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One morning, Mrs. Muddle said, "I will not get into the kind of muddle I did last Christmas. I will shop early."
All day she was busy shopping. Then she wrapped everything up. There was a train set for her nephew Jimmy, a scarf and hat for her brother Sam, a cookbook for stern Aunt Susan, sensible socks for Great Uncle Harry, roller skates for little Susie and a microscope for Susie's big brother Tom. Then Mrs. Muddle hid the presents under the bed.
On Christmas Eve, Mrs. Muddle took out her presents. But she hadn't put any labels on them! There wasn't enough time to undo the gifts and rewrap them so Mrs. Muddle just had to guess.
On Christmas Day Mrs. Muddle looked out and saw Great Uncle Harry roller-skating past. "Best present I've had in years! Thanks!" he cried.
A second later Susie came past on her new roller skates. "These new socks are great! It doesn't hurt when I fall over! Thank you!"
The phone rang. It was her brother. "I've wanted a train set for years and Jimmy loves his microscope," he said.
At the door, stern Aunt Susan beamed out from beneath her hat and scarf. "I was so fed up with sensible presents," she said. "These are such fun."
"Well," said Mrs. Muddle. "What can I have given to Tom?" Before she had time to work it out, Tom arrived.
"I've made you some cookies from my cookbook," he smiled. "It's a great present!"
Mrs. Muddle ate one of Tom's cookies. "I knew advance planning was the answer!" she laughed.
