Frankie studied the covered table with nods of approval. Her grandmother's finest holiday cloth was laid nicely on the dining hall table, the special holiday porcelain set with winter motives was laid out, the Christmas tree was up, trimmed and decorated, and the hall was covered in bright, colorful garlands.

"Very good, I guess we're done in here" she told her two assistants.

"In that case, Frankie," Wilt began, "I'd like to go outside now and put up the lights now, if that's okay?"

"Of course!"

"Please stay here, Goo", Frankie told her other assistant as Frankie took a huge box and walked towards the entrance door. "I need you to lay out the place cards. Whenever we've let the friends sit where they want at the Christmas party, it always ends with a mess."

The annual Christmas party was a fairly new tradition at Foster's. It all began seven years ago, when Wilt got an invite from Jordan Michaels to attend at a charity function along with him on Christmas Eve. At the same time, Eduardo got an invite from his creator to stay with her for the holidays.

It began occurring to the Imaginary Friends that they were in fact allowed to come and go as they pleased, as long as they didn't try to avoid getting adopted. And the very next year, several Friends announced that they would take a leave on Christmas to go and visit their creators, or other former kids that they were attached to, or even other Imaginary Friends that had been adopted. Madame Foster worried that if this was allowed to go on, Christmas at Foster's would no longer be as festive, and decided to arrange an annual Christmas party just before the vacations, so that everyone at Foster's could celebrate together.

I trust you to place the cards as you see fit, but just remember to put Mr. Herriman at the top of the table.

"But that was Madam Foster's spot. Shouldn't you have it now?"

"I'd rather sit with Eric. You can put him and me on Mr. H´s right hand side."

Eric Johnstone was the world´s first psyciatrist specializing in imaginary friends (at least nobody else had tried to claim the title), and as such a regular guest at Foster´s. At first, his interest in the place had been merely professional, or at least seemingly so. But after a while, Frankie had admitted that her interest in keeping Eric around had become just a little more...personal.

"But don´t think too hard about it" Frankie added, "Or we´ll never be finished in time. Everyone´s going to be here, you know."

"Everyone?" Goo looked at her uncertainly "When you say everyone, does that include…uh…well…you know…"

"Yes that includes Goofball" Frankie answered, rolling here eyes. "Sheesh, Goo! He's not Lord Voldemort! I'm not going to bite your head off just because you say his name."

"If you say so."

"But make sure he sits somewhere I can't see him."

"That goes without saying", Goo assured her boss before she hurriedly changed the subject: "You've got the letter?"

Frankie fished a bunch of papers out of the folder she was carrying. "Of course. We can't have a Christmas party without World's letter."

"Actually, we had two Christmas parties without it. But that's when World was still living here, so I know what you mean."

World was a very special case. A friend who could create an entire playworld inside a chest and who already had abandonment issues, could not be left to just any kid, the management at Foster's agreed. So it was decided that World would not be adopted unless Frankie, Mr. Herriman and Madame Foster could all agree on someone being suitable and truly deserving. He stayed for two years, until Foster's got a visit from an orphanage whose children took an immediate liking to the Friend. When they had asked to adopt him, neither of the three had the heart to refuse. At an orphanage, there would always be children, so World would never be truly abandoned. It seemed like a perfect arrangement, and it had worked out very well for him, judging from the long letters he sent to Foster's every year in December. And since the letters were always addressed to Foster's Home in general, Madame Foster decided to read it loud for everyone at the Christmas party. This had become very popular; World was fondly remembered by everyone at Foster's.

As Frankie studied the content of the letter, she

"Ooh look, a mistletoe!", followed, of course, by a smooching noise.

Frankie turned around and looked at the place where Mac was now standing. "There's no mistletoe there", she commented with an overbearing smile.

"I was about to put one there, killjoy!" Goo snapped.

"I don't mind." Mac assured the two women with a smile.

Frankie opened her folder. "By the way, Mac, I have a job for you…" She handed him a bunch of flyers. "Give one of these to Jackie Khones, Fluffer Nutter, Eurotrish, Ringo Rango, Billy the Squid, Two-Head Fred and Chick Cluckers."

Slightly confused, Mac looked at the flyers for a moment before he began reading one of them out loud:

"Anyone who wishes to drink alcoholic beverages during Foster's annual Christmas party must help themselves to the drinks discreetly at the kitchen. You are not allowed to bring bottles or boxes to the table, use only neutral-looking glasses. Remember that many of the friends are not only minors, but also highly susceptible. Do not make a point of the fact that you are drinking, or what you are drinking. And above all, avoid getting visibly intoxicated, or you will be asked to leave the table. Foster's annual Christmas party is supposed to be a festive occasion for all the tenants. Please show consideration at all time. Signed Frances…" People are actually drinking at the Christmas party?" Mac said surprised. "I never knew."

