Christmas Music

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! Oh. Wait! Frankie lives with us, too!

Last Christmas Chance tried to climb up on top of our Canadian Tire spruce tree. I had to help him get down when he got stuck up there. "My son! You are a handful," I tell him." Santa has to sit on top the tree so he can see who's naughty and nice." Chance is too newborn to know better.

Know what we're doing? We have on our headphones. We're listening to Christmas music. That's 'cuz it's only 243 days 'till Merry Christmas comes to our house. She comes every year. She brings Santa and the angels. She brings the elves and Elvis. The little drummer boy comes and so do the shepherds and the sheep. Sheep smell funny, you know. Oh. Wait! The three wise guys come but they follow the OnStar.

Auntie Ruth plays the zither. She sings, too. I bet she knows a hundred songs!

This Christmas album is special. It was made by our Auntie Ruth. She knows lots and lots of Christmas songs.  The CD is called Christmas All the Time and she sent it by Canada Post all the way from New Brunswick. It was a surprise present. Grandpa James helped us write a thank-you letter to Auntie Ruth.

If Christmas came every day I'd get to eat a lot more Smarties!

 Some of the songs Auntie Ruth sings are old and some of them are new ones 'cuz Auntie Ruth wrote them all by herself. She's very smart, you know. My favouritist song is Christmas All the Time. I like that. I want Christmas to be every day! Then I wouldn't have to wait all year. I tell Frankie everything about Christmas. He hasn't had Christmas with us before.

Christmas All The Time has lots and lots of songs!

Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! Grandpa James hollers, "Where's my Frankie? Where's my Knight of Knewfoundland and my Lord of Labrador?

 We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can listen to Auntie Ruth's Christmas album together! Okay! Over and out!"

Merry Christmas comes to our house on Sparkle Road!

Chance and me open our first present.

 Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. 

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

It's Christmas morning! Merry Christmas is here! So is Santa and the elves and Elvis and the Newborn Baby Jesus and the little drummer boy and the silent knight and the shepherds and all the sheep and the three wise guys who followed the OnStar! 

We got presents under the Canadian Tire spruce! Grandpa James says to open the big red box first. Okay! We can do that!  Guess what? Inside the box is our cousin Frankie. He came all the way from Germy. That's in Europe. Grandpa James says he's from Germany, not Germy. Okay. Frankie is the bestest present!

Frankie and Chance help me open the next present. It's a new hockey stick and an NHL puck! Now we will have even more fun when we play hockey. I'm Cub Gretzky and Chance is Cub Crosby. He shoots! He scores!  We're gonna win the Stanley Cup for sure!

The next present is great big 'ole box of Smarties. I l-o-v-e Smarties. Grandpa James says we have more Smarties than there are stars in the starry night sky. That's a lot of Smarties, you know and we are gonna eat them a-l-l up!

Chance has presents, too. He got a brand new pair of red mitts! Chance loves mittens. He thinks when he wears mitts it will snow. He's too newborn to know he's not in charge of the weather.

Chance climbed way high on the Christmas tree to thank Santa for his new red mitts.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that?  Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, Merry Christmas good citizens. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and have Christmas with us! We can play with our Cousin Frankie, together! Okay! Over and out!"

Joyeux Noel! Merry Christmas! Froeliche Weinachten!

My Dream About Christmas

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

  Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Last night I had a funny dream. I dreamt that Chance climbed way up high in the Christmas tree and couldn't get down. He was making little squawky noises 'cuz he was afraid. I had to help him. Chance can climb up but he's too newborn to know how to climb down. He'll learn.

Then I dreamt that we were playing Hide-and-Seek in the Christmas presents. That was fun. I'm a good hider. Chance doesn't know how to hide. He thinks if he closes his eyes he's invisible. That's what newborn  baby cubs do.

There are only 255 days until Merry Christmas comes to our house. She brings her freinds with her so we can celebrate together. She brings the shepherds and the lambs and Santa and the newborn baby Jesus, the little drummer boy and the three wise guys who followed the OnStar. I'm gonna remember to be nice so Santa will bring me a present and one for Chance, too.

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens.  Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us!  Okay! Over and out!"

The Time Out Chair is NOT a Fun Place to Sit

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

This is me sitting on the Time Out Chair. I have to sit here because I did a naughty thing. I called Chance a 'chubby cubby.' I was just teasing him but it made him cry. I didn't mean to make Chance cry. Now, I feel really bad for what I did. I really am a very good bear cub. I just did a bad thing. I'm really sorry for what I did. I know what sorry means.  Sorry means I won't do it again.

