[cornwall] it's beginning to look a lot like Trickmas.

Well, knock her over with a feather!

It was a Trickett Christmas all round, that was for sure. It was Christmas Eve in the large Trickett homeland. The place was alive with festive cheer. Erika wasn't sure how many poor, unsuspecting souls had been forced into stringing everything up but it looked incredibly beautiful. Every single room was decked out in red and gold. Boughs of holly were artfully twisted around the dark wood banisters of staircases, a hundred or so floating candles softly illuminated the place, casting everything in a dramatic but warm ambient glow. Fairly lights twinkled, wrapped around a dozen or so tall Nordic spruces. The air smelt like gingerbread.

And it felt like home.

The halls were filled with soft chatter and laughter, the celebratory sound of glasses clinking as relatives and friends alike embraced each other. Erika felt like a kid. Speaking of kids, she let out a squeal of surprise as a gaggle of children ran around her legs. The boys were brandishing twigs like swords, the girls screaming with delight and terror as they thundered down the hallways, causing more havoc in their wake.

It wasn't that late but Erika had been here for hours getting ready in one of the rooms upstairs. There were plenty to go around. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a sleek, glossy ponytail, the ends curling as they cascaded down her back. Her hair wasn't usually this long, she'd used a potion to grow it a couple of inches. It was a special occasion after all.

Her dress was a pretty shade of snowy white and cut modestly to her knee and tied with a champagne coloured sash. She thought it was pretty festive. The cowl neck draped over her curves, the lace overlay of her satin skirt caught the light and glittered, as did her golden shoes. In hindsight, it was a bit form fitting and she wasn't sure if she could dance in it but she'd give it a bloody good go. Her bright blue eyes were outlined tastefully in mascara and kohl eyeliner, her full lips were painted a deep shade of burgundy that matched the glass of mulled wine she was holding.

It was snowing outside. The grounds were covered with a thick snowy blanket, making everything look like a Christmas card. Snow was glistening on the bare branches and it was absolutely freezing but inside was toasty warm. There were various drinks scattered around, everything from fancy champagne to beer to virgin cocktails and everything in-between. Erika was on her third glass of mulled wine and she was feeling a bit buzzy. A comfortable buzzy. The kind were she was just smiling and she wasn't even really sure why.

The doors that lead into the main foyer had been festooned with evergreen boughs and draped by her fair hands. Yup. That was right. No wand for Erika Trickett. She'd spent about an hour, perched on a kitchen chair, swearing like a sailor as she fiddled and fixed, pulled and pinned those damned leaves into place. It looked amazing, though. The entire place did. It was a sprawling masterpiece.

Erika picked her way down the grand red carpeted staircase carefully, running her pale fingers over the deep mahogany wood as she stepped onto the checkerboard floor. Her way through the home was slow as she was stopped by family members. Not that she minded. From descending the stairs, she'd hugged fifteen people. Oh. Wait. Sixteen. One of her aunts just grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. "No, I'm not dating anyone," she said patiently as the older woman frowned. Why did everyone have to ask that? Erika had actually invited someone. She'd invited Èdouard. But he wasn't here yet. She wasn't sure if he was even coming at all.

She could turn up alone. It wasn't that pathetic. It wasn't like she was unlovable. She didn't even have a cat. Erika had invited a few friends, Lulu included and she was wondering if she'd invite her new beau. Oh hang on, where those mini sausage rolls?

"Oooh come to mama," Erika said softly as she pinched one off a silver serving tray and stuffed it unceremoniously into her mouth and chewed. It was a little after seven in the evening and most people were already here. Her big blue eyes watched as people came milling in. There was a fourteen foot Christmas tree in one of the rooms, draped with a million lights and sparkling baubles where all the gifts were gathered. She'd already deposited hers. The Trickmas Secret Santa was a main event. Luckily, her recipient was Alicia. Erika had got her a crap load of stuff. There were a number of cook books, both old and new and one that she'd picked up in a flea market in Paris. It was from the eighteenth century. Along with the books, there were a full set of cute little pastel utensils and a raunchy apron. The gifts were plonked in a large cardboard box and wrapped in shiny silver paper.

She bobbed her head along to music that floated in from an unseen position. There was a mix of traditional Christmas songs as well as a few more modern ones. Excitement was in the air, it was tangible. She was excited! Minding her own business, she jumped when someone tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around, eyes wide and her cheeks full of sausage roll, puffed out like a hamster's. Did she wanna dance? "Yeah I wanna dance!" she exclaimed as she swallowed and discarded her glass, grabbing and laughing as they expertly twirled her. Around her, a few more couples had congregated on the broad shiny floor, causing Erika to laugh as she was spun around and she instantly regretted those three glasses of wine. Buggery. She was gonna be sick.

It was finally Christmas! Pixie was so thrilled about the Trickett family party she didn't even care that her mother had insisted she wear a dress for the occasion! She and Kai had been here for half an hour now and had used that time profitably running from one room to the next with three or four of their younger cousins in tow, pointing at the decorations and playing around all the trees. It seemed that there was a tree practically in every room! But the most amazing one was the one with the present pile, because that was the one that was surrounded by the Secret Santa gifts.

Pixie was so proud of herself. She'd picked out Sorley's present herself, the first year she'd been considered responsible enough to make such an important decision, and she'd taken it very seriously indeed. She'd even dragged her mother out to a muggle bookshop - in London! in December! - so she could be sure of finding the perfect gift. She couldn't wait to see her little cousin's face when he unwrapped his three red and gold coloured parcels (Gryffindor colours! Pixie hadn't missed that the whole house was decorated on that colour scheme) and found his new dinosaur books, sweets and - the thing so amazing she'd almost wanted to keep one for herself - a giant pack of glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs!