"Me neither", Goo seconded. "Well, that's not entirely true…I noticed that Madame Foster – the original Madame Foster, that is – chugged down sherry like nobody's business. And that's exactly the words Mr. Herriman used when I asked him about it – "It's nobody's business", he always said. But I thought she was the exception that confirms the rule - which, when you think about it, makes very little sense. How does an exception confirm a rule? Wouldn't the lack of an exception confirm the rule better? I'm just saying…"

"It's true that Grandma was the only one who drank to begin with.", Frankie began explaining the moment Goo momentarily stopped talking to catch her breath, "But the year after, Jackie asked for a sip of her sherry, and she was so cheerful that she gave him a whole glass. So he shared it with Fluffer, and grandma gave them both another glass, and well…the year after that again, half a dozen friends asked if they could be allowed to have a drink at the Christmas party. Mr. Herriman was against it, but grandma gave them permission. Big surprise, huh?"

"I didn't even know Imaginary Friends were allowed to drink", Mac commented.

"They are, if they can prove that they're old enough in human years."

Mac looked visibly relieved to hear this, and it wasn't hard to guess why:

"So Bloo can't have any." Frankie assured him. "Still, the rule doesn't take into consideration that most Imaginary Friends don't get more mature with the years", she reflected. "Mr. Herriman and Wilt, for instance, were created with an adult mindset, but Scrappy was created in the 1920's, and he still has a kid's mind. It frightens me a bit to think that Scrappy could legally drink strong liquors if he wanted to. And even if he was old enough, can you imagine Cheese being drunk?"

"A terrifying thought" Goo replied, "but amusing"

"No, just terrifying" Mac retorted.

"By the way Frankie", Goo added, "I can DJ this year too, right?"

Frankie hesitated, giving Mac a pleading look, but Mac returned the look. This was a privilege that he didn't dare taking from his girlfriend.

"Okay", Frankie replied, rolling her eyes. "But this year, you have to play real Christmas songs, not just novelty songs."

"Hey, "Monster's Holiday" and "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" are real Christmas songs!"

"No, they're not. And you're only allowed to play two "Jingle Cats" songs, by the way."

"What, only two? For the whole evening?"

Frankie only replied with a silent frown.

"Okay, only two", Goo sighed.

"Oh, and this year, don't play "The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot". We don't want a repeat performance of last year…"

"Oh right, I remember" Goo said, nodding solemnly. "Poor Eduardo..."

~0~

That evening...

The party was going well, but a few things worried Frankie. First of all, Goofball had learned about the alcohol regulations, and presented her with an identity card which, much to Frankie´s dismay, seemed to be completely legit. Unless he made a scene, she couldn´t keep him from drinking at the party. Second, even though she had been given a flyer, Frankie wished Eurotrish would've refrained from drinking. It was her and Eduardo's first holiday as a couple, and Eduardo looked kind of lost and alone where he sat waiting for Trish to help herself to some weissbier in the kitchen.

And ss for the party music:

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
Don't want a doll, no dinky Tinker Toy
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy

"Let her have this one, Frankie" Mad said calmly as if he was able to guess what Frankie was thinking. , "It´s Goo's favorite"

"Yeah!", Goo declared. "I even imagined up a hippo based on that sing once, just before Christmas.

Frankie looked at her. "You mean Hippo Hero? I remember him arriving between two batches of imagined Santas one Christmas. I should've known it was one of yours. At least he was easily adopted, I have to admit."

"I should think so. I made him cute and cuddly, just like I imagined him in that song. I know people are complaining about that song, they say that real hippos are aggressive and dangerous, but it´s not like any kid´s gonna get a real hippo for Christmas! Duh! Maybe if that song had been released in Africa, it could´ve been dangerous and misleading to have song about hippos making good pets, but hardly any kid who's heard that song has ever seen a hippo, except in zoos, and in the zoos they have fences and big signs saying that the hippos are dangerous, so the kids aren´t going to climb down and try to pet them anyway...

The doorbell rang. Frankie had no idea who that might be, but she felt slightly reliefed to have an excuse to interrupt one of Goo´s monologues.

The feeling of relief was short-lived:

"Hiiii, Frankie!

"Cheerio, Miss Foster!"

It seemed as if the forces of fate had ganged up on her in order to bring over the three Imaginaries she'd least of all like to have on this party.

To be continued! Who are the three mystery guest? Here's a few hints: Don't try too hard; one of them is an OC, one of them is canon, and the other is..sort of canon. Confused? Stay tuned! And in the meantime, please review!