Before the lanes were lit and the laughter began, the magic of Angels in the Alley was captured in a playful holiday twist on a classic poem.

Step into the night before our favorite event of the year…

’Twas the Night Before Angels in the Alley

’Twas the night before Angels in the Alley, and all through House 3
The presents were nestled safely under the tree.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that our graceful FS would soon be there.

The angels were busy, prepping the lanes,
As we slept, thoughts of fun were filling our brains.
We thought, “What’s the admission? There must be a price.”
It’s free to get in, as long as your Santa hat’s nice.

We woke up this morning, the day was finally here,
Wondering what awesome things the Angels set up this year.
Photo booths, cupcakes, all the pizza we can eat,
And of course bells ringing from the end of Dorian’s feet.

The moon fell on strikes as we arrived to the show,
Gave the beauty of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should we see,
But a woman out front yelling, “Welcome!”—it must be Kari.

This place must have come from Heaven above,
It’s filled to the brim with people, showing us nothing but love.
“But they’ve never met us before?”
No matter, our smiling faces are what they adore.

Now all the houses have arrived, it’s time to begin,
The amount of fun we will have is finally sinking in.
Dorian gets on the mic to deliver the news—
We just can’t get over those awesome elf shoes!
She said, “Okay everyone, can I have your attention?”
She released all the kids—fun was their intention!
So up through the lobby they scurried in a hurry,
With arms full of bowling balls, cupcakes, and Slurpees!!

As the night went on, we never felt tired,
Maybe those 12 Mountain Dews were what had us so wired.
“What to do next? We can’t decide,”
While the Angels sat back watching, enjoying the ride.

Dorian grabbed us: “Hey, are you guys having fun?”
“Great! But now you get to meet Matt, my son!”
This was all too great, something must be wrong—
All of these strangers give us a feeling of belonging.

We already have so many gifts on Santa’s checklist,
Yet these people keep giving—some would say almost reckless.
But money isn’t what the Angels care about, for sure,
Giving comes from the Father, and means so much more.

The Angels explained what real giving means:
“It’s not about pizza, soda, and jelly beans.
Jesus gave His life so that all of us may live—
That’s much more than any of us can give.”

As the night drew to a close, something had changed,
This was about more than what the Angels had arranged.
Christmas isn’t about all that we receive,
But that Jesus died for us—and that’s what we need to believe.

As we left Kari said, “Watch your step, please do not stumble.”
She will never know what she taught us is to be more humble.
‘To give is to get’ is what we need to hear—
But we aren’t going to lie, we can’t wait for next year!

As we pulled into the driveway, we had different attitudes,
It wasn’t because our stomachs were full of different foods.
We looked at life different for some reason,
The Angels in the Alley taught us how to truly celebrate the season.

We had all made memories we surely would keep,
The Angels were a blessing to us, we knew we were right.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!