THE SNOW FAIRIES—­Four little girls, all in white, capes or coats, hoods, muffs.  The muffs full of loose cotton, which they use as snow, to hang on trees and chimney, and to throw at Santa Claus.

SANTA CLAUS—­The conventional costume; white hair and beard; pack, with few toys protruding from the top.

THE GRANDMOTHER—­Gray hair, lace cap, gray or black dress.

THE GRANDCHILDREN—­Four boys in pajamas, with wrappers over them; four girls in night dresses with kimonos over them.

Scenery And Scenic Effects

SCENE I.

The Chimney, which must be large enough to hold two people, one of them Santa Claus with his pack of toys, may consist of a light frame covered with turkey red cambric and backed with cardboard or heavy paper.  The cambric should be marked off into bricks.  The face is produced by cutting away the cardboard or paper backing behind two bricks for the eyes, one for the nose and two together for the mouth.  Boxes must cover these openings on the inside, one for each eye and a larger one for mouth and nose together.  In these three boxes are three electric lights which can be turned on and off independently by the boy inside the chimney.  Dry batteries have been used when an electric current was not available.  The light shining through the cambric makes the face.  Turning off, and on again, the light behind one of the eyes makes the chimney wink, etc.  Small hooks or nails, sticking out above the eyes, under the nose, and under the mouth, should be provided to hold the snow which the fairies hang on to represent eyebrows, mustache and beard.

The background and flies for this scene should be made of black cambric, dull side out, and a dim light should be used, blue or green preferable, so distributed as not to throw shadows on the “sky.”

The trees may be real spruces or pines, or may be painted, or may be made of green cambric touched up with paint or charcoal.

The wind noise is made by some one behind the scenes, preferably not the Wind Fairies themselves.  It should be plainly heard.  The same applies to the sound of water thrown on the fire.

If accompaniment is desired for the songs, a violin gives a better effect than a piano.

The effect of falling snow is produced by a simple machine, consisting of a connected series of perforated cardboard boxes suspended from a cord or wire, and filled with finely cut paper.  At one end they are attached to a wire spring, and by a cord at the other end they are shaken, so as to make the paper snow shower down.  Such a machine may be bought for a small sum from firms dealing in Sunday School supplies.  Two of them used together are more adequate than one.

SCENE II.

It is not necessary to use real beds.  Boards on low horses or boxes will make excellent substitutes, and a strip of cloth will conceal their structure.  An advantage of this plan is that they need not be as long as regulation beds.  Four children to a bed means packing them like sardines, but it can be done, and it always amuses the audience.