Gingerbread Jitters

  To Delia and Deane,

  Two super cool kids!

  Happy Holidays!

  Love,

  A.K.

  TITLE PAGE

  DEDICATION

  CHAPTER 1: I Love Christmas!

  CHAPTER 2: HO! HO! HO!

  CHAPTER 3: Sticky Syrup

  CHAPTER 4: The Surprise

  CHAPTER 5: Grammy to the Rescue

  CHAPTER 6: A Giant Tangle

  CHAPTER 7: Making Cookies

  CHAPTER 8: Gingerbread Houses

  FREDDY’S FUN PAGES

  GINGERBREAD HOUSE

  GINGERBREAD MAN PAPER CHAIN

  GINGERBREAD MAN JOKES

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  OTHER STORIES BY ABBY KLEIN

  ALSO AVAILABLE

  COPYRIGHT

  I have a problem. A really, really big problem. My class is making gingerbread houses to give to kids who are in the hospital. Everyone is supposed to bring in something to decorate the houses with, but I don’t know what to bring.

  Let me tell you about it.

  “Santa Claus is coming to town! Santa Claus is coming to town … ,” I sang loudly with my mouth open wide, holding a pretend microphone.

  “I don’t think Santa wants to see all the food in your mouth,” said my sister Suzie. “I know I don’t. It’s gross!”

  “Your sister is right,” said my mom. “How many times have I told you not to talk with your mouth full?”

  “But I wasn’t talking. I was singing, and you know Christmas is my favorite holiday. I just get so excited!” I said, bouncing in my chair.

  “I know how excited you get, Freddy. I’m not telling you not to sing. You can sing all you want, honey,” said my mom. “You just need to finish chewing first.”

  I swallowed what was left in my mouth, and then I stuck my tongue out at my mom. “See! All gone!”

  “Yes, I see,” my mom said, shaking her head.

  “Hey, Freddy,” said my dad, “do you want to help me hang the Christmas lights sometime soon?”

  “Of course I do!” I said, jumping out of my chair and pumping my fist in the air. “I love Christmas lights.”

  “Do you love them so much that you want to marry them?” Suzie teased.

  I glared at her. “No, I don’t want to marry the Christmas lights.”

  “Maybe you want to kiss them?” Suzie said, puckering up her lips and making a kissing sound.

  “Ewww! Yuck! I don’t like kissing.”

  Suzie continued to make kissing sounds in my ear. “Kissy, kissy, kissy.”

  “Moooommmm!” I whined. “Make her stop.”

  “Suzie, stop teasing your brother,” said my mom.

  “Oh, all right,” said Suzie, crossing her arms.

  Good. Now that she was quiet, I could get back to the conversation about the lights. “Dad, this year can I climb the ladder to string the lights on the big tree in the front yard?” I asked.

  “I don’t know about that,” said my mom. “That tree is very high.”

  “But I’m bigger now,” I said. “I’m not a baby anymore.”

  “You sure act like one,” Suzie mumbled.

  I whipped my head around. “What did you just say?”

  “I said you sure act like a baby,” said Suzie.

  “I do not.”

  “Oh, yes you do!”

  “Do not.”

  “Do, too!”

  “Enough, you two!” said my dad. “ ’Tis the season of peace and love, not arguing and fighting.”

  “That’s right,” said my mom. “Let’s see some of that Christmas spirit!”

  “I have a ton of Christmas spirit!” I said. I grabbed the cherry tomato out of my salad and pushed it onto the end of my nose. Then I stood up on my chair and started singing, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer … had a very shiny nose …”

  “EEEWWWWW!” said Suzie. “You have tomato seeds dripping down your face.”

  I ignored her and kept singing. “And if you ever saw it …”

  “Freddy, get down from there right now before you fall,” said my mom. “And get that tomato off your nose!”

  I hopped down off the chair and popped the tomato in my mouth.

  “Did you just eat that tomato?” asked Suzie.

  I nodded my head.

  “That is dis-gust-ing,” Suzie said, wrinkling up her nose.

