Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

This is going to be the best autumn and holiday season EVER!!  That is because Katie has arranged for my best friend Hodel Yanovic to come here and stay for three whole months!  She's going to be here for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah!  I have never celebrated Hanukkah before, but now I will get to since Hodel is Jewish.  I can't wait!  But first we have to plan our Halloween costumes and where we will go to trick-or-treat for the best candy!  And we can carve pumpkins!  And jump in leaf piles!  (Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited?  I can't seem to stop typing exclamation points!) :-) 

I feel very lucky, since I just got to visit Hodel in Ohio during July and August.  We went to the zoo and saw tons of animals, and I even got a little pin with penguins on it!  Here we are in front of the elephant exhibit.  They were so cool to watch!

 

Hodel is going to be here very soon - probably in just a few days, and I still have lots to do!  I have to clean up all my books and toys and put my clothes away, and most importantly, I have to write a letter to Santa Claus.

Even though Hodel is Jewish, she does celebrate Christmas with her friends at home who are not, but I do not know if Santa has ever come to her house to give her Christmas presents.  If he hasn't, he might not know her, and he might not know she is going to be at my house this year.  Of course, Santa is magic so maybe he will figure it all out on his own, but I better not take any chances.  Especially since Santa actually comes to my house for the first time BEFORE Christmas, on St. Nicholas Day on December 6th, to fill my stocking.  I leave my Christmas list in the stocking for him, and then he takes it back to the North Pole with him to get ready for Christmas morning.  So Hodel can leave him a list then and he will know to bring presents on Christmas, but what if he doesn't know he needs to bring enough to fill her stocking, too?  I have to make sure he will take care of things so Hodel will not be left out.  I think a 2 month notice for a stocking will be enough, don't you?