Diary 21: December 22
- We've changed from letters to Mr. Henshaw to Leigh's diary to Mr. Pretend Henshaw.
- The problem with Leigh eating his lunch early is that he's hungry by noon.
- So today, he doesn't eat early and his fancy mushrooms disappear.
- He doesn't want to be a tattletale, so he tries watching the area around the lunches to catch the thief himself. No luck.
- Suddenly, Leigh gets an idea: after Christmas, he'll write a fake name on the bag. As Gru would say, "Light bulb."
Diary 22: December 23
- First day of vacay.
- But no Christmas present from Dad.
- He probably won't come to visit, either. Bummer.
Diary 23: December 24
- Still no present.
- Last Christmas was much better, with killer food, a small tree, and all of them together.
- They made up songs about lost shoes and they laughed, and life was good.
Diary 24: December 25
- Leigh tells us that late at night on Christmas Eve, a strange visitor arrived at his house looking for him.
- Surprise, his dad sent a present and it was exactly what Leigh wanted—a jacket.
- For Christmas dinner, they go over to Katy's.
- Leigh wonders if his mom is also thinking about last Christmas when his dad was there and they made up shoe songs and were happy.