Some Christmas stories are better than others.

And Enumclaw residents Beau and Liz Chevassus now have one of the great holiday tales to tell.

It starts on a sad note, as the Scandia Avenue couple had five holiday packages stolen from their doorstep – an increasingly common crime during these economically-challenging times. Making matters worse, they’re not alone; others in their neighborhood have experienced the loss of holiday gifts from brazen thieves.

But Beau Chevassus took matters into his own hands. He first put a “dummy package” on his steps, in clear view; then, the professional videographer turned on a camera he had installed; and, finally, he waited.

The night of Dec. 23, thieves struck and Chevassus was ready – almost ready.

“I was able to run after the fellow, while dialing 911, in my clown-like, fuzzy slippers, with my 130DB (decibel) motion detector alarm blaring,” he wrote in an e-mail.

“I caught the fellow on film, taking the package, which I have so graciously posted on YouTube with extremely dry-humored commentary.”

Having packages – particularly Christmas presents – stolen from one’s property brings feelings of being violated, but there’s a happy ending to this holiday story. Chevassus encourages victims of such thefts to first contact police, but next notify sellers and tell the story behind missing packages. In his case, 100 percent of his gifts were replaced, free of charge, some even including two-day shipping.

“There are some kind souls in the world still, and our Christmas is that much better knowing that a thief will never show his face around our neighborhood again,” Chevassus wrote.

ONLINE: Beau Chevassus used his video background to put together a piece for YouTube that readers can find at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCep9Z-JuGI