Christmas
Wednesday, December 25th, 1991
Alex packed Mathias into the living room at 7:30 A.M. Petunia and Vernon were a few feet in front of them, and Gracie was trailing just behind. It was time to open presents as the family had just finished breakfast.
Petunia and Vernon sat next to the tree; Vernon so he could hand out presents and Petunia so she could take pictures. But, before they could do that they opened their own presents.
Petunia went first. The first present she opened was from Vernon, and contained a new blender. Then she opened the gift that Alex had picked out for her which was a cheap, but pretty, charm bracelet. Gracie's gift, a fake pearl necklace, came next. Followed by Mathias's gift, which turned out to be a homemade card and a brown teddy bear. Lastly Petunia opened her 'Santa' gift, a set of three cookbooks that she had been eyeing for a while.
Vernon pulled his presents over to himself, deciding to go in the same order. First, Vernon opened the gift from Petunia, a new set of work boots that he desperately needed. After that was Alex's gift, which ended up being a new watch, also desperately needed. Gracie's gift came next, it was a set of three ties; a red one, a blue one, and a dark green one. Then he opened Mathias's gift to him which was also a homemade card and teddy bear, though his bear was white instead of brown. The last present he opened was also his 'Santa' present, and contained a new 1000 piece puzzle.
Finally, it was the kids turn to open their presents. Mathias went first being youngest, followed by Alex, and finally, Gracie. Each kid had twelve family presents. Five 'Santa' presents, two presents from Vernon, two presents from Petunia, one present from both parents, and one present from each sibling. Then they all had a stocking, and Alex and Gracie had presents from their school friends. Mathias also had friend presents, but he had opened them at the beginning of winter break.
Mathias got a couple new stuffed animals, a basketball, a sketchbook, a plastic dinosaur, a book on trains, a new set of gel pens, a pack of three toy cars, a 500 piece puzzle, and a new clear, green, rain coat. Then he opened Gracie's gift which was a a new set of 160 crayons. Finally, Mathias reached Alex's gift which was a Belle dress and yellow hair ribbon.
Alex was practically vibrating in excitement when Mathias finished stuffing the wrapping paper from his presents into a garbage bag.
“Alright, Al. Your turn.” Petunia said, while Vernon moved Alex's twelve presents towards her. She would unwrap her other presents later, on her own.
Alex decided to start with her Santa presents. 'Santa' had brought Alex a new, blue dress, a new diary, a 1000 piece puzzle, a soft, light blue pillow, and a plain black belt. Next, Alex opened the gifts from her mother. The first one contained a rainbow colored stuffed bear, while the second had a pack of acrylic paint in it. Her dad's gifts were up next. The first thing she found was a blue and gray soccer ball. And the second was a book on runes. After that she opened the gift from both of her parents which was a glass bottle of rose scented perfume. She decided to open Mathias's gift before Gracie's, and found that she had received a handmade card and a bottle of dark blue nail polish(Alex got nail polish instead of a stuffed animal because she and Mathias had agreed to get each other a fashion based gift). Finally, Alex opened her twins present, which was a white bucket hat covered in blue and purples butterflies.
It was finally Gracie's turn to open her presents, meaning that they wouldn't be in the living room for much longer. Gracie received a fluffy, black pillow, a stuffed koala, a green notebook, a pack of colored pencils, a black romper, a baseball, two 1000 piece puzzles, a book about dolphins, and a twine box with a glass tea set inside. Mathias continued the trend with Gracie giving her a homemade card and a stuffed animal. Gracie's animal was a red fox. As her last gift, Gracie opened the present Alex had gotten her which was a bow colored as the trans flag.
Once all of the wrapping paper had been cleaned up and presents taken to the bedrooms, the kids began opening the stockings. They all got the same thing as each other, and the same thing every year. With three exceptions. Their drink, one kind of candy, and a small 'toy'.
The drinks this year were pineapple juice for Mathias, Sprite for Gracie, and fruit punch flavored juice for Alex. Mathias got a five pack of Reese cups, Gracie got a box of Queen Anne chocolate cherries, and Alex received a two pack of cauldron cakes. Finally, for the toys, Mathias was given a pack of twenty marbles, Gracie received a small lip gloss, and Alex got a pack of playing cards.
Otherwise the kids got a few pieces of fruit, some cotton candy, chocolate coal, and a couple other small candies.
Alex quickly put her stuff back into her stocking and raced upstairs. She placed the stocking on her desk, and went to sit on her bed. She had set the presents from her friends on there that morning.
Alex decided to open the United members gifts first. Most of them gave her a little bit of candy, some pictures, a piece of jewelry, etc. The exception was Toni Weasley. She had sent her own present which was a chocolate frog, but her mom also sent Alex a present. It was a light pink sweater with a dark green 'A' stitched on the front. Alex had no idea why Toni's mom would send her a present, but she wasn't complaining about having more clothes.
Next Alex opened the more personal gifts of her close friends. She started with Damian who had sent a book titled 'Similarities and Differences shown by Magical and Non-Magical Herbs and Plants'. Next was what Blaise had sent which ended up being a black wand holster that only the person wearing could remove. Finally, she opened a light pink butterfly hair clip sent by Kat. Alex had given Damian a few bottles of black nail polish, Blaise a book about potions, and Kat a set of pink binoculars.
After Alex put all of her gifts away, testing some of them out first, she checked the clock. It was 9:00 A.M. meaning that she still had an hour before her, Gracie, Mathias, and a few other kids went caroling. Alex thought that you were supposed to go caroling later in the evening, but she conceded to going in the morning as she didn't have any other choice.
Since she still had some time, Alex decided to start the book that Damian had sent her. It did looking and sound really interesting after all.
Gracie collected Alex just before 10:00 so they could go out caroling. Alex pulled on a thick winter coat, a toboggan, and a pair of black gloves. Finally, she slid on a pair of fluffy, brown snow boots before following her siblings out.
The three arrived back home just before 12:00, so changed out of their winter gear before eating. Alex was annoyed by the lack of hot chocolate and a treat after being out in the snow, but she wasn't really expecting one since it was lunch time. However, Petunia did promise that they could have a piece of cake and some hot chocolate around three, which satisfied Alex.
The rest of the day was mostly spent hanging out with her family. They watched movies, played board games, ate a big dinner, did puzzles, played in the snow, and more. Alex did her bedtime routine as normal, hugging her siblings and parents before going to bed, and fell asleep seconds before the clock hit 10:00.