The young girl was so excited she didn't dare move more than a few feet away from the ever-increasing gift pile, just in case she missed the time when everyone opened their presents and she missed it. She didn't want to miss the look on Sorley's face when he discovered his secret santa had bought him a book called "Dinosaurs love underpants" Pixie had just about wet herself laughing in the shop and had actually kicked her shoes off and rolled around the floor in hysterics when she'd found that one, much to her mother's embarrassment!

Shoes...of which tonight's pair were long since abandoned, of course. While she secretly quite liked her new red dress, the sparkly shoes that went with them had been left in one of the rooms - she couldn't quite remember which one - and naturally her white tights were already a little less white than when she'd left home. Pixie didn't care. She'd just spotted a trayful of tiny chocolate cakes which were no doubt meant for later in the evening...but this was Christmas! Picking one off with each hand, her mood brightened still further as the music changed to a song with which she was very familiar indeed.

"Jingle bells, Jingle bells..!" she sang along loudly, skipping back to the main foyer to make sure she didn't miss anything.

[OOC Note for Sorley: make sure your driver clicks on the polyvore set and looks very carefully in those parcels!]

No matter how much Lyall loved Christmas (and he loved it a lot), his love of the holiday season could not in any way rival how much his son Sorley loved this time of year. His six year old son had been an untameable ball of energy since it had been the first of December. Every morning his son ticked off a day on his countdown to Christmas calendar (dinosaur themed of course). Every day over breakfast Sorley imagined some new idea of what Santa might leave for him under the tree. He chattered and animatedly gesticulated with his hands about the dinosaur cookies with Santa hats he was going to make with Geri and the holiday sweater his auntie promised to make him and the gingerbread house he was going to make with his cousins. Come Christmas Eve, Lyall was happy the family party was finally here because he wasn't sure if Sorley would survive another moment if he had to wait any longer.

Lyall was dressed comfortably in a deep green jumper that complemented his eyes. It was decorated with a giant evergreen tree complete with strings of lights that he had charmed so they actually lit up. Sorley had been amazed and Lyall was easy to spot in a room since the lights tended to stick out. Sorley was in the dinosaur Christmas themed jumper his auntie had promised him, his outfit made complete by his favorite dinosaur hat. Lyall was just happy that the six year old had decided against wearing his full dinosaur costume to this family event.

The Charms professor and his son had arrived much earlier that afternoon as Lyall had offered to help decorate. It was his usual tradition come Christmas time. Wreaths and ornaments and boughs of holly and a few mistletoe levitated and hung on the mantels, above doors, and rails. Tinsel and strings of white lights and candy canes decorated any area in need of a little festive spirit. It was never a lengthy endeavor since so many Tricketts had helped. Sorley had spent his time running about the halls and 'rewrapping' the gifts for his Secret Santa person. Sorley had picked out the gifts and wrapped them himself (albeit badly) but he got so excited about presents that he would unwrap them at any chance he got even though the gifts weren't for him. It was only under the patient eye of Lyall that Sorley wrapped them back up and placed them back under the tree.

The gifts under the tree included two rather large boxes, one from Sorley and one from Lyall. Lyall's gift was a box wrapped in dark green and white striped paper with a large white bow on top. Inside the box was one smaller box with a set of six cupcakes, each a different flavor and frosting. Nestled inside white tissue paper was also an old-fashioned snidget replica that was charmed to fly about the room elegantly before settling back down on the black A-frame base. The final item included was a high-end broom polishing kit. Lyall hoped his nephew Torsten enjoyed his gifts.

Sorley's gift was a little worse for wear. It was wrapped in yellow paper that was ripped and then taped back together in several places. It was also decorated with little paper dinosaurs in multiple colors (because "everything is better with dinos" apparently). Inside the box were several dinosaur shaped cookies, a rather squished-looking cupcake with vibrant green frosting and a plastic T-rex, and at the bottom, wrapped in what seemed like fifty crumbled pieces of tissue paper, were new supple brown Quidditch gloves (with dinosaur stickers stuck on them). Sorley couldn't wait for his cousin Freya to open her gift!

Now Lyall was stationed by the bar with a drink in hand and the other in his pocket as he chatted with some of his relatives. He was amiable as usual, but there was a reservedness about him that was odd. Lyall felt a little.. lost almost. He knew Comyna was the reason. He missed her especially when he was surrounded by so many people he loved like this. He wanted her here to.

Sorley, however, was having a grand time. His attention was momentarily drawn from the pile of presents because he was chasing about Pixie, an older cousin of his, trailing after her and trying to sing the song with her even though he didn't know all the words.

Christmas was never a huge celebration for her. Olivia Welks normally visited her father during Christmas and Grey would play chess with him all day. This year Grey decided to stay at Hogwarts with his mother and beat himself up over quidditch. Olivia did plan a small dinner with him another day, but she would leave her son to his inventions. It was weird that he was joining them but he was still a little hurt from the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor game and wanted to lock himself away. It was just best to leave the moody, teenage boy alone. He would get over it sometime. This woman did double check with him before she left for the party that she was invited to. He was fine and focused on inventing something to help his quidditch game. It made her think how determined he was and where did he even get that from?

Her plans tonight was to join the Trickmas party. This family was so huge, but everybody knew each other. Olivia would be the oddball out. The offer to come was from Geri, who she was becoming very close too. It was nice to find someone who had common interests as you and sort of understood you. That was rare. She was gaining a huge friendship with him. This woman needed more friends. There was not many special occasion outfits in her closet. As she rummaged through them a few stuck out like a sore thumb. After finally a off-green polka-dotted dress, she decided that would be the best plan for an outfit. She slipped on some white ballet flats and a white sweater just over her shoulders and she was finished. Apparating was the best plan to get to the party. She reached over to the present that she already had wrapped for the little girl who she acquired as secret Santa and disappeared with a pop.