  “Why is it disgusting?”

  “Because your nose is full of germs,” said Suzie. “Who knows what kind of germs you just ate!”

  “Your sister is right,” said my mom. “I’ve told you many times not to play with your food. Now clean off your face. You still have tomato seeds and juice dripping all over the place.”

  I wiped my face with the sleeve of my shirt.

  “Freddy!” said my mom. “Your sleeve is not a napkin!”

  I smiled. “Sorry!”

  “If you’re old enough to hang lights, then you’re old enough to learn some manners,” my mom said.

  “So,” I continued, “can I climb the ladder this year, Dad?”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  “I’ll give you a good reason why not,” said my mom. “Don’t you remember what happened last year when Freddy tried to climb up high somewhere?”

  “He fell and broke his arm,” Suzie blurted out.

  “Exactly!” said my mom. “I don’t want to spend Christmas in the emergency room.”

  “But I’m not going to fall this time,” I said.

  “How do you know?” said Suzie.

  “Because I’m not climbing a tree. I’m climbing a ladder, and Dad will be holding it steady for me. Right, Dad?”

  “Right!” said my dad. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t wiggle at all. I will hold it perfectly still.”

  “But what if Freddy stands on his tiptoes to reach up high and slips?” said Suzie.

  “Hey, last time I checked you weren’t my mom or my dad,” I said to Suzie, “so mind your own business.”

  “Freddy,” said my mom, “your sister is just trying to make sure you don’t get hurt.”

  “I’ll tell you what,” said my dad. “I’ll hold on to the back of his pants, so he doesn’t go anywhere. How about that?”

  I laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” said my mom. “I thought it was a good idea.”

  “It is a good idea, as long as Dad doesn’t pull up on my pants so tightly that he gives me a great big wedgie!”

  We all burst out laughing.

  “I promise,” my dad said, holding up his fingers like a Boy Scout. “No wedgies.”

  “I don’t know,” said my mom. “I think you should stick to helping Dad string the lights on the bushes.”

  “Pleeeeease, Mom,” I begged.

  “I think you’re still too small to do that big tree.”

  I ran over to my mom and got down on one knee. “Pleeeeease, Mom. Pretty please with a cherry on top,” I begged, and then I gave her my best sad puppy-dog face.

  “Oh, how can I say no to that face?” said my mom. “It’s just too cute. I guess you can do the big tree if you are very careful, and Daddy holds on to you and the ladder.”

  “Really?” Suzie said, rolling her eyes. “The sad puppy-dog face worked? Unbelievable!”

  “Thanks, Mom!” I said, kissing her cheek. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

  Then I turned to my dad. “So when can we start?”

  “Maybe we can do it tomorrow when I come home from work,” said my dad.

  “I can’t wait! Christmas is already off to a great start,” I said, and then I picked up my pretend microphone again and sang, “Santa Claus is coming to town … oh yeah! Santa Claus is coming to town …”

  The next morning
I woke up even before my alarm clock went off, which is very unusual for me. I usually hit the snooze button like three times before I crawl out of bed.

  I ran into the bathroom, looked in the mirror, smiled a great big smile and shouted, “One day closer to Christmas!”

  “Hey, Sharkbreath!” Suzie yelled from her room. “Keep it down. Some of us are still trying to sleep!”

  I splashed some water on my face, and then I squirted some of my dad’s shaving cream into my hands and dabbed it onto my chin to make a Santa Claus beard. “HO! HO! HO! Merry Christmas!” I said, staring at my reflection in the mirror.

  Suddenly Suzie’s face appeared behind mine in the mirror. “Oooooo, you are in so much trouble,” she said. “You know Mom and Dad don’t like us using their stuff without asking.”

  I quickly washed the shaving cream off my face. “You’re not going to tell Dad, are you?” I whispered.

  “What’s it worth to you?” Suzie asked, holding up her pinkie for a pinkie swear.

  I thought for a minute. “How about you can have my piece of candy from the Advent calendar today?”

