The First Mini-Christmas
a Mini-Peter Adventure transcribed by Nikki, 2007

December 2007: All he wants for Christmas is a Mini-Zorb!

     It's Mini-Peter's first Christmas!

     I explained the whole Christmas thing to Mini-Peter, then told him about how when I was growing up we used to have themed trees - one year all the decorations were cats, another year they were all bears, and so on. Mini-Peter liked this idea, and after some consideration decided on bells. So a Bell Tree it would be! In other news, I finally got him out of his Halloween costume by offering a serendipitous substitute. While shopping for the mini-tree and bells to go with it, I came across a tree decoration that was a Santa suit, and it looked to be exactly Mini-Peter's size! I brought it home for him, and sure enough, it fit quite well, so he scrubbed off his Monkey face paint and put on his new kit.

     After adding the garland and an Orange skirt, the tree looked pretty impressive. Of course, there are certain inevitabilities in Mini-Peter's world, and one of them is that if you have a tree full of bells, you're going to have to shake it.

     Next it was time for the stockings. We don't have a chimney, so we found the next best place - right under the square of Real Peter albums on my wall!

     With the decorations up, it was time to start thinking about presents. I had already promised Mini-Peter months ago that I would be making him a Mini-Zorb for Christmas. I wasn't sure how I was going to pull this off, but a promise is a promise, so I started brainstorming. Meanwhile, the little ones started coming to me asking for rides to shops so they could get gifts for each other... the colourfully wrapped packages started piling up under the tree, one by one.

     They asked me what I wanted, but I told them not to worry about getting me a gift. "I can't think what I want this year - just worry about getting stuff for each other."
     "But you're getting all these presents for us," Kitty said, "we have to get you something."
     "I enjoy making things for you, and it's a gift in itself just to have all of you here."
     Kitty smiled sheepishly and we left it at that, or so I thought. I got back to my Mini-Zorb construction while the little ones enjoyed the holiday season.

     Some people had suggested just getting him a giant hamster ball, but I wanted it to be as close to the real thing as possible, and that meant it had to be dual-layered. I'd determined quite early on that making it inflatable was going to be far too complicated and time consuming, so I opted instead for a wire frame, which would be surrounded by clear vinyl. Keeping it hidden from Mini-Peter was quite a task, especially in the last few days when I had it hanging in a doorway.

     And yes, I did walk into it, once. Do you really have to ask? If you're interested in such things, you can read a more detailed account of the Mini-Zorb Construction on its own page.

     It has always been the tradition in my family to open the presents on Christmas Eve, after midnight. On the evening of the 24th, everyone fell asleep surprisingly early. I tucked them into bed and quietly gathered up the completed Mini-Zorb, wrapped it, and left it in the living room, as it was far too big to fit under our little tree in my room. At midnight, I woke the little ones.
     "Hmmmmwhaaaaaa?" Mini-Peter yawned.
     "It's midnight, it's time to open presents! Unless you'd rather go back to sleep, that is."
     "I'm up, I'm up!!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet along with the others. They followed me to the tree, and Mini-Peter was so excited to open his other gifts that he seemed for the moment to forget about the Zorb and the fact that it wasn't here.

     Everyone rushed to their presents and opened them excitedly. Teddy got a fudge cube and a wind-up motorcycle toy. Kitty and Lugnut got a wooden peg game and a wind-up crawling caterpillar. Mini-Peter got a fudge cube and a wooden peg game. They all thanked each other and admired their gifts - then it was my turn! It seems those sneaky little ones got me something after all. I picked up the large, rectangular package addressed to me and tore it open. It was an Eastoons calendar!!

     "Look, it's even personalized! You guys, this is wonderful, thank you!"
     "You're very welcome," they said, and we flipped through it admiring all the cartoons.
     "And now it's time for you to open your gifts from me," I informed them. I handed them their gifts, and they opened them one by one. Kitty and Lugnut got brand new collars! Teddy got a collar too, to which I added a chain just like Real Peter's plushie panda's had. For Mini-Peter, I went a little crazy... "I hope you like getting clothes for Christmas," I warned him, "because once I started sewing stuff for you I didn't know how to stop!"
     "No Self Control, eh?" he asked cleverly.
     "Too true," I agreed with a chuckle. "Well, come on, open them!"

     You have plenty of stage clothes, so I figured it was time you got some Real Peter style casual wear. What do you think?"
     "I love it - what a wild shirt!" He picked up the cargo pants. "Real pockets!" he exclaimed. "Brilliant! Thank you!"
     "There's more," I said, handing him the next one. He pulled the top off the box and his eyes nearly popped right out of his head.
     "A HOODIE?!?!" he hugged it. "May I put it on now??"
     "Of course, it's yours, silly!"
     So he scurried away behind his box with his new clothes and emerged a minute later all dressed.

     "Awww, you look great," I complimented him. "But you know, there's one present left."
     "Is there?" he asked. "I was afraid you hadn't got it finished in time!"
     "It's finished, but it was too big to bring in here. Put some shoes on and let's go get it!"
     Everyone ran out to the living room, and Mini-Peter nearly fell over backwards when he saw the size of it.
     "Is-- it-- ...WOWWwww..." he mumbled, speechless.

     "Well you'd better go open it," I reminded him. He charged up to it and tore the paper off in bits until finally the Mini-Zorb had emerged. He started to scuttle into it, but I grabbed his leg.
     "Ohh no you don't!" I said, pulling him back out.

     "What??" he asked.
     "We're gonna do this right. Come on, stand up straight, hands up!"
     "Ohhhhh," he nodded, understanding.

     He rolled around the living room until he'd worn himself out, then he let his friends give it a go. By the time they had finished, he was ready for more. The four of them took turns for almost two hours - they chased the cats, got chased by the cats, bumped into walls, nearly ran over each other, and tried to make it bounce, which unfortunately didn't work very well because of the wire skeleton. Even so, they had a blast.

     Eventually, they all ran out of energy. It was well after 2am by the time Mini-Peter fell asleep - you guessed it - in the Zorb.

     He looked comfortable enough, so I left him there and turned in for the night - I had to work in the morning (no holidays off when you work at a cinema!). I woke up early to the sounds of the Growing Up Live DVD, and found Mini-Peter and his mini-band getting all the moves down. Good, I thought - this oughtta keep them out of trouble at least until I get home!

A very happy Christmas and holiday season to everyone,
and a wonderful New Year, too! We'll see you in 2008!