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Holly rose out of bed and yawned, stretching her arms out wide. The early morning light filtered through her sheer white curtains, turning the room a light golden color. As she rubbed at her eyes, she spotted the snow on the windowsill and the pine tree outside, reminding her what day, or holiday, it was. Then, without even bothering to get her slippers on, Holly ran out of her room and sped to the living room, where a cookie plate decorated featuring a poinsettia flower surrounded by holly was empty, save for a few crumbs. She chose it out herself when shopping with her Papa and Babbo a few weeks ago and nearly broke it when she picked it up and shouted out, “Santa was here, Santa was here!”
This woke her Papa and Babbo up, who groggily stepped out into the hallway with their robes and pajamas on. Caesar knelt down in front of Holly, tousled her hair, and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Buon Natale, angioletto. How did you sleep?”
“I slept well! Though, I almost didn’t! I was trying to stay up to watch for Santa, but I fell asleep before I could.”
“It’s better that you sleep. We don’t want you all tired in the middle of the day!” Joseph knelt down as well, chuckling and pinching Holly’s cheek playfully as she tried to wiggle away. “I see you found the plate. Did Santa leave you anything else?”
Holly looked around the room and spotted the filled-to-the-brim stocking above the fireplace, as well as a pile of presents under the tree. She gasped and dramatically put her hands over her cheeks, which turned into squeeing as her Papa helped her take the stocking down and get the presents out from under the tree. “Why don’t you see what’s in your stocking first, piccolina?” Caesar ruffled his daughter’s hair as she took each item out of the stocking. First, a traditional orange, followed by a bag of peanut M&Ms and some licorice, and finally, a green envelope addressed to her in cursive font. “Be careful with that. You don’t want to rip it.”
Holly nodded as she gently tore it open, revealing a card featuring three children around a wonderfully decorated Christmas tree with “Merry Christmas” written at the top. Inside was two dollars, along with a written note from “Santa.”
Dear Holly,
I know you’ve been such a good girl to your Papa and Babbo this year!
I thought you deserved something extra nice, so here’s some money to visit the movies with your friends!
I heard there might be a new movie coming out in the summer about two dogs. Wouldn’t that be fun?
Merry Christmas!
-Santa
“Well, isn’t that awfully nice of Santa! Don’t spend it all in one place, though!” Joseph kissed Holly’s cheek, smiling at her awe-struck face. “How about you open some of your presents now? We’d love to see what you got!”
“Yeah! I can’t wait!” Holly was about to burst from excitement and only got happier as her first present was passed to her. It was wrapped in paper with green holly leaves and red berries, true to her name. She tore the paper open and opened the box, revealing a doll with curly brown hair and a mint green dress with white bows and trims. Her body was hard plastic, making it easier to play with than a porcelain doll meant for display only. Holly hugged it close before seating it next to her. “She’s so pretty! I think I wanna name her Nancy! She looks like a Nancy,” Holly giggled.
“Seems like Nancy wants to help you open your presents, then!” Joseph let out a hearty laugh before passing the next present to his daughter, a red paper bag with white tissue paper sticking out of it. She opened it and took out the Slinky nestled inside. “Cool, I love it! Papa, Babbo, you gotta play with it with me later!”
“Of course, angioletto. But don’t forget, your Nana and Auntie Suzi are coming over later, and we have to make dinner. After that, we can play as much as you want.”
“That’s ok! We can always play with it after dinner!” Holly stretched out the Slinky in her hands, laughing as it sprung back into place when she placed it down. Then, she spotted another box and grabbed it before either of her dads could pass it to her, sticking her tongue out playfully. “Got it!” She opened the snowman-themed paper and looked at the bunny plush inside. It was a light blush color with slightly deeper shade paw pads and a bow around its neck. Its black button eyes shined in the light of the fireplace, giving it a mischievous look. “His name is gonna be Peter, like Peter Rabbit!”
“That’s clever! I know that was one of your favorites when you were little. You’d always get so happy when we took it off the shelf!” Joseph played with the bunny’s arm, making it wave to Holly. “There’s one more present for you, my Christmas angel.” Joseph handed Holly the final box, covered in candy cane-printed paper. Holly tore into it with ease and showed off the box of the Candy Land game she was gifted. “I’ve always wanted my own game after I played it at Judy’s house!” Holly looked up to the top of the chimney and shouted out, “Thank you, Santa!”
Before her dads could get up, Holly stopped them and stood up. “You’ve got presents too! Just wait here!” She dashed off to her bedroom, returning with two poorly-wrapped presents. She handed the bulkier one to Joseph and the other one to Caesar. “Ok, you can open them! Just be really careful!”
Joseph and Caesar did as they were told, their faces soon turning into bright smiles. “Oh, this is wonderful, Holly! Did you make these yourself?” Joseph marveled at the papier-mâché chicken-shaped basket while Caesar traced the outlines of the sunflowers on the framed painting of a sunny field.
“Mhm! I made the chicken art class, and I did the paint-by-number kit when I was staying with Auntie Suzi!” Holly hugged her dads close, almost too tight, as she wrapped her arms around their necks. “I love you so much! Merry Christmas!”
Joseph and Caesar had to tap Holly’s back to let them get some air, but they both gave her kisses on her cheeks. “We love you too! Your Babbo and I will get some cocoa going. Just stay put for a moment!” Holly nodded as Caesar got up to heat the milk on the stove while Joseph turned the radio on. “How about some lovely Christmas music? You know, your Babbo and I used to dance to Here Comes Santa Claus every year!” Joseph turned the dial on the radio, causing it to crackle to life and play music through the house.
“Really? I wanna see you two dance!” Holly clapped her hands, giggling at the thought of her giant Papa and Babbo dancing in the tiny room.
“Maybe if you’re good today, piccolina.” Caesar handed the mugs of cocoa to Holly and his husband, smiling fondly. “Be careful with your mug. I don’t want you to burn yourself.” The three of them sat in front of the fireplace, smiling as the music played on. "Buon Natale, Holly. And you too, tesoro."
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
“May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white”