Santa Claus sat back in his easy chair this morning and with his chubby hands laced across the front of his fur-trimmed red coat, waited for time to pass.

There was nothing to do - nothing, that is, except to loll in the cushioned depth of his wide chair and wait for darkness.

"Everything is set, " he mused. "My route list is all made up, and my gifts are in the bag, so to speak. My, what a comfortable at peace with the world, sort of feeling!"

Yes, thanks to the generosity of thousands of residents of Washington, Santa was "set" for as jolly a Christmas eve as any he had ever seen.

For a while, it had looked as though there would be thousands of empty stockings, thousands of broken childish hearts, in the Capital this Christmas eve. Jobless men and women had scant hope of being able to provide square meals for themselves and their families, and there was no hope at all of being able to furnish toys and other gifts for their children.

Washingtonian insiders soon learned about Santa's plight. In a not so secret meeting, thousands of concerned citizens responded with unprecedented generosity; piles of presents towered over the Washington Monument. After it was all over, approximately 22 million gifts were waiting to be given to good girls and boys.

Was Santa happy?

"I'll say I was," he laughed. "And I'm even happier now. Gifts of all kinds continue to pour in. Just about everything you can think of: Toys, clothing, and even cash. Green is my favorite color."

All the gifts were turned over to the Christmas Planning Committee of the Council of Social Elves. Members of the committee have worked day and night, sorting gifts and making allotments to various organizations that have filed requests for help.

These organizations, in turn, passed the gifts on to Santa for traditional Christmas eve distribution. Other youngsters, not on the lists of any of the organizations, will be taken care of by members of the committee.

"Yes, sir," Santa said musingly, "it's going to be a merry Christmas, after all."

He closed his eyes and slid farther down in his chair.

"Nothing to do but sit back and wait for tonight...and then.....a merry Christmas...."