Christmas Must Haves (According to a 9 year old.)

This week's writing workshop is Christmas themed. I got my stepson Ben, age 9, involved. He was very excited to write a blog post. He dictated, while I typed. I may have to allow him to do a guest post from time to time. He was into it! 

I chose the topic: 
4.) Christmas Must Haves (could even be a list created by a child)

Here is the list that Ben created: 

• Chocolate Chip Cookies - Those are Santa's favorite cookie! Also, here is a tip! Don't give him a sugar cookie. He will only eat half of it! 
• Christmas Tree - I don't think he will put the presents anywhere else, besides under a tree. 
• Toy elves everywhere - It will remind Santa of his elves at the North Pole, and it will make him happy. 
• Ornaments - Especially, Santa ornaments. It will make him feel good about himself. 
• Wear a Santa hat - Santa will think you like his hat, a lot. 
• Sing Carols - When you sing Christmas songs, it makes Santa sing too. 

At this point, he got distracted and started telling me how his blog would be called "Blazing Phoenix". 

• Sleep - If you don't sleep good, he won't give you presents. Don't get out of your bed and try to look for Santa outside. He won't give you any presents. He will just give you a piece of coal. 
• Make a Christmas List - If you don't make a list, Santa won't know what you want and he will give you random stuff. 

• Picking toys I don't play with, and giving them to other children, so they can play with them. - I want other children to have plenty of toys to play with, instead of having no toys at all. (Every year, we go through his room and pick toys to donate before his birthday and Christmas arrive.)

He took another break to discuss how and why I chose the name of my blog. He started quizzing me about his favorite books. I didn't pass. I thought he was looking for specific answers. He was looking for, "chapter books." I got to hear about every character in some series called "Sisters 8." 

After he told me about each and every character, I asked if he had anything else for his list. I got a quick "nah, no thank you" and he kept talking about the books. I do enjoy his genuine love of books!