We did it! We turned the page! How were your celebrations? I was up WAY too late and Tigger didn’t take that well! It was well past his and my bedtime so he was making that known!

Remember I’m not going to work on any calendars this year but will set some kind of a schedule to be popping in. I’m going to edit my one article just a bit more this morning before I submit them and maybe even read a book. Dinner with my parents tonight and, possibly, my whole family! Road conditions permitting!

Here’s the New Year gift I wanted to share with you. I hope you enjoy!

The Magic of Christmas (A Goderich Christmas Short Story)

Pamela Clayfield

Snow drifted softly over Goderich’s Courthouse Square, settling like powdered sugar on the rooftops, wreaths and the Christmas lights that glowed against the winter sky. The smell of cinnamon, fresh baking and coffee floated from the nearby bakeries.

Mia Thompson tugged her mittens tighter as she stepped out of the Goderich Sun office, where she’d just dropped off her latest column and assigned articles. Of course, she’d email copies so the editor could just copy and paste it into the layout but there was still just something about the hard copies that made it feel like the good old days when newspapers were cherished by readers and went to press twice a day. Now most people just read it online.

She looked around the square. She loved this time of year — the extra kindness, the bustle, the lights, the way the lake seemed to shimmer with its own quiet magic as it fought against the elements trying to turn it to ice. But this Christmas felt different. She couldn’t explain it, only that it felt like something was… waiting.

As she crossed toward the Square’s towering Christmas tree and got close to its beautiful branches, she noticed something odd: a tiny envelope tucked into the lower branches, sealed with a silver snowflake sticker. Curious, she plucked it free.

Inside was a small card, handwritten in looping script:

“For the one who believes in Christmas magic. Follow the lights.”

Mia blinked and looked around. What is this? She wondered. A scavenger hunt? A prank? A promotion for one of the shops? She looked around the square again as though there would be some hint but there was nothing. Something about the note felt… warm, inviting. It was almost humming.

She followed the string of twinkling lights that wrapped around the Square, leading her past the bakery, past the bookstore, and down the street towards the lighthouse overlooking Lake Huron. The wind was crisp, but the sky was clear, and the lake reflected the moon like a sheet of silver.

There, resting on a nearby bench, was another envelope. She sat down next to it and reached out. It too was sealed with a silver snowflake sticker. Gently sliding her thumb under the sticker, she watched as the flap flipped up and she slid the small card out. This time it was an actual Christmas card. Bears skated on a frozen pond. She smiled and opened the card.

“Clue #2: Look where the town gathers to skate.”

Mia’s first thought was the community centre, but it was a little too far to walk. Then she smiled despite herself. The outdoor rink in the park. Of course.

She stood and gave the lake one last look before she turned back towards the square, boots crunching in the snow. The rink was quiet, lit only by the soft glow of the overhead bulbs. And there — sitting right on the bench where skaters laced up their skates — was a third envelope. She was getting tired, and a little cold, and wondered how many more there would be.

She sat down next to it but as she reached for it, a voice behind her said, “I was hoping you’d find that.”

She spun around, startled.

A young man stood there, bundled in a long navy coat with a burgundy scarf, cheeks pink from the cold. She recognized him — sort of. He worked at the bakery on the Square. She’d seen him handing out gingerbread samples during the Christmas parade.

“You?” she said, laughing. “Are you the Christmas mystery mastermind?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Guilty. I’m Evan. I, uh… I read your column every week. You always write about finding the magic in small things. I thought maybe you’d enjoy a little magic of your own.”

Mia felt her heart warm. “This is… honestly the sweetest thing anyone’s done for me. But…”

He nodded toward the envelope cutting her off. “Go on. Open it.”

She, once again, slid her thumb under the flap to release the snowflake sticker and flipped it up once again.

“Final clue: Sometimes the greatest magic is simply meeting the right person at the right moment.”

Mia looked up, breath catching. Evan’s eyes sparkled like the Christmas lights reflecting off the ice.

“I know it’s a bit cheesy,” he said, “but I thought… maybe we could get hot chocolate? And talk? I’d like to get to know the girl who believes in Christmas magic.”

Mia laughed softly, feeling that same humming warmth from earlier — only now she knew exactly what it was.

“I’d like that,” she said. “But how did you know it would be me finding all the envelopes?”

“I was relying on people being too busy to notice plus I was only a few steps ahead of you,” he explained with a wink.

Evan offered Mia a gloved hand and, after thinking a moment, she placed her mittened hand in his.

As they walked back toward the Square, the lights above them flickered — just once — as though winking at them. And if Mia had turned around at that exact moment, she might have seen a tiny shimmer of silver drifting down from the sky, like a snowflake that glowed from within.

A little North Pole sparkle, blessing a new beginning.

Because in Goderich, especially at Christmas, magic always finds the people who believe in it.