The night shift clock chimed 23:47, and the bell above the factory floor rang cheerfully, as if to say, You are only thirteen minutes behind schedule.
“Right!” shouted Tinselwick, Head of Personal Planning and Mild Stress. “Final checklist! Everyone consult your organisers!”
A thousand tiny Filofaxes snapped open at once. Tabs fluttered. Stickers sparkled. Someone spilled glitter into Section D: Errands.
At Table One, Hollyquill the elf was cross-checking appointments.
“Who scheduled ‘Reindeer Hoof Polish – 11:55 PM’ immediately after ‘Global Gift Dispatch’?” she demanded.
“That was me,” said Bramble. “I thought we could multitask.”
“You cannot multitask reindeer,” Hollyquill snapped, ticking the box anyway. Elves believed in optimism.
Meanwhile, down the conveyor belt, the organisers themselves rolled past in pristine rows—leather covers polished, pages perfectly aligned, ribbon dangling from the pen loops like tiny tongues of judgment.
“Careful with the weekly planners!” cried Peppermint Joe. “Those are the ones with the motivational quotes!”
One organiser flipped open mid-inspection and revealed a quote that read:
You have exactly the same hours in a day as Santa Claus.
The elves stared at it in silence.
“…Rude,” muttered someone.
In the Binding Department, disaster struck. A junior elf named Fig had accidentally mixed the ‘Life Goals’ inserts with the ‘Emergency Snacks’ section.
“Why does this organiser say my dream is ‘Eat chocolate, then eat more chocolate’?” asked Tinselwick.
Fig shrugged. “It’s aspirational.”
As midnight crept closer, the factory grew frantic. Bells jingled. Pages fluttered. One elf sprinted past yelling, “Who moved my to-do list?! I had everything on there!”
Finally, the Great Quality Control Elf emerged, holding the last organiser aloft.
“Tabs aligned?”“Yes!”
“Paper smooth?”
“Pocket for secret biscuits?”
“…Optional, but yes.”
The clock struck twelve.
Outside, sleigh bells rang.
The elves cheered, collapsing into beanbags and unused planner boxes. Another Christmas Eve saved—thanks to careful scheduling, minor chaos, and at least three backup lists titled FINAL FINAL VERSION.
As the lights dimmed, Tinselwick opened his organiser one last time and checked off the final item:
Save Christmas ✅
Then he added a note underneath:
Next year: start earlier.
🎄Merry Christmas to your all in Philofaxy land from everyone on the team at Philofaxy HQ🎄