It was a little while since she was at the party. Everybody was pretty social. She was asked a few times who she was with, then a million questions afterward. Not many people asked if Geri and Olivia were together, just kept it at that. One older lady did come up and touched her belly mentioning something about 'baby hips' and 'birthing belly'. Oh great, people already telling her she was going to have a million kids. She was not even with anybody. They weren't dealing with a moody teenager either. Trying to dodge the family she escaped close by to the tree to check up on her present she got for the little girl named Sunny.

Olivia's list had tutu's, candy, and leggings. It was a pretty easy list. The box was a pale green with three circle boxes and a reusable red-polka dotted bow on top of it. Everything was tied together with a silver ribbon. The bow was so the little girl could place it in her hair if she wishes to do so. Inside the box Olivia placed a few muggle and wizard candies. She placed skittles, pixie sticks, chocolate frogs, jelly beans, and some marshmallow candies that foam up in your mouth. The second box contained a set of earrings that had candies on them. She was not sure if the little girl had her ears pierced but they were absolutely adorable and she had to get them for her. Another item in that box was a charm bracelet with little candy items on it. That was another item she thought she had to buy. The third, and final, box had the tutus and leggings in them. The first tutu was rainbow colored and was enchanted so it would glow in certain area like little stars and the second tutu was just a pale blue color. Olivia was not sure if her favorite color so she was just shopping for what she thought she would like with the a name like Sunny. The leggings were arranged underneath the tutus and matched them perfectly. The gift was not opened yet, but she was more excited to see the little girl's reaction. She was going to wait around the tree to see if she could catch a glimpse of her peaking at the box.

The Hufflepuff could hardly contain her excitement, smoothing her dress one last time as she stepped through the familiar front doors, her shoes tapping softly on the tiled floor. Glancing around the foyer, her mouth fell open in awe: it was a winter wonderland! Every nook and cranny seemed to be festooned with Christmas spirit, which made Aase wriggle excitedly. Christmas was one of her favorite holidays (and not just because of the presents!), because that meant she’d get to see her whole family.

No sooner had she taken off her jacket than Pixie appeared in the foyer, with Sorley in tow! Her younger cousin was dressed like his favorite animal, and Aase couldn’t help but giggle. She was so happy she felt like she might burst!

“Hiii, Pixie!” she sang out, bounding over to give her a hug. “Dino-Sorley, I love your hat!” she exclaimed, giving him a squeezy hug as well and planting a kiss on his cheek (which he would no doubt wipe away squealing “EEEWWW!”). Outside of her cousins in school, she hadn’t seen her family in ages.

“C’mon, I have to put Er— I mean, my Secret Santa present under the tree!” She held out the present to show Pixie, which was wrapped festively in scarlet paper with a sparkly gold ribbon that her mother had found for her. Gryffindor colors for Erika! “Who did you have for Secret Santa, Pixie?” she whispered furtively, not wanting to spoil the surprise.

Skipping over to the main tree, Aase was about to deposit her present underneath but hesitated. She bit her lip, suddenly feeling anxious. What if Erika didn’t like her presents? Aase had wanted to make everything for her Secret Santa recipient, but as she read over her assignment her brow had furrowed slightly. There wasn’t really anything on this list that she could make herself… maybe the ornaments? Like, ones that went on a Christmas tree? She could do that! As for the other things, she’d have to buy them… but her mum told her not to worry about the money at all and that she would help her, so that made Aase feel better.

After much deliberation, she decided to make snowmen and pine cone ornaments. As for the other things – Erika’s list said she liked letter-writing and dogs, so puppy-themed stationary stuff seemed like a perfect idea! And she had heard from one of her cousins that Erika liked licorice, so Aase got her a box of that as well. And her mum helped her pick out some pretty candles that Erika could decorate with!

Shrugging her small shoulders, Aase crouched down and settled Erika’s present under the tree, next to a torn-and-rewrapped one that made her smile. Her mum was really good at present-wrapping and had helped her do it; while it had taken Aase a couple of tries she was ultimately pretty satisfied with how it turned out.

As she rose to her feet and looked around, she spotted Uncle Lyall talking to some of her other relatives. Aase would never tell anyone for fear of hurting their feelings, but Uncle Lyall was one of her favorite uncles. Grinning, she bounded over to him and gave him a hug. Normally she would have been polite and waited for him to stop talking, but she just couldn’t help herself today. Was this how Pixie felt all the time?! It was kinda fun!

“Hiii, Uncle Lyall!” she beamed, quickly glancing back over at Pixie and holding up her index finger as if to say “I’ll be back in a second!”

"... Mum, stooop it, please!" Sunny shot quick glances to either side as Skye proceeded to lick and paste her cow-licked hair into some sort of place. The blonde girl had talked her fiery haired mother into letting her wear her locks in a side-braid for the Christmas party, but Skye was getting more and more frustrated with Sunny's natural flaw. Another freshly licked group of fingertips pressed themselves into the Sunny's skull and she felt her cheeks turn red as people passed by.

This was so embarrassing! But Skye was freaking out the entire time they were getting ready! Something about Sunny's great grandparents asking about a man... but Daddy wasn't coming, at least Sunny didn't think he was? Her head tilted to the side as she drifted away in thought while Skye's voice danced around Sunny's head like a gaggle of chirping birdies. "- so don't go too far, Sunny.

Sunny...

Sunnifa Rochelle!"

SNAP! Sunny gave a small shake of her head and blinked, trying to focus on Skye whose hands were propped on her hips. Sunny juggled her wrapped gift and offered up a sweet smile. "I'm just going to the tree, okay?" Not waiting for an answer, Sunny shuffled her ballet flat covered feet over to the ever-growing gifts under the tree, jingling all the way over thanks to the bells she tied on! Standing on her tippy toes, she scooched the haphazardly wrapped box up and onto the topmost place she could find.

