THE REINDEER have been fed and the elves are wrapping presents but something is bothering Santa: What do you give to society’s givers?

St Albans author Marisa Laycock has mulled over the issue and written a children’s book offering an antidote to the materialistic overtures of Christmas.

In Santa’s Delight, the main character agonises over how best to thank selfless people giving up their Christmas to look after others – those who help the homeless, police, fire and ambulance crews who save lives and soldiers and sailors serving their country overseas.

Buoyed by a hot cup of cocoa, and with his cheeks flushed with sudden inspiration, Santa takes to the skies on his own Christmas adventure, to put his plan in action.

Marisa, of Fleetville, said that Santa’s Delight, her first published book, reflected her belief that life was an adventure.

The 41-year-old Montessori teacher has been writing for 15 years, honing her skills since gaining a BA (Hons) in Modern Languages and Literatures and postgraduate diploma in literature and postmodernism. She said: “I have always written children’s fiction.”

Marisa explained she “usually writes late at night, when I can hear the silence.” She said it was an “intuitive process” where images in her mind prompted her story-telling.

The book is dedicated to her Dad, who passed away about three years ago. Indeed the trigger for writing Santa’s Delight was a combination of her own “tremendous Christmas spirit,” ingrained by her Italian parents, and sadness at her father’s passing.

Marisa said that had led her to ponder others in the world – rescue personnel, servicemen and women giving up their Christmas to help others – and her book was a response to their Yuletide efforts.

Marisa’s book can be purchased via Troubador’s website: www.troubador.co.uk, at local book stores, and on Amazon.