Elf

Santa fed the reindeer as he trudged through the snow.

His toes were very cold.

Rudolph chewed through his boots and every single pair of socks he owned.

Santa had a solution.

He sought the aid of elves and asked them to knock him up a new pair.

"Some insulated, steel-toe wonders."

The chief elf fiddled with a bell on his uniform and tried his best to let Santa down gently.

"The backlog's humongous this time of year" he said.

"It'll be two weeks before we have a gap in the schedule."

Santa's cheery visage turned to one of rage.

He grabbed the elf.

Launched him through the gingerbread desk partition.

"There's your ruddy gap" he shouted from behind a big bushy beard.