In the dark still of the night you could barely make out the figure crounching in the shadows. In fact, if it were not for the visible breath backlit by a farway street light you likely could not tell anyone was there.

But he was there. Breathing. Watching. Ready to pounce.

All was quiet and very still. He listened for approaching cars. He studied the horizon in all directions. Just then, he thought he heard something. He lowered himself a little more and listened more intently.

Softly he heard the tinkling ID tags on a neighborhood cat. The time had come. He would strike now.

Like a quiet bolt of lightning, he was off like a shot. Moving with silent speed, he crouched behind parked cars while on the move. When he spied his target he dove for cover behind a bush. Stopping only to see if he had moved undetected he took his package and placed it on the porch. He hesitated.

Leaning his body in position for a quick exit, his finger found the doorbell. He pressed it and left in a flash, running at top speed to a predetermined hiding spot. With more than 20 yards to go the porch light went on. I heard a giggle as he knew he had almost made it. He fell at my feet, doing a barrel roll and stuffing his gloved hand in his mouth to stifle his laughter. We both crouched behind a trailer together and watched.

On the porch our victim looked befuddled. She spied the merrily wrapped present on the porch but could see or hear no one. She looked right in our direction for a moment and we held our collective breaths. Then she picked up the present and closed her door to the cold. Success was ours.

This one was easy, I told my 7 year-old son. It was the first night of the Twelve Days of Christmas. And the first night is always the easiest.

The Twelve Days of Christmas is usually organized by my eldest daughter, Aubree. We select one family to target -- and this decision can take weeks. It has to be someone close and it has to be someone the Christmas Phantom has never struck before. Then we plan 12 straight days of merriment.

The goal is to have some fun. The gifts are never large. Sometimes it is a baked goody, other times it could be a cheery decoration such as a candle. And always, there is some sort of note in explanation. Many times we take a good article off of My Merry Christmas and print it out for delivery by the Christmas Phantom. It can really be anything, just so long as we can carry it, deliver it and not get caught.

And each day it gets a little more difficult.

This is a tradition left over from my childhood. Although in those days we did it a little differently. Then, we'd make a pile of goodies and hit as many homes as we could in one night. But as I got older, that didn't prove to be much of a challenge. We always had the element of surprise on our side. And, anyone could figure out who did it because we were the only ones who didn't get something left on our porch.

So the tradition evolved into something more complex for my kids. And I am proud to say they have never been caught, in spite of the larger challenge. For 12 straight nights they sneak up on the same house and make a drop.

Only once did we have an aggressive target. The first few nights we got away with it easy. But by the fourth night we had kids in the target family looking out for us. The Phantom had to extend his hours of operation and really plan his approach. It was definitely a challenge.

Naturally, there were some serious kids in the target family who enjoyed the challenge of catching us more than the treats we left behind. That made for some elaborate planning and heated debate. One of the rules is that everyone has to participate -- even the little ones. Last year, the youngest one capable was Madelyn, who was barely 18 months old. And at that age, speed and stealth are not yet acquired skills.

Only one person approaches the porch. The rest are hidden in various spots behind cars and under bushes. We usually park my four-year-old and six-year-old daughters with me -- except on the night when it is their turn to deliver -- because my hand is large enough to fit over their mouths and contain, at least partially, their giggles in the cold night.

But when Aubree had charge of Madelyn on a night last year she fled the scene of a near-bungled drop carrying Madelyn like a football. To her credit, Madelyn was absolutely silent. We think the shock of the sudden and speedy exit took her breath away. And, fortunately, we did not get caught.

The Twelve Days of Christmas being again this week. The planning has been going on for days. The schedule for the drops has been argued over. And great anticipation is felt by all, especially the younger kids. We wonder if this is how Santa feels every Christmas.

But then, we figure, Santa is an amateur. He comes when everyone is sleeping and he only does it once a year.