I thought chubby cubby was  a funny name. It made me laugh 'cuz it rhymes, you know. Chubby Cubby! Chubby Cubby! We always call Chance 'cubby' 'cuz that's his nickname. Grandpa James says we don't say 'chubby cubby' because we don't make fun of the way our friends and buddies look. Chance can't help it if he's chubby. He's a newborn baby bear cub. He's supposed to be chubby. Grandpa James showed me my baby pictures. Know what? I was chubby, too. I said, "Sorry" to Chance and I hugged him but Grandpa James says I need to sit on the Time Out Chair and think. I have to sit here for five minutes. That's 'cuz I'm five years old. Five minutes is a long time.  I don't like to sit on the Time Out Chair. Thinking is hard. Thinking hurts.

Oh! No! I sure hope Santa Claus doesn't see me here! If he does, I might not get any presents. I don't want to be a naughty cub. Naughty cubs get lumps of coal for Christmas. I don't want coal for Christmas!  I want to be nice. Good citizens are nice. Good cubs get presents. I asked Santa for a Canada flag to put on my blue bicycle. I asked Santa for Smarties. Oh! Wait! I asked Santa for Spiderman, too.  It's only six days before Merry Christmas comes to our house. I'll have to be extra nice.

I know! I will be as nice as pie. I wonder what kind of pie is nicest? I could be as nice as apple pie. No! Wait! Banana cream pie!  No! Cherry pie is nicer. So is chocolate and peanut butter pie. Yeah. What about being as nice as lemon meringue pie?  Oh! Wait! Pumpkin? Raspberry? Strawberry? There are lots of different pies, aren't there?

 I'm thinking real hard. I know! I'll be as nice as bakeapple pie. Bakeapple pie is full of bakeapples. That's my favouritest pie in the whole wide world!  Bakeapples have a nickname, just like Chance has a nickname. Some folk call Chance 'Cubby' and some folks call bakeapples 'cloudberries.'

I l-o-v-e bakeapples. They're yummy and sweet. That's two of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide. Okay, I'm done thinking, now. That was hard! You can see how hard it is to think when I have to sit on the Time Out Chair. When I get down I'll tell James I'm gonna be as nice as pie and ask him if we can make a bakeapple pie so I will share some with with Cubby. I hope my five minutes is up soon. Oh, wait! Chance doesn't have any teeth! He just drinks condensed owls' milk from his bottle but I can eat bakeapple pie for him! Yes, I can!

I know all about bakeapples. Miss Jackie taught us about them at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. Bakeapples are good citizens who live in  Newfoundland and Labrador. I know where Newfoundland and Labrador is. It's the first province on the right. Newfoundland and Labrador are in O Canada, our home and favourite land. Bakeapples come to Windsor on the MV Clara and Joseph Smallwood. Cloudberries have to come here on the boat 'cuz they can't swim, you know. I don't think they have arms.

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Five minutes is up! Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles!

That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Don't call your friends and buddies names that aren't nice. That's not what good citizens do. Good citizens get to pick bakeapples and eat bakeapple pie. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can bake a pie together. We can watch for Merry Christmas to come! Okay! Over and out!"

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

Know what? We got a Christmas tree. It's in the living room by the fireplace. Christmas trees are special, you know. I know where Christmas trees come from. They come from Canadian Tire, Aisle 42. Our tree is nice. We decorated it with shiny bulbs. There's a beaver with antlers, too. James says that's a Canadian ornament. Santa sits on top of the tree. Santa sits on top of the tree so he can see everyone and see who's naughty and nice. That's good 'cuz Chance would try to climb up there if Santa wasn't already there!

We know a song about our Christmas tree. Miss Jackie taught it to us. She's my teacher at the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. Wanna know a secret? I think Miss Jackie is a princess. Here's the song.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!
Thou tree most fair and lovely!
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!
Thou tree most fair and lovely!
The sight of thee at Christmastide
Spreads hope and gladness far and wide
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Thou tree most fair and lovely.

Chance doesn't sing. He's too little. He doesn't even talk, yet. He just makes little squeaky noises when he's happy. He's really happy that it's Christmas. We get to bake gingerbread beings and the house will be full of guests! Merry Christmas is coming and Santa, too. Oh! Wait! The baby Jesus will be here and Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and the wise guys and the little drummer boy. The sheep will have to stay on the balcony. James says they're not very tidy. The little drummer boy will have to be very quiet when Chance and baby Jesus take their naps.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Do good deeds for friends and neighbours. Get ready for Merry Christmas. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can pick up trash together! Okay! Over and out!"