  “Today? Just today? Are you kidding?” said Suzie. “I get your candy from the Advent calendar for three days, and we have a deal.”

  “Three days! But I love those little chocolates.”

  “So do I,” Suzie said, smiling. “Do we have a deal, or am I telling Dad you used his shaving cream without asking?”

  “Fine,” I said. “Deal,” and we locked pinkies.

  I quickly brushed my teeth while I hummed “Jingle Bells” to myself. As I started to walk out of the bathroom, I sang, “Jingle bells, Suzie smells …”

  “Hey! Stop that!” Suzie called after me as I darted into my bedroom.

  I threw on my clothes and raced downstairs. I wanted to get to breakfast before Suzie, just to make sure she didn’t say anything about the shaving cream.

  As I entered the kitchen I sang, “Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-laaa … la-la … laa-laaa!”

  “Freddy,” said my mom. “You’re up bright and early.”

  “I don’t think I remember the last time you were at the breakfast table before your sister,” said my dad.

  “I just couldn’t sleep,” I said. “I’m so excited about hanging the lights on the big tree. I can’t wait!”

  “Well, you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer,” said my dad. “We’re not doing it until I get home from work, so you have a whole day of school ahead of you.”

  “I know, I know,” I said. “But Miss Clark told us that she has a surprise for us today, so the day should go by pretty quickly.”

  Suzie walked into the kitchen. “Did I just hear you say that Miss Clark has a surprise for your class?”

  “Yep,” I said.

  “But I thought she already told you the surprise when she said that you guys were doing Secret Santas.”

  “She has another surprise,” I said, smiling.

  “Another one?” said Suzie. “That is so not fair! You are so lucky you got Miss Clark as a teacher this year. I wish she had been my second grade teacher. You get to do all this fun stuff.”

  “I know. She’s the best.”

  “I wonder what this new surprise is,” said my mom.

  “Me, too!” I said.

  “You two had better start eating your breakfast, or you’re going to miss the bus,” said my dad.

  I sat down in my chair. “What’s for breakfast today, Mom?”

  “I made oatmeal. What would you like in it?” my mom asked, as she set two bowls down on the table, one for me and one for Suzie.

  “I’ll have some blueberries, please,” said Suzie.

  “Maple syrup!” I shouted, licking my lips and rubbing my belly.

  “Freddy,” said my mom, “I think you left a word out of that sentence.”

  I thought for a minute, and then I said, “Yummy maple syrup!”

  “ ‘Yummy’ was not the word Mom was talking about, Ding-Dong,” said Suzie.

  I looked at her, confused.

  Suzie rolled her eyes and said, “ ‘Please’! You left out the word ‘please’!”

  “Oh! Sorry, Mom,” I said, laughing. “Can I have some yummy maple syrup, PL-EA-SE?”

  “Of course,” said my mom. She went to the fridge and got blueberries for Suzie and the syrup for me. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks,” said Suzie.

  I took the syrup bottle and started to twist off the cap.

  My mom stared at me and cleared her throat, “Ahem.”

  I looked up at her.

  “I think your body got out of bed this morning, but your brain is still asleep,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I mean it seems as though you’ve forgotten all of your manners,” said my mom. “First you forgot to say please, and now you forgot to say thank you.”

  I chuckled. “Oh yeah. Sorry again, Mom. My brain is thinking about the surprise at school today. Thanks for the syrup!”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I opened the syrup and started pouring it into my oatmeal.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy there,” said my dad. “You just need a little bit.”

  “Maybe you need a little bit, but I need a lot!”

  “If you put too much on, then it’s going to taste too sweet,” said my dad.

  “Not to me,” I said. “I love everything sweet! Maybe I’m one of Santa’s elves.”

  “What are you talking about?” said Suzie.

  “Remember in the movie Elf they said that maple syrup is one of the four food groups for Santa’s elves? Well, I LOVE maple syrup!”

  “Come on, little elf,” said my mom, “eat up. The bus is going to be here soon.”

  I stuck my finger in my bowl and started to swirl the syrup around in my oatmeal.