It was the bestest gift ever! Sunny spent like ten minutes inside the quidditch shoppe and then spent all afternoon with Myf making these cupcakes for Finn! Whoever that was! Like a fishy maybe! Sunny was smiling a ridiculous amount unbeknownst to her and she gave a soft bite of her lip. But! So! Every cupcake had a different doggy face on them and some even had brooms! Yup! And she did all the decorating and Myf helped a little bit! But! Sunny! She put it all together all by herself! And! And she had one before she left and they were so yummy! Her small fingers were curling up into themselves as she bounced on the balls of her feet. Her gift was so cool! A miniature quidditch pitch complete with enchanted equipment (balls, broom, bats, etc) and! The best part! The shoppe guy gave her three professional quidditch action figures that you can fly around and actually play! ITWASSOCOOL!

Sunny spun quickly around and immediately began fussing with her hair. Laying the braid down her right side of her chest, Sunny straightened it out and then went to work to make sure her cow-lick wasn't acting up. She pressed her hand into her head and pushed her lips to one side to keep her ever-present smile under control. She just loved her gift! And she made the pennant and Myf said she stuck a little something extra in there, a sticker that she promised Finn would enjoy. Sunny didn't get it. Who rides quidditch players? It made no sense. At. All.

But Sunny allowed Myf to add it to the lot all the same and then Sunny wrapped it all up and tada! Here it was! Sunny let out a happy sigh and plunged herself into the ever growing crowd. Ready! Set! Hugs! She wrapped her arms around the first leg she could find, "Happy Christmas!" She sang aloud with her eyes squished shut in her stanger-but-not-stranger hug.

A Trickett Christmas.

It was that time again, the whole Trickett family gathering together to celebrate the holidays. After thirty years of going to such events, Geri was use to the craziness that was his family. Relatives asking him if he had found a nice girl yet to settle down with, and little cousins running around as they played with their gifts. It was a good thing that he had always been in charge of making the gingerbread house year after year. While the task was quite strenuous, it provided him relief from having to conversate with relatives about his lack of a love life. What they didn't know was that after the break up with Norene, Geri had given up on the prospect of one day being a day.

He'll just always be an Uncle, nothing more.

Getting up earlier than he normally did, Geri went for his daily morning run and then got to work. This year the Tricketts were doing Secret Santas. Which was not only fun, but a lot easier then trying to remember every single family member. There were too many Tricketts...no scratch that. There could never be enough of them in Geri's opinion. He liked his large family and the constant nagging to each other. As well as how everyone stuck together no matter what. They were a family and if anyone was in trouble there was always a Trickett there to help out.

Maddie and Tate were one of those there to help him with the gingerbread house. Granted Maddie wasn't a Trickett, but Geri trusted her and she was a bloody good baker. In his eyes she was an honorary Trickett, and if him inviting her to the Trickett party might have one of his cousins hook up with her, than he just killed two birds with one stone. Since Geri wasn't going to be getting a woman anytime soon (possibly never), he decided it was his job to play matchmaker. Lyall could attest to that, even if that set up didn't work as Geri planned.

Before his helpers got to Crust & Crumbs, Geri had to work on the gift for Jari, who was his secret santa. The boy liked fishing, adventures, and pirates; so Geri had decided to go for an collection of all three. It only took an hour to make the chocolate from scratch, and fifteen minutes after that to bring all the ingredients together in three delicious small cups of worms in dirt. As every fishermen knew, it was important to gather up some "bait" for the fish. Setting the three cups into fisherman pail that Geri had bought, the thirty year old man placed a jar of extra bait for the young fisherman. Finally he placed a pop-up book on pirates in the pail. Then he filled the spaces between all the items in the pail with lots of gold doubloons. While it wasn't real gold, Geri hoped that Jari would be ecstatic over the real look it had to the object.

A pirate treasure for a fisherman.

Wrapping the pail in blue and green polka dot wrapping paper, Geri began to gather the ingredients just as his helpers came into the store. They were going to bake the gingerbread house at the Trickett home, so he wanted to make sure they weren't missing any ingredients. Not that he couldn't just apparate home if that was the case. It would take an hour to bake everything, and a couple of more to put everything together. Good thing he had asked his friend Olivia to the party. He was confident that she was the only one who wouldn't sneak a piece of gingerbread.

Unlike Lyall and Erika.

Geri didn't bother to dress up for Christmas, being a baker meant there was no point. He would always get chocolate or some kind of confection on his clothes. So he wore a fitted grey shirt with dark blue jeans. Upon arriving at the house, Geri gave Lyall a stern warning about not touching the sweets. Lyall had gotten there early to help decorate, and Geri was sure he just saw dinosaur Sorely running by. He was going to have to keep hawk like eyes on the both of them.

When the rest of the Tricketts finally arrived, the gingerbread house was ready and Geri could mingle a bit. His eyes searched for Jari as he also kept an eye on the house, just in case someone would try to get any ideas.

Finally it was time for the Trickmas party. Jari looked forward to this every year. The Trickett's were exceptional when it came to family parties and they were one of Jari's most favorite things in the world. His mother picked out his outfit for him tonight, like she did most of the time, and he was excited to be wearing a new jumper. It was green with a big white snowman on the front in a Christmas hat. She had bought it for him specifically for tonight which meant unlike the rest of his clothes, it fit perfectly. His black slacks were however a different story, a least two inches too long for him, if his mother hadn't rolled them up they would of completely covered his shoes. When they got to the party Jari's father set down the pile of gifts he was carrying underneath the base of a giant tree that had the young Hufflepuff staring in awe. Jari's secret santa had been Jorund and Jari was excited about the gifts that his mother had helped him pick out. Most of the gifts he got for Jorund were wrapped inside on box. The wrapping paper was bright green and had little snowflakes on it. Jari had wrapped the gift himself so the corners were a bit crunched and there was entirely too much tape stuck to the paper. He wanted to make sure it stayed closed after all.

