"Come on, Hatter, wake up," Alice told him, excitedly. It was December 1st and they were spending their first Christmas together since reuniting months ago. She had only just moved in with him in October and she was excited about being with Hatter for the holidays.
"I'm up, Alice," Hatter chuckled, arms up in surrender. "What's got you in such a good mood?"
"We are gonna get our first Christmas tree together," Alice informed him with a smile. She had given him the basic information about the holiday, telling him about the story of the baby Jesus and eventually going into how it's celebrated today. Hatter had thought it was all very fascinating.
"Brilliant," Hatter beamed. He kissed her softly on the lips before getting ready for the day. Alice was already decked out in boots, blue jeans and a soft turquoise cowl neck sweater. She walked out to the kitchen where she left her purse on the counter and slid the long strap over her head. Hatter appeared from their room.
"