Twas The Night Before Christmas-My Version

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The underwear was hung by the chimney with care,

Even the Spiderman ones were there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

Except for the little one who coslept and breastfed.

And I sat down to rest,

As I thought about tackling the large mess.

When from somewhere in the house there arouse such a clatter,

I ran to the living room and saw the tree all a splatter.

Ornaments and trinkets lay all in a jumble,

But no one was there, so I began to mutter and mumble. 

Away to the bedrooms I flew like a flash,

I tore open the doors as I heard another crash.

The toys and the clothes lay strewn in a pile,

And gave the appearance of a mountain as high as a mile. 

 

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a tiny baby and three sets of eyes that shed not a single tear.

With mischievous grins and giggling so loud,

I knew in a moment it must be my children, not very proud. 

Louder than an avalanche, we heard the pounding of feet,

As my husband’s footsteps came quickly, having leapt from his seat.

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Ayden! now, Regan! now, Nora and Oliver!

To bed with you now or Santa will not come to call!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So into the bed, the children they flew,

With their arms full of toys and a drink of water too. 

And then, I retreated, back to the living room,

Knowing too well that I needed more than a broom.

As I stood there and grumbled to myself,

My husband approached and began replacing items to the shelf.

As we tackled the mess, we heard a new sound,

And the pitter patter of little feet was abound. 

They stood there, just staring, 
While I looked back, still glaring. 

Their clothes were mismatched and appeared with a stain,

I yelled at them to stop being such a pain. 

They looked solemn and sad,

Yet I still felt too mad. 

Their eyes—full of tears! Their smiles—now frowns!

They no longer looked like jovial clowns.

With a turn of their heads and a step in their pace,

They quickly began working, as if completing a race. 

They spoke not a word, and went quickly to work,

Picking up the clutter with not one smirk. 

After surveying the damage and completing the task,

I looked at my children, with a question to ask. 

The words slipped my mind, as I watched them sit and stare,

At the twinkling of lights on the tree, as if they were diamonds so rare. 

My husband and I ushered them back to bed,

And I gently patted them each on the head. 

I sat down beside them and told them good night,

And I turned away to shut off the light.

We said “I love you” and closed the door,

And I felt a bit less annoyed than I had before.

But I heard them exclaim as we left their rooms, “we love you”

And I knew that yes, they truly do.

Despite all the messes and the chaos that surrounds us,

They don’t really mean to make such a fuss. 

I stopped to look back at the bedroom door,

And counted my blessings once more. 

It had been a very long night, 

But I knew everything was now all right. 

There was still wrapping to do and gifts to set out,

but I knew nothing could compare to their joy, without a doubt.

As I walked down the stairs and knew I was out of sight,

I said “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Despite everything, I feel very blessed to have my children and truly feel that they are miracles, even if my days are sometimes chaotic and crazy. I found a few other good versions of Twas the Night Before Christmas too.

For the Moms

For the Troops

Politically Correct Version

Another Politically Correct Version (video)

The Classic