Inside the box was an assortment of goodies for Jorund's turtle Shelly. There was a turtle dock, a floating turtle feeder in the shape of a fish, and finally a can-o-worms because Jari thought Shelly would enjoy a treat. His mum had taken him to the pet supply store and let him pick out anything he wanted so it wasn't surprising that most of it had at least a little to do with fishing. The last part of Jorund's gift was not in wrapping paper because Jari had wrapped and re-wrapped it so terribly multiple times that they had run out of wrapping paper. Finally his mum slapped a pretty green bow on the top of the case of Butterbeer. On Jari's list Jorund had asked for alcohol but Jari had gotten him Butterbeer instead and used a crayon to scratch out the 'butter' part so the labels just read 'beer'. He thought he was pretty clever. After watching his father add their gifts to the ever growing pile Jari followed his mum to the kitchen where a lot of his aunts were. He was looking for Aase or Pixie, he didn't plan to spend the whole evening following his mother around. He was just about to leave the kitchen when he was attacked by one of his great aunts. After about a billion kisses and hugs Jari thought he might be able to escape but instead she had a request for him.

'Go ask your cousin Erika to dance Jari.' She said and he looked at her with wide eyes before turning to his mother. Hoping his mother would get him out of it, but being let down when she said how cute it would be, Jari turned to find Erika. It wasn't that he didn't like his cousin Erika, she was actually one of his favorites, but Jari had a difficult time standing still without falling, dancing was a recipe for disaster. When he saw her walking down the stairs he approached her quickly. "Erika.." he said slowly, looking behind him to see his mother and some of the other women staring. "Would you like to dance?" He asked and then smiled at her. Maybe it would be fun to dance. When she said that she would he smiled again and reached for her hands. Being as short as he was even that was a stretch, but Jari quickly forgot about it when they started to dance. He was laughing as they twirled around the floor and he could of swore he heard his mother in the background making a noise similar to a 'sqeeee!' and then the other women joining in tune. He didn't know dancing would be this much fun. If he was at school he would of never done something like this, but he was at home, with family, and completely comfortable. After a moment or two Jari looked around the room and then felt his foot crunch down on top of his cousin Erika's and knew looking away was a bad idea.

"I'm sorry. You okay?" He asked in his little voice, looking up at her with concerned eyes.

Did he brush his teeth? Check. Brush his mop of a hair? Check. Make sure his underwear was not showing? Final Check. Why was everybody looking at him weird? Torsten Trickett did managed to make himself look half way decent. The only reason why he even cared about looking remotely good in front of his family, instead of his normally comfortable clothes, was because he was trying to impress a girl. It was a rare treat for him to bring a girl to a family function, but he said they were going just as friends. It was her payment for making birthday cupcakes, which he would be receiving soon. Tor was beyond excited for his birthday, but more excited to hang out longer with this wonderful blonde baker that worked for his cousin. Torsten made sure that he looked extra special. He wore faded muggle blue jeans with a white button up shirt. A black tie resided around his neck tucked into a gray vest with a maroon vest on the outside of the gray vest. He looked professional, yet causal. He was just trying to impress the girl.

Madeline, his date, was assisting his cousin with the gingerbread house so his plan was to get on her good side and manage to sneak pieces of the house. He was not sure how well that would work, but he thought it should be good. Torsten must had that gingerbread house any way possible... even if it meant buying it off his cousin. He could afford it, well maybe.... if not he would manage something else. He loved sweets.

As he eyed the house he decided it was time to put his secret Santa gift under the tree. He was not very good at wrapping or shopping. He did ask advice from girls that were at the shops when he was shopping but they were not super helpful. His secret Santa person was Elra. He was always nervous to try to buy something for her. She was classy. Torsten was more of a beer and a good quidditch magazine man. It took him a while, but he finally figured something out. He placed the blue and white stripped box under the tree. It has a single gold string wrapped around it. The wrapping job as horrible. Some of the younger children's presents looked better wrapped. Inside the box there was a box of chocolates. They were expensive and he was not even sure of what flavors they were. They had many different colors and shapes, but all chocolate. He managed to snag a cupcake from Crust and Crumbs to put in the box. He picked out a rich coffee flavor one. It had chocolate drizzled on it. He enchanted it so it would not spoil. The next item in the box was a jug of honey ale. He was trying to find some ale that had a unique flavor to it.  This one was a little sweeter and he hoped she liked it. One of the final things on her list was a bright cloak. This one was the hard one. He had no clue what to even look for it. He managed to find a magenta one with light pink sparkles around the collar. It was a shorter cloak so it would show off her shoes if she wanted to show them. The girls at the store said it was top of the line. He had no clue. He managed to throw a muggle purse in the box with the cloak. He thought they went well together. Torsten was really not good shopping for girls. He should have got a man.... He could have just gave them cash.... that would've been easier.

He drew his attention back to the gingerbread house waiting for his sneak attack to steal a piece.

“Oh Kissmas twee! O’KISSMAS TREE!” kept being repeated from a tiny blonde as Murphy dressed his four year old. As far as Ava was concerned, Christmas was her holiday. She got her daddy, and she got kisses. And that was all she wanted. After spending breakfast with his parents which had been awkward and stilted for everyone except Ava, Murphy dropped Ava off to her mother so he could attend a work brunch. Still dressed in his suit from the event, he was getting ready for a Trickett family event. How had he been invited? Simple. He’d made Ava turn her big blue eyes towards Leifr and his best friend melted under the little girl’s quiet questions. It’d was just going to be him and Ava for the rest of the day until Leif graciously invited them to the shindig. 

