Joker

When four of Santa's elves fell ill, and the trainee elves could not produce toys as fast as their regular colleagues, Santa began to feel the pressure of being behind schedule.

And when Mrs Claus announced to Santa that her mum was coming to visit, he became even more stressed.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three were about to give birth while two had escaped by jumping the fence and were roaming free.

More stress!

Then as Santa started to load the sleigh, one of the boards cracked and a bag fell to the ground, scattering toys.

Frustrated, Santa retreated indoors for a cup of apple cider with a generous shot of rum.

But when he opened the cupboard he discovered that elves had hidden the liquor, and there was nothing left to drink.

In his frustration he accidentally dropped the cider pot which broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor.

Fetching the broom, Santa discovered that mice had destroyed its straw end.

When the doorbell rang, an increasingly irritable Santa trudged to answer it, revealing a little angel holding a huge Christmas tree.

Very cheerfully the angel greeted downhearted Santa: "Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't it a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree here for you. Where would you like me to stick it?"

And so began the ancient tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.