Daddy
I'm so sorry, but I'm not going to be home for Christmas Eve like I’d hoped. :(
Daddy
Thought for sure I'd be back in time to hang stockings and decorate the tree but...well.
Daddy
If wishes could lift planes off the ground in an ice storm I'd be flying back home right now.
Daddy
But instead all I can do is wish I was with you.
Daddy
Flight’s cancelled and I'm stuck in a motel overnight. No flights tomorrow either so...
Daddy
Love you all, miss you!
Mommy
Hey honey, sorry to hear it. Hope the weather there isn't too bad!
Thomas
Aw dad! C’mon! You can find a way to get back!
Sandra
It's okay dad. Don't worry about it.
Daddy
Went to the airport just in case. But still no planes are leaving today.
Daddy
Weather is crazy. Think I'll stay inside the rest of the day.
Daddy
I bet you're all cozy in Florida. Miss you!
Sandra
Yep. No snow here.
Mommy
The tree looks beautiful! We decorated it and strung it with lights!
Daddy
Did you do popcorn?
Daddy
What about candy canes?
Daddy
I love candy canes.
Daddy
Still stuck. But the airport should open up tomorrow. Maybe I can still get back on Christmas Day!
Daddy
How about a bedtime story?
Daddy
This is an important story, actually kids.
Daddy
I’ve been thinking about you both, especially you Sandra. And I think it's time you heard this story.
Daddy
Every Christmas Eve an old man who lives at the North Pole goes around to every kid’s house and drops off presents, so long as they're good.
Sandra
Think I've heard this one before, daddy.
Daddy
But have you heard what happens if you're bad?
Daddy
Well, yes. That's what we tell you when you're too young to hear the truth...
Mommy
Hey, honey--what are you doing?
Daddy
Well, if you're bad--and I mean REALLY bad. Something worse happens. Something far worse than coal.
Mommy
Where are you going with this, honey?
Daddy
If you're really, really bad, something else comes down the chimney in the middle of the night.
Daddy
Something dark and hairy, with many, many legs.
Daddy
The crawler will scuttle down your chimney, and, while you are still asleep in your bed, it will gently begin to wrap you in a sticky cocoon.
Daddy
By the time you wake up and realize what's happening, it will be too late. You're already trapped.
Mommy
Kids, you have to give me your phones. Okay?? Don't listen to your Daddy.
Daddy
The first thing the Crawler covers is your mouth. You won't be able to scream for help.
Thomas
Daddy, what are you saying?
Daddy
Then it drags you out of your bed, back up the chimney, and away into the night.
Daddy
And no one ever hears from you again.
Mommy
That's enough. Kids don't listen to him. It was a silly, stupid story.
Sandra
Mom, what’s going on?
Daddy
So that’s why you can’t let yourselves fall asleep the night before Christmas. It’s too dangerous. You need to stay up, and look out.
Mommy
Alright. I got their phones and they're in bed.
Mommy
What the hell was that?
Daddy
I was sitting here in the hotel bar.
Daddy
And you all seemed so far away.
Daddy
And this is the first Christmas since we had the kids that I won’t be home.
Daddy
I won’t be there with the shotgun watching the chimney.
Mommy
We haven’t had a problem yet....
Mommy
And now they’re all freaked out.
Mommy
They were asking me if there really is a crawler, and I just had to do my best to reassure them they were all safe.
Mommy
I just wanted to let them have a few more years of innocence--looking forward to Christmas, not being terrified of it!
Daddy
But Sandra’s getting older. Who knows what she might be getting up to after school.
Daddy
She needs to know why it's important to be good.
Daddy
Do you remember George?
Daddy
He was bad one year. And a crawler got him.
Daddy
Only seven years old.
Daddy
They reported him as a missing child.
Daddy
But I spoke with his dad Fred privately.
Daddy
Fred stayed up with a gun just like me, but he fell asleep. And the crawler got past him.
Mommy
I suppose you're right...
Mommy
They should know what's out there.
Daddy
Don’t fall asleep honey. Keep the gun in your hand. And keep the lights on.
Mommy
Living in Florida is rough…
Daddy
You can say that again...
