The stockings were hung. The cookies and milk were laid out with a note of thanks. The reindeer food was spread across the lawn. Emma and her family were going back to Gramma's house after spending Christmas Eve with Aunt Jo, Uncle Jamie and Emma's two cousins, Conway and Grace. Santa wasn't coming to Gramma's this year. Emma had written him to say that everybody was going to congregate at Aunt Jo's on Christmas morning. As they were climbing into the car for the short drive back to Gramma's, Emma and her mom looked up at the sky to see the stars shining bright.

"Look!" said Emma. A red light was blinking overhead. "It's Rudolph!"

"Hurry, Mom!" she said. "We have to hurry back to Gramma's and call Aunt Jo!"

"You have to go to bed right away!" she told Aunt Jo. "I saw Rudolph! Almost at your house! Santa's coming! He's almost there!"

"Everybody go to sleep right away!" she commanded. "Or Santa might miss us!"

But Emma herself was too excited to sleep. She crept to her window to see what she could see. Only the white stars winked on and off in the night sky.

Next morning her mom found her wrapped in a blanket asleep by the window. "Good morning," she whispered. "Merry Christmas!"

"Did Santa come?" asked Emma.

"Let's go see," said her mom, so they gathered up Dudley and Emma's dad and Gramma and Grampa and they drove over to Aunt Jo's. And, guess what?

"Oh, Mom!" said Emma. "Santa did come!"

"Thanks to you," said her mom. "Isn't it lucky you saw Rudolph?"

"Just in time!" said Emma with a happy smile.