Skip to main content

How to Catch A Reindeer–Christmas 2025

🎧 In this episode, How to Catch A Reindeer

Merry Christmas, everyone — and welcome to this year's special holiday edition of On the Fly!

Since 2020, Lori and I have been happily creating a special Christmas gift for our nephews, nieces, and close friends: a children's story recorded in our voices, filled with delightful sound effects, music, and just the right touch of seasonal magic to make Santa smile. It's become one of our most cherished traditions — and honestly, it's way easier than trying to wrap a real reindeer!

Over the years, we've shared some favorite classics: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, The Night Before Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Santa's Toy Shop. (We've created our own North Pole audiobook library.)

This year, we're excited to introduce a new book: How to Catch a Reindeer by Alice Walstead.

And let me tell you — this one is a ride.

It's a high-flying, whimsical Christmas Eve chase starring Comet, one of Santa's more curious reindeer, who decides to sneak off for a little solo adventure. Meanwhile, a group of wildly imaginative kids tries to catch her using the most clever — and frankly, absurd — traps you can imagine.

The book is filled with humor, mischief, and warm Christmas wonder. We're excited to bring it to life with our audio version.

So grab a cozy blanket, pour yourself some cocoa, and settle in. The chase is about to begin — and trust me, Comet is not making this easy.

And now, the audio version of "How to Catch a Reindeer": click here.

I'm Patrick Ball. Stay curious, ask questions, and Merry Christmas.

Comments

Patrick B. Ball said…
Remember, to listen to the audio–click the link in the title of the blog post! (In this episode) Or you can subscribe to the On the Fly podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Just search for On the Fly by Patrick Ball.

Most Popular of All Time

Believing Is Seeing

🎄 In this episode, Believing Is Seeing . . . It's December, we bustle, we wrap, and we dash. We sort life into boxes— myths  here,  to-dos  in a stash. We whisper of Santa (adult code: “Not Real”), but hold on one minute—let’s rethink this whole deal. For the stories we cherish, the movies we stream, hold more truth in their sparkle than we grown-ups may deem. So hop in this sleigh and hold on real tight— We’re chasing down Santa by the glow of his light! Scott Calvin once landed in the North Pole’s cold air, with elves, cocoa, and snow everywhere. He squinted and frowned—“This just  cannot  be so!” (Like thinking tangled lights will detangle if we  blow .) Then Judy the Elf gave a cocoa so steaming,  and said something simple . . . yet surprisingly gleaming: Seeing’s not believing—no, that’s not the key. "Believing is seeing!"   Just trust, and  you’ll  see!” Kids don’t need a map or a satellite screen to know Santa’s workshop is her...

Night Before Christmas

I n this episode, Night Before Christmas . . .  (In the spirit of Edgar Albert Guest) I’ve wrestled with the tangled lights the way I always do— With just enough patience left to see the project through. I climb the ladder carefully; the years have taught me how. To take my time with every step and keep a steady brow. We hang the faded ornaments I’ve known since I was small, the chipped, the cracked, the tilted ones—I love them best of all. Santa’s lost a bit of paint, the stars’ leaning right, but oh, it casts a holy glow across the room tonight. The kitchen hums with activity, with laughter, and with cheer, as voices drift like echoes from a long-forgotten year. The floor is strewn with paper scraps, the clock is ticking slow, As Christmas finds its own sweet pace and sets our house aglow. The hallway grows a little still; the lights are dimmed, and low, Small shoes are lined in messy pairs to wait for morning’s snow. The fire's warm, the room is full, the world is deep and wide,...

Stamps and Snow

In this episode, Stamps and Snow . . .   You don’t usually walk into the local Post Office expecting a time warp . . . but here we are. All we wanted were stamps for this year's Christmas cards— yes, the old-fashioned paper ones that require licking, sticking, and hoping the Postal Service is feeling ambitious this week. But holiday errands have a talent for slowing you down, almost like the universe whispering, “Relax. You’re not getting out of this line any faster anyway.” So we waited. And while we waited, we talked (Are you surprised?). Because the Post Office is one of the few places where people still look up from their phones long enough to talk . . . Maybe it's because they're holding packages. It’s the modern town square: part civic duty, part free entertainment, part sociology experiment. The discussion began with holiday specials streaming on Netflix, Paramount+, and other services during this time of year. One gentleman who has lived in Vista since 1958 told us,...

Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way

🎩   In this special episode. How to Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way It’s 2026! Yes— this is the year! A different kind of start—you feel it right here? No lists! No demands! No fix-all-your-flaws! No “New You by Tuesday!” No rules! No laws! Those resolutions? Bah! Dusty and dry! We’ve tried fixing everything —so let’s ask why. Why rush and correct and improve and compare, When noticing quietly gets you right there ? So here’s a new project—no charts, no clocks, No boxes to check in your mental inbox. It’s bigger than busy and smaller than grand, It’s called Un-Working —now give me your hand! Un-Working’s not quitting or hiding away, It’s setting things down that shout “Hurry! Hey!” The hustle! The bustle! The faster-than-fast! The gotta-win-now or you’re stuck in the past! That’s the work of Un-Working— plop! —set it free! The titles! The labels! The “Look-At-Me!” The crown that kept sliding and pinching your head— You never looked comfy . . . let’s try this instead: Pick up a tel...