It all started with my desire to give a special Christmas gift to my niece and nephew, who are two and four, respectively. I saw the ad for the Hallmark recording storybook “The Night Before Christmas” and instantly knew this was a great idea. Due to circumstances, I had not been able not travel to visit them in person. Aunt Rose was simply a voice on the phone or perhaps a photograph. But with the storybook, their Aunt Rose could read them her much-loved Christmas classic from 1823 at bedtime, and maybe they could have beautiful dreams filled with promises of Santa’s visit on Christmas Eve.

I ordered a copy and began recording a week after it arrived. Several hours later, extremely sad and frustrated, I concluded that my copy was defective. I cannot tell you how wretched I felt—Christmas was ruined. It was late in the month, and internet research showed that the storybook was sold out of stores across the U.S. Apparently, I had stumbled across this year’s hottest item.

I found a few copies being auctioned on the net at almost triple the retail price and seriously considered the option for a few moments. I had complex feelings of being a bad aunt for not being able to get a copy, and at the same time questioned whether I was becoming too materialistic. I finally concluded that it simply boiled down to wanting to be part of my niece and nephew’s life. If I could not do it traditionally by being there in person on Christmas Eve, then I was willing to do the next best thing.

The following day, I had another crack at recording, and lo and behold, it worked! Christmas was saved! By this time, the store had returned my call and explained why. The sensor was light-sensitive. I had been trying to record by firelight to add the ambiance of the crackle of the flames. Breathing a sigh of relief, I wrapped the storybook up and shipped it off via U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail. Since it was December 14th, I had plenty of time for it to get there.

December 22 rolled around, and tracking revealed that the package appeared nowhere after Seattle. This caused me more angst. It took me 45 minutes to finally figure out how to contact the right department at the post office to initiate a claim. Once again, Christmas was ruined, and I felt like a bad aunt. Maybe I should have spent the additional money and sent it Express Mail?

At this point, I decided that the best thing to do was to send Reiki to the situation, which I did. Half an hour later, I received a notice from the P.O. that the package was in New Jersey. Christmas was saved! I figured that it would be delivered that afternoon. It was not.

Drastic action needed to be taken, and so bravely, Aunt Rose took out her new Flip camcorder, which she had little experience with, and decided that she was going to make a movie, something she had never done. Feeling somewhat Grinch-like toward the Post Office (after all, every other package either she or someone else had sent before or after this one had long ago arrived at their destinations), Aunt Rose also drafted her trusty dog Puma and faithful cat Saqqara into the effort.

After much maneuvering of the camera on its very cute but tiny tripod, Aunt Rose finally arrived at a balance where you could see part of her face and all of Puma. Apparently, the camcorder’s small frame limited the scenery you could include, and moving it back made sound quality difficult. So many decisions!

Thankfully, the shoot went off without a hitch in one take. Puma was a pro, albeit a somewhat nervous one, being a bit camera-shy. He even tried to act; at the point in the poem where Saint Nicholas comes down the chimney with a bound, Puma shoots up from his resting position, looking startled. And Saqqara played the part of the cat settling down for a long winter’s nap well, giving a convincing yawn before exiting.

Figuring out how to edit and put the portions together took longer, but finally, it was done and uploaded. Christmas was saved once again. Clement C. Moore’s timeless classic from Christmas Past now lives again on YouTube as The Night Before Christmas read to Dog and Cat. All made possible by the technology of Christmas Present and one determined aunt!

From all of us at Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing,
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a blessed and Happy New Year!
Rose De Dan, Saqqara, Kiya, Cougar, Sand and Puma

Postscript: Today is the 24th of December, and the package has moved closer to North Jersey but is not there yet. It might arrive on Christmas Eve along with Santa—or maybe not.

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A WILD WAY TO HEAL
Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC, is an animal communicator, Reiki Master Teacher, shamanic energy healer, and author. Her classes, sessions and ceremonial work are inspired by wild and domestic animals who have issued a call to action for personal and global healing.

Her book Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism features heartwarming stories about animals and their role in her evolution as an energy worker and shamanic healer.