Keola’s Christmas

“Hurry, Pae!” Keola said to his little brother. “You can do it!”

Keola and his family were at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. They were playing Candy Grab with their cousins—their favorite game to play on Christmas Day. Pae was wearing a blindfold. He was trying to scoop up candy with a spatula and put it in a bucket.

“You have five seconds left!” their older brother, Tauinaola, said. He was holding the timer.

“This is hard!” Pae laughed and pushed his spatula around, spreading the candy all over the floor.

“Time!” Tauinaola called.

Pae pulled off his blindfold. “At least I got a few! Let’s play Ring Toss now.”

Pae, Tauinaola, and their cousins went to another room. Keola was about to follow them, but then he heard Grandma’s voice.

“How’s your Christmas been, Keola?” Grandma stepped over the candy and wrapping paper on the floor and gave Keola a big hug.

“It’s been great!” Keola said.

Earlier, Keola’s grandma, great-grandma, and aunties had made delicious Filipino food for dinner. Keola’s favorite was called pancit, made with rice noodles, chicken, and vegetables fried in a pan.

After dinner, everyone had gathered to read Luke 2. Keola and Pae used their Nativity set to help tell the story. It was nice to remember the birth of Jesus Christ together.

But now Christmas was almost over. Keola frowned. “I wish it didn’t have to end.”

“Me too. But I’m grateful we could spend the day together.” Grandma gave Keola another tight squeeze. “I should go help clean up. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

As Keola watched her go, he saw his parents helping his aunties and uncles clean up the kitchen. They were washing and drying the dishes. Keola didn’t really like cleaning, but he knew there was still a lot to do around the house.

Maybe I should help, he thought to himself.

There were still candy wrappers and wrapping paper on the ground. Keola grabbed a garbage bag from the kitchen. He stuffed all the papers in the bag. Then he walked around and picked up dirty napkins and other trash. After a few minutes, the room already looked cleaner!

Keola wondered what he could do next. His baby cousins had been playing with some books and toys that were still on the floor. He gathered them up and put them away. Then he cleaned up the games that had been left out.

A warm feeling filled Keola’s heart. He knew that the Holy Ghost was telling him he was doing something good. He was happy to be helping!

The good feeling stayed with him as he carried plates and glasses to the kitchen sink. Mom smiled at him as she scrubbed the dishes.

“Thanks for your help, Keola,” she said.

Keola smiled back. “You’re welcome!”

Next, he helped his uncle mop the kitchen floor and put the leftover food away. After that, the house was practically sparkling!

Soon it was time to go home.

Keola waved goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa, then walked down the street with Dad, Mom, and his brothers. Crickets were chirping, and Keola saw the stars shining in the sky. He smiled. It had been a good Christmas. He was happy he had helped his family clean up. And he knew Jesus Christ was happy too.

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Illustrations by Mattia Lo Russo