…Which Erika should have done. It wasn’t as if he was upset at her not asking, but for some reason the idea of not spending Christmas with her made him uncomfortable. He’d already purchased her a gift that was tucked into his suit pocket, so it was only right that he find it on Christmas and give it to her. Right? Right. Biting his bottom lip, he let his daughter go and watched her spin around to look in the mirror. Gods, Ava was such a doll. Her big blue eyes danced with happiness before she imperiously demanded that he go fetch the presents so they could leave.

Ava didn’t quite understand the concept of Secret Santa. She thought that everyone deserved a present. After Murphy had gone to his cousin’s shop to get a custom piece finished and charmed for Sindri, Ava demanded to make him her own present. Daddy having to do all the hard work as the princess demanded, of course.  Her snail was better than his ship, according to his daughter, because it was cute. It didn’t matter that he’d carved the ship himself and had it incased in a charmed bottle that showed not only the weather, but an animated crew that worked on it. Cute was better. 

Ava had seen the gift he’d gotten for Erika, and now this accompanied it. …well, that was after a brief interrogation about who Kira was. Now Ava was excited to meet the pretty lady who Daddy liked at the Kissmas party and give her a shiny. Was it bad of him to surprise Erika into meeting his kid? Probably, but he’d enjoy watching her squirm until Ava charmed her too. Not only had he gotten more presents than he expected, he was also an errand boy. As soon as his younger cousin Kerr found out that he was going to the Trickett party, a wrapped gift with the name Freya written on the tag had been shoved in his pile. It’d taken days for him to drag the contents of the box from Kerr, but he was now aware that his baby cousin had a little girlfriend. Blackmail material! He wished he could have gotten at the note tucked in the gift, but he was a good cousin. Sometimes.

Finally ready, he grabbed the stack of presents, and attached his daughter to his leg and with a small step, they were in the foyer with of the venue. Making slow careful steps with his now shy daughter clinging to his leg, and refusing to let go, he made his way into the room where all the noise was. Then he saw her and the tightness that he didn’t know that existed in his chest eased. A soft smile curved his lips, and he let his gaze meet hers for a moment before he made his way over to the tree. Gently setting his presents down, he reached back and set his daughter on his hip. Big blue eyes stared at him, and Ava tried to hid her face but he didn’t allow it. “No, Ava. You’re fine…you see all the kids? If you ask they might play with you…And if you hide, you can’t talk to Erika…” Blatantly pointing at the woman, he smirked in Erika’s direction. “You wanted to meet her right?” At his daughters shy nod, he smiled.

“Then perk up buttercup! Lets get you some food…” Walking towards the food, he bumped Torsten gently with his shoulder before smirking at his best friend’s little brother, then continuing on to the food. In awe, they stared. “Daddy, I want everything!” Ava squealed, and Murphy broke into deep rolling laughter. She was definitely his daughter.

"Holy shit."

Madeline was utterly floored. She stood in the middle of the chequered foyer, eyes wide as dinner plates and her jaw practically scraping the floor. It was beautiful. So much more grand than absolutely anything she'd been to before. This sort of thing just did not happen to girls like her. Ever. She wasn't sure if it was the opulence of the soiree that impressed her most or the sheer amount of love that filled the grand space.

She'd been invited here by Torsten but she'd barely seen him. Honestly? It felt more like a work function and that was exactly how she was going to play it. She didn't really want to be left alone, even though everyone was very, very nice. She didn't know many people, except Geri, Tate and Liv who she hadn't seen yet.

She felt a bit awkward in her dress. It was modest and form fitting, cut modestly to her knee in a pencil skirt and sleeves. It was a deep emerald green that shimmered beautifully in the low candle light. The back was perhaps a little bit daring. Mainly because it didn't really have one. The vast majority of her pale back was on show, the freckles clear and she was so mad that she wasn't limber enough to be able to twist and apply some powder to the pesky little buggers that had plagued her teenage years.

Her long blonde hair had been straightened. Gone were her naturally bouncy curls and in their place was golden, glossy hair that had been twisted and pinned into a fancy bun that showed her (fake) diamond stud earrings. Maddie hoped she looked respectable. Torsten basically hadn't said anything about the dress code. She'd been offered a number of drinks and food but she'd politely declined. She had a gingerbread mountain to construct.

Bent over the creation, she gently double cheeked the roof and walls, grabbing a piping back filled with royal icing and placed a little more on the thick gingerbread. Royal icing was a marvel. It was white and sweet and looked like snow. It also dried like cement which meant the marvel was sturdy. It was a bit of a risk with so many kids around. Not that she minded too much, it was there to be eaten after all. "It looks good, boss," Madeline said with a broad smile to Geri. So do you she added in her mind. She had a misplaced teeny crush on the older man. But it was entirely innocent. Sort of.

"I've put some gum drops on the roof and chocolate buttons to look like roof tiles," she explained with another smile. She'd always been a swot. She was looking for praise like a puppy. She'd also given Torsten a present. He'd invited her after all. In a small box under the Christmas tree was home made macarons. The sweet, little cakes were coloured in green, red and white. They were vanilla, pistachio and strawberry. So fragile and delicious, they needed to be eaten tonight, ideally.

There were kids everywhere and Maddie had actually made friends with quite a few of them. Neatly, she stepped aside to let a particularly cute one run past. She smiled. It was lovely here but she wasn't sure if she was having a lovely time. She'd not been asked to dance and she did want to, so she'd settled for bobbing her head to the beat and keeping out of the spotlight. She'd been to catering events before and it was rare that she was allowed out of the kitchen so this was nice.