284 Days Until Christmas!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's forgetful and really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. James forgot to  buy gummy worms. I had to put Smarties in my porridge this morning. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? It's only 284 days until Merry Christmas comes. That's a lot of days! I can count to 100, you know. Last night I had a dream. Chance and me were waiting for Merry Christmas to come. We had our Santa toques on. We were on our best behaviour. We made gingerbread beings for Santa and the Baby Jesus and Merry Christmas.  We closed our eyes and fell asleep. Chance fell asleep on my lap. When we woke up Merry Christmas brought us a present!


I l-o-v-e Merry Christmas!


This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens every day and Merry Christmas and Santa and the Baby Jesus will come to your house. Bye for now! Over and out!"

Merry Christmas is Here!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He forgets which house we live in. He's really old. I think he must be 20. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark.  I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

Know what? When Chance and me woke up yesterday morning it was Merry Christmas! Santa and Merry Christmas and Frosty the Snow Person and Rudolph the Nasally Challenged Reindeer and Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus and the flock of shepherds and the the wise guys who followed the OnStar, they were all here and left us presents.

James made us porridge with red and green Christmas-coloured gummy worms. Then we opened our presents. Chance got a space ray gun so he can hunt lions with me! We got green scarves from Auntie SusanJ. We got Smarties and licorice, too. I l-o-v-e Smarties and licorice. They're yummy and that's one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide, you know. I got a fire truck and a red helmet. Chance got one, too. James opened our presents to him. We got him  light bulbs and Crazy Glue. We saved up our allowance so we could surprise him. He was sure surprised! He hugged us and kissed our noses and tickled our ears. He said, "You're the best. I love you my Sons of Windsor. I love you, my Princes of Ontario."

Then we went to Rob and Debbie's house. We ate all kinds of good food. Know what? I know a new food. I like devilled eggs. I like them a lot! We had brocollis. I hate brocollis. They're nasty but I was a good cub and ate one. Sure hope Santa saw me do that. We met new friends. We played with Star. She's a puppy. We played with Buffy, too. She's a cat. We played Hide & Seek.

We fell asleep and when we woke up were home and tucked into bed.

Today is Boxing Day. We're going to take some cans of food to the food bank. That's helping others and that makes us good citizens. Good citizens get to eat wallermelons and drink root beer.

This is Chance's first Christmas with us. He likes Christmas. He makes squeaky noises 'cuz he's happy. This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Merry, merry Christmas! Happy Boxing Day! Happy New Year! Over and out!"

Our Christmas Tree

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark! He must be really old. I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

Know what? We got a Christmas tree. It's different from a family tree. We hang relatives on the family tree. We hang lights and tinsel and pretty decorations on a Christmas tree. Our tree is 60 centimetres tall. James says it is a genuine Canadian Tire spruce. Chance thinks he's helping but he thinks the balls are to play with. I show him how to hang them on the branches. Look at him! Chance climbs right into the tree! He makes little squeaky noises 'cuz he's happy. "My son! You're not a decoration! Come down here and help me."

I hear James hollering, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Where's my handsome bear cubs? Who wants some gingerbread beings?? That's me! I'm a handsome bear cub! Chance is a handsome bear cub, too! We l-o-v-e gingerbread beings. They're yummy! We helped make them, too.

We're gonna put another sticker on the calendar. It's only nine days before Santa and Merry Christmas come to our house! The baby Jesus is coming, too! This is Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Good-bye for now! Be good citizens! Eat gingerbread persons! Be extra good, 'cuz Santa is watching us on Anik Satellite! Over and out!"

Porridge with Gummy Worms

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Special Ed James. He rides to school on a short bus, so I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

I l-o-v-e breakfast. That's 'cuz I get to eat porridge with gummy worms. Sometimes I eat Red River Cereal or Cream of Wheat. They're yummy too, and that's one of the four food groups in the Canada Food Guide. Chance climbed up here on the table. He wants to eat some of my breakfast but he can't 'cuz he's too little. He doesn't have any teeth. Know what? He doesn't even have a tail, yet! Chance drinks out of a bottle. He drinks condensed owls' milk. Chance bangs the spoon in the bowl and gets us all sticky. Then we need a bath! I l-o-v-e bath time. It's fun. We got bathtub toys to play with. Oh! Wait! We got purple bubble bath soap, too.


I hear Special Ed James hollering, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Where's my handsome bear cubs? Who needs a bath?" That's me! I'm a handsome bear cub! Chance is a handsome bear cub, too!

