Stuck In The Chimney Again

One of the greatest mysteries in all the world is the question of how Santa Claus gets down all those chimneys. Not just how does he do it in one night, but more practically, how does he fit?? Insiders tell us that he has a particular set of magical skills that cause him to shrink so he can simply slide down. The problem is, sometimes Santa forgets! This cute story song relates such a time when Santa forgot to shrink himself before attempting to go down a chimney. Again!

Set in a lighthearted pop style, the melody is simple and catchy in a head bopping sort of way. The first two verses can be sung by a soloist, optionally. Then everyone joins in for the bridge at bar 19, just as Santa's conundrum is becoming clear. The real fun begins at the chorus with an exuberant, "Stuck..." By the end of the chorus, the spoken parts are beginning, sparsely at first, then more later. This is where it would be good for you to use our recording to show kids how it all works together. You'll note that the third and fourth verses are unison, and in case it helps, we suggest letting kids repeat the first two verses for ease of learning.

If you use this in performance and you can manage it, consider letting a group of performers act out the drama as they go. A large cardboard box painted as a chimney is a simple prop, and you don't really need to ever see Santa unless you want to. The reindeer could be outside the chimney pretending to push, pull, grunt, etc. A humorous large popping sound at the end indicates success and one reindeer announces, "Got him!"

Though we left the jingle bells on the accompaniment track for this song, we thought you might enjoy letting some of your players jingle along. So we created an isolated jingle bells part and put it online for you. We also put a unison version of the song there that has no spoken solos. This is a good choice for younger groups that need reinforcement of singing.