The fact that Geri was standing guard over the gingerbread house made her giggle behind her hand, turning her face away as a stray lock of hair escaped her updo and curled against the curve of her neck. Then she caught sight of Torsten and she blushed furiously. She raised a hand and gave a quick wave and a brief smile, really wondering what on Earth she was even doing here.

NPC – Sorley Trickett
(six-year-old dinosaur)

IT WAS CHRISTMAS!

CHRISTMAS!

And everyone who was anyone knew that dinosaurs loved Christmas most of all. Sorley stomped around in his Christmas dinosaur jumper and his favorite dinosaur hat, his outfit made even better by the red and green garland he found (aka stole off a banister). He had even asked some lady to paint his face with a bright red dot on his nose and pointy teeth. Now he was a reindeersaurus!

Sorley busied himself at first by running all around the house. It wasn’t fun unless you ran and stomped like a reindeersaurus in every room and greeted every Trickett with a reindeersaurus roar. Besides Pixie was fun! That was until one of his older girl cousins tried to hug and kiss him. Cooties! He bounded away after that and it wasn’t too long before he saw how big the pile of presents had gotten and he was drawn to the Christmas tree like a reindeer was to rooftops. His eyes went big and he started bouncing in place as he tried to resist tearing all the paper off and opening every single box. He knew his da wouldn’t like it if he did that. He didn’t even like when he unwrapped the present he had picked out himself. Sure it had been for Freya but he was pretty sure that she wouldn’t have minded.

But then! He saw  presents with HIS NAME ON THEM! He ran over and picked up one of the boxes, stumbling a little over the red and green garland he had wrapped around him like a scarf. He shook the biggest box, a big grin on his face, and then it dawned on him that no one else had opened his presents. He stopped suddenly and glanced around the room. While everyone else seemed to be chatting and laughing and enjoying themselves, no one was really paying attention to the presents. Or to Sorley. He didn’t understand how anyone could do anything when there were presents to be opened!

He spied his da with another cousin and thought he was sneaky enough to drag his gifts back behind the giant Christmas tree. When he thought he was hidden enough, he tore into the wrapping paper and eagerly ripped open the boxes. The first two were books with dinosaurs on them. He couldn’t read all of it but the pictures were nice. The books were tossed to the side, however, when Sorley discovered what was in the third box. IT WAS AN ENTIRE PACK OF BRIGHTLY COLORED DINOSAURS!

Sorley nearly screamed with delight, abandoned his hiding spot behind the tree, and started running towards his da. “LOOK WHAT I GOT! LOOK WHAT I GOT!” he said, showing anyone and everyone that he ran into on his way to show his da what he had gotten.

There was nothing that could compare to the Trickett clans annual christmas gathering, Leifr was sure of that. And as he looked around at all the beautifully done decorations, his thoughts were only further confirmed, christmas was the perfect time of year. Bless Erika, and Jorund for all the work they’d done. Between dodging the smallest of the Tricketts as they darted excitedly around the house, and giving out hugs to the relatives he ran into and hadn’t yet greeted, Leifr had two things on his mind. Food and drink. Mostly the second item, but he knew his dad would make him behave himself mostly until dinner and presents were through, and the man figured he could at least get a head start while he had one.

Making his way over to the bar, the ex-Gryffindor plucked out the one bottle he’d come to know better than any other, Ogdens. Even as a bartender, the man had a particular fondness for the brand, and bottle. Glancing around quickly, as though his father might be lurking somewhere nearby the man quickly poured himself a glass of the amber liquor. Taking a sip, Leifr sighed, happy to take in the ambiance around him, watching everyone enjoying the night and each others company. He’d even managed to pull out a tuxedo, and bowtie for his own attire. Normally the wizard was causal about the whole approach to dressing up for christmas, especially when there was such a variety in what everyone wore. He wouldn’t be the only one dressed up a little nicer than usual, nor would anyone who chose to dress a little lighter, be alone. That was the beauty of the whole christmas gathering. It was very much come as you please, and very much about family and friendship and a good time rather than about simply exchanging gifts. But there was no doubting that everyone liked getting gifts.

At the thought of gifts, Leifr’s eye’s darted to the massive tree with all the gifts tucked underneath it, and he couldn’t help wonder which ones were going to be his, just like he had done when he was young. The only thing the man wished was different was that his mother could enjoy it with all of them, but that was always something on his mind. Then, in the middle of a rather depressing thought his eyes landed on his cousin, Hal. He’d been responsible for getting Hal’s secret santa gift this year, and had settled for a few expensive bags of coffee, and a few books that he’d thought his broody cousin would like. He hoped he did, anyway. Otherwise Leifr thought he’d feel pretty bad about it. But if that was the case, Leifr knew he could also get his cousin something else. He’d gotten nearly everyone in his family something substantial. It had meant working a lot, but all the same it had been completely worth it. He liked getting presents, but when it came to his family, the wizard liked giving even more.

His rather nostalgic revere was broken when he spotted his father across the room, and  he quickly worked to hide his drink. It was then that he wondered what his other family members were up to. He quickly found Sindri in his reindeer sweater talking to Lulu. That made him miss Dash, but, he was also glad his younger brother happy and laughing. It was a catch 22. Then he found Torsten looking awfully nervous. He wondered when his date would arrive, so he could get to teasing him lightly about it all, but he was also glad that Tor had found someone too. It was a good christmas for that sort of thing it seemed. He absently wondered when Alicia would be showing up. He was fairly sure when she’d yes, she’d meant it and would be coming, but apart of him was also anxious and didn’t want to wait any longer to see her. To distract himself, Leifr finished his drink and set the glass back on one of the counters before swooping into catch Sorley who was moving along at light speed, giggling, and squealing in delight. Laughing, the man picked him up, spinning him around before settling the young Trickett on his hip, eyes sparkling he raised an eyebrow before asking the young boy a question “Well, what do you have there?” He did want Alicia to arrive sooner than later, but at that moment, he was just glad to be where he was at that moment. With family.