We're gonna put another sticker on the calendar. It's only 10 days before Santa and Merry Christmas come to our house! I hope they bring their friends Frosty the Snow being and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer! This is Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Good-bye for now! Be good citizens! Eat porridge! Be extra good, 'cuz Santa is watching us on Anik Satellite! Over and out!"

100 Elephants

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy,  James. He forgets things. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark.   I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

Look at us! We're playing Hide & Seek. Chance is "it." He has to hide his eyes and count to 100 but he's too little. I count for him. One elephant, two elephants, three elephants. I can count to 100 elephants you know. I'm five, now.

I'm gonna hide someplace Chance won't ever think of. I'm not sure where but I will. I know! I'll hide behind him! Know what? Chance thinks if he closes his eyes he's invisible but he's not.

James and me are Internet Poem Stars. We know a poem about elephants.

Once there was an elephant,
Who tried to use the telephant -
No! No! I mean an elephone
Who tried to use the telephone -
(Dear me! I am not certain quite
That even now I've got it right.)

Howe'er it was, he got his trunk
Entangled in the telephunk;
The more he tried to get it free,
The louder buzzed the telephee -
(I fear I'd better drop the song
Of elephop and telephong!)

-- Laura E. Richards

I wish I had an elephant friend. We'd have lots of fun! I wonder what elephants get for Christmas. I'll ask  James. I can hear him hollering, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Where's my handsome bear cubs? Where are the sons of Windsor? Where are the Princes of Ontario?" That's me! I'm a handsome bear cub! I'm a Son of Windsor. I'm a Prince of Ontario. Chance is, too! We're gonna put another sticker on the calendar. It's only 12 days before Santa and Merry Christmas come to our house! This is Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Good-bye for now! Be good citizens! Count 100 elephants! Over and out!"

Writing to Santa

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy,  James. He is old and forgetful. This morning he put his shirt on wrong-side-out!   I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

Know what? I'm being a very good citizen. That's 'cuz Santa is watching me. He brings toys to good bear cubs. Santa watches us from the Anik satellite. I'm writing a letter to Santa. I want Smarties and I want a green scarf. Oh! Wait! I want a red fire truck for Chance so we can play with it in the bathtub and make siren noises. Chance needs a green scarf and a space ray gun, too. Then we can go lion hunting together. Should we ask Santa for a lion? I'm gonna fax this to Merry Christmas and to the baby Jesus and the shepherds and the three wise guys, and oh! I'll fax it to my Member of Parliament, too.

I know where Santa lives. He lives at the North Pole. That's pretty far from here. He lives with Rudolph the Nasally-challenged Reindeer, and elves and Merry Christmas. I know Santa's Postal Code. It's HOH OHO. Oh, wait. I want snow for Merry Christmas and peanut butter. If it's okay Santa, can you bring us a lion? Not a real big one, though. If you can't bring a lion, could you bring us a wallermelon?

Did you hear that? It's James. He's hollering, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Where's my handsome bear cubs? Where are the Sons of Windsor and the Princes of Ontario?" That us, Charles and Chance. We're gonna go find him and let him tickle our ears and kiss our noses. He gives the bestest hugs.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Get ready, good citizens! Be on your best behaviour. Keep your hands in your pockets at Zeller's! Merry Christmas is coming! Santa is coming, too."

Merry Christmas is Coming to Our House

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy,  James. He is old and forgetful.   I have to look after him. Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing.

Know what? Merry Christmas is coming. I l-o-v-e Merry Christmas. There's the baby Jesus and the flock of shepherds and the three wise guys and Santa and Rudolph the Nasally-challenged Reindeer, Frosty the Snow Person  and the elves. Elves are smart. I know what elves learn in school. They learn the elf-abet! That is a pun. I'm five. I know what puns are.

We got a lot to do to get ready for Merry Christmas. We put a green sticker on the calendar. There are 25 days until Merry Christmas. That's a long time. Know what?  James and me are gonna make gingerbread cookies to put on our tree. We got lights for the tree, too. Chance can help us make cookies. He can stir. He's the Deputy MiniSTIR of Stirrring.  I hope he doesn't fall in the bowl! He would get all sticky. Chance thinks he's helping by sitting in the microwave oven. That's not helping! Come out of there, my son! We sing Merry Christmas songs while we cook. After we make a whole lot of gingerbread persons then Chance and me are gonna climb the sugar maple and holler 'Ho! Ho! Ho!' and 'Merry Christmas!' to everybody walking down the sidewalk. Oh! Wait! What if we see a lion? I know! We'll holler, "Merry Christmas Mr. Lion!"

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Merry Christmas, good citizens! Ho! Ho! Ho! Over and out!"