I'm sorry. It doesn't mean you will never get what you want. It just means you can't have it now. It may be years before you can have it, but that inner light shining so bright is you, Stacy. You will continue to shine, even if things do not go as you prefer. Not getting what you want now doesn't change you."

"I guess," Stacy frowned. "It’s just hard.”

“Believe it or not, getting your innermost desire will not decrease how hard life is. Sorry. It will just shift the hard things around to other factors. This often makes it easier for you to handle the hard elements, but not always.”

Candy squeezed Stacy's hand and turned to Mrs. C, “Can’t we do anything to help?”

Mrs. Clause shook her head, “Not really. This isn’t a Christmas thing. She needs other people, including her parents, to change their views and love her for who she really is. We don’t have that type of power as Christmas elves and spirits. Christmas Magic does have its limitations. Unfortunately, love is one of them. We can’t make someone else love another person unless the love is already there. I could get Stacy’s parents to see how much they love their child and why they love them. This might, however, make things harder for Stacy, for it would strengthen the things causing them not to accept Stacy for who she is.”

Mrs. C thought a bit, “I will tell Cupid to check in on you in February and see if he can do anything to help the process, but this might be out of his powers too. I can, however, do something for you right now. I’m going to give you a special Christmas gift.”

Stacy smiled at Mrs. C.

“You really like Candy’s necklace, don’t you?”

“It’s so pretty,” Stacy said with a huge smile. “It even lights up when you press it.”

Mrs. C looked at the star necklace sitting on her watch. She pressed and held her finger on the center until a special screen was projected. After tapping a few things, the screen disappeared, and Mrs. C picked up the necklace.

“Stacy, this is a special necklace with Christmas magic. This is my Christmas gift to you.”

“Oh no,” Stacy shook her head. “I can’t take Candy’s necklace. It’s hers, and she would miss it.”

Mrs. C smiled, “I will give her a new necklace when we get back to the North Pole.”

“Yeah,” Candy said. “It’s not special to me. All the girl elves get one when they leave the North Pole. It is special to you, so I think it is a great gift for you.”

Mrs. C took the necklace and handed it to Stacy. Looking at the star necklace in her hand, Stacy smiled. After a few moments, the necklace started to glow a pink color.

“Wow, I’ve never seen it do that before,” Candy commented.

“That is her inner strength and joy radiating out and touching the Christmas Magic inside the necklace. Only a powerful inner soul full of absolute joy can cause a necklace to do that.”

Stacy couldn’t take her eyes off the necklace.

“Candy, I think it is time for us to go. We have a lot of work to do before Christmas.”

Standing up, Candy looked down, “Bye, Stacy. It was so nice to meet you. We get to see lots of kids in my job, but I never get to actually interact with them. It was nice to talk with you and learn a bit about you.”

“Yes,” Mrs. C said as she stood up. “You are a special girl, and it was so nice to spend time with you today.”

Final farewells were made. Mrs. C and Candy left the playroom. Stacy looked around, and again, no one appeared to notice that they had even been in the room. Stacy looked at the necklace in her hand. Closing her fist around the necklace, she put it up to her chest and laid back in the bean bag chair. Closing her eyes, Stacy tried to feel the Christmas magic coming from the necklace.

“Carl. Carl,” Teacher Jane called out. “Carl, come over here and make a Christmas tree ornament.”

Carl opened his eyes and looked up at Teacher Jane, “Okay.”

Before getting up, Carl opened his fist to see a glowing star necklace in his hand. After standing up, he started to put the necklace on but stopped. Quietly, Carl said, “If I wear you, someone might take the necklace away from me. I can’t allow that to happen.”

Carl put the star necklace in his pocket and headed to the craft table.