  “Freddy! That’s what a spoon is for,” said my mom, handing me a spoon.

  I pulled my finger out of the bowl and licked off the syrup.

  “You are definitely not an elf,” said Suzie, “because you are a pig. A P-I-G, pig! What are you going to do next? Stick your head in your bowl and eat like the little piggies on the farm?”

  “Please don’t give your brother any ideas,” said my mom, sighing. “Now eat up, you two. The bus is going to be here any minute.”

  I bounded onto the bus and plopped myself down in a seat next to my best friends, Robbie and Josh.

  “Hey, dude, what’s up?” said Josh, giving me a high five. He looked at his hand and then wiped it on his shirt. “What did you have for breakfast, Freddy? Your hand is all sticky.”

  I laughed. “Sorry. It must be the syrup.”

  “Syrup! I love syrup!” said Josh.

  “Me, too!” I said.

  “You know Santa’s elves like syrup,” said Josh. “I saw that in my favorite movie, Elf.”

  “That’s one of my favorite movies, too!” I said.

  Max, the biggest bully in the whole second grade, interrupted our conversation. “Freddy, did you just say your favorite movie is The Nutcracker?”

  “Oh! I love that movie,” said Chloe.

  “I wasn’t talking to you, Little Miss Fancy-pants,” Max barked.

  “You know, I get to be in The Nutcracker this year,” Chloe continued, ignoring Max. “My ballet class is putting on the show, and I get to dance in it.”

  “No one cares,” Max shouted over his shoulder. “I was talking to Freddy, not you.”

  “I get to wear a red-and-white striped tutu that looks just like a candy cane.” Chloe giggled.

  Max suddenly turned to Chloe, waved his fist in her face, and yelled, “Be quiet or else!”

  Chloe stopped talking. Her eyes got big and wide.

  “Or else what?” said Josh, standing up to look Max right in the eye.

  Max glared at Josh with his fist still raised in the air.

  I gulped. Oh no! I thought. Josh is going to get it now.

  “Jus
t leave her alone, you big bully, and sit down in your seat,” said Josh. “No one is afraid of you.”

  “I am,” I whispered to Robbie.

  Max and Josh stood eye to eye for a few seconds without even blinking. I held my breath.

  Finally, Max turned and sat down in his seat.

  “Whew! That was a close one,” I whispered to Robbie.

  Robbie nodded.

  “You are so brave,” I said to Josh when he sat back down. “I thought for sure Max was going to punch you.”

  “I’ve told you before, Freddy. Max is just a big bully who likes to scare kids. You’ve got to stop being so afraid of him.”

  “But he’s so much bigger than I am.”

  “Bullies usually pick on smaller kids,” said Josh. “You guys just have to start standing up to him and telling him to leave you alone. Now what were we talking about? Oh yeah … the movie Elf.”

  “That’s a really funny movie,” said Jessie, as she sat down across the aisle from us.

  “Hey, Jessie,” I said, raising my hand up to give her a high five.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Josh said, laughing.

  “Why not?” asked Jessie. “Freddy and I always high-five each other.”

  “Because I think Freddy took a syrup bath this morning,” said Josh. “I already gave him a high five, and now I think my hand is sticking to my pants!”

  “Actually, I think I see some syrup in your hair!” Jessie said, giggling.

  I licked my lips. “Too bad I can’t lick it off!” I said.

  “So what did you have, pancakes or waffles?” asked Josh.

  “I didn’t have pancakes or waffles.”

  “What else do you put syrup on?” said Josh.

  “Wait, let me guess,” said Jessie. “You had oatmeal.”

  “Oatmeal? Who puts syrup in their oatmeal?” said Josh.

  “You’ve never had maple syrup on oatmeal?” said Robbie. “What do you put in your oatmeal?”

  “Brown sugar,” said Josh.

  “Well, maple syrup is delicious! You should try it sometime,” said Robbie.

  “You’ll have to come try it at my house,” I said, “because my Uncle Jason has his own sugar house, and he makes the best maple syrup ever!”