If she passed out infront of Leifr’s family, she hoped they drug her out and buried her because her embarrassment would be long and never ending. Alicia was nervous. More nervous than a lot of stuff usually made her, and it was all Leifr’s fault. He’d been the one to kiss her and ask her out like it was just an everyday occurrence. She could feel her keeps flushing just thinking about him having her against the wall, kissing her again. She could have died and gone to heaven right in that moment, but it’d only gotten better from then. She didn’t know if this was a date, but she was going to treat it like one.

She’d spent all day trying to pick the appropriate outfit after going shopping the week before, and not even wearing the dress that she’d purchased. Alicia was satisfied with her outfit choice and hoped Leifr would like it too. She spent a few more minutes applying finishing touches before gathering the presents she’d painstakingly gathered in preparation for this secret santa. For Leifr, she’d gotten him some Japanese whiskey not wanting to be to forward or clingy, but wanting to make sure that he knew that he’d known that she’d put thought into the gift. For her secret santa Olivia Welks, she’d gone to the fancy restaurant in London called Hecate where they had a spanish award winning Chocolatier, and purchased one of their bigger boxes of chocolates. They were super decadent and rich, and maybe it’d taken a minute while Alicia had to sample a few before picking the contents of the custom box. On top of the box was a smaller box with a dragon she’d found in a curio shop.

Apparating, Alicia was in the place in which she’d meet her destiny. Maybe nothing quite so serious. She walked in, her black heels clicking on the ground. She was amazed by the Trickett place. She’d never been at a family gathering quite so large, and was suddenly more nervous than she’d ever been. Greyish eyes flicked around, and she searched for Leifr and made a meep noise. A tux?! She was under dressed. He was so handsome. She flushed and bit her lip, before scanning around to see her friends. Lulu was supposed to be there right? She peered around and saw nothing of the glamazon. Erika? Oh no, she was in deep conversation with a taller man with nice shoulders. Squaring her shoulders, she walked almost confidently over to Leifr.

Where he was with a kid. Giggling, she watched him interact with the tiny dinosaur and it shed some of the nervousness that she was feeling. Walking in front of him, she smiled brightly at Leifr and the tiny dinosaur that he had in his grasp. “If I knew we were bringing dinosaurs, I would have brought my dinosaur t-shirt so I can blend it.” She juggled the boxes a bit, trying to reach up to hold up her hand to introduce herself to the dinosaur, but she had so many things in them she couldn’t. “Leifr! Who’s your dinosaur buddy? I like his face paint.” She wanted to mention how nice he looked, and how excited she was to be there but the words were stuck in her throat.

Pixie had slipped quietly back to the chocolate cake tray three more times already, and the tray was looking sadly depleted. For the young girl wasn't greedy, not at all, and she made sure the rest of her young cousins got cakes of their own. Some of them weren't quite brave (or naughty) enough to sneak their own cakes off the tray, so she took on the responsibility of getting enough for everyone. The third time she returned though, there was someone missing. Where was Sorley? He'd been tagging around on and off for most of the evening, only slipping away to roar at people and stare at the pile of presents. Pixie had managed to whisper the first time that they weren't supposed to find their own gifts and rip them open until the adults decided it was time, but she'd said it rather half-heartedly and she wasn't sure the little boy had heard. Because Pixie wanted more than anything to find her own gifts and rip the wrapping off them, too! Chocolate cake was all very nice, but what was that when compared to presents? And mystery presents at that!

Pixie knew what she'd asked for, of course. She'd written a detailed and very helpful list in her large, uneven handwriting that said such things as tricks, animals and sweets on it. Mum had tried to explain that she wouldn't be getting everything on the list, but that had fallen on deaf ears. This was Christmas! Still, she somehow managed to distract herself until Sorley charged past, yelling to his Dad and carrying...

He'd opened his presents!? Well that just wasn't fair! Pixie was about to feel cross until she remembered she had been Sorley's secret Santa and he was all happy and excited because of HER. He liked the presents SHE'D picked out for him! She felt a huge sense of pride watching him run around, showing everyone in sight and including running up to her, waving a toy dino in one hand and a book in the other. "They're great! Did you like the..." she trailed off, remembering that the little boy wasn't supposed to know who'd bought his presents.

But after that, none of the adults seemed inclined to tell the kids they had to wait any longer to have their own gifts, and Pixie wasted no time in searching through the pile to find the ones that had her name on. Three parcels seemed like an exciting enough haul and she ripped the wrapping off the first to find...a pair of boots? Welly boots? She almost felt disappointed for a moment until she saw they were decorated with dozens of little foxes that were sniffing the air and looking around eagerly, as if daring her to put them on and go off in search of puddles to stomp in! Delighted, she opened her second parcel and found cakes that were even more amazing than the chocolate ones she'd been gorging herself on all evening. Knowing that her parents would say she'd already eaten enough sweet things she quickly took a big bite out of the first one she picked up, almost forgetting there was a third gift.

They even TASTED of sparkle and rainbows!

Third present...third present...and it was the best of all, something Mum would never have bought for her. Ohh, the possibilities of a whole set of new pranks to try out! Kai wasn't going to know what had hit him tomorrow! But first, she had to say thankyou...but how? There was only one solution. Stuffing her feet into her new wellies, arms full of cakes and tricks, Pixie proceeded to make her way around the party, saying thank you to absolutely everyone in the room. One of them had to have been her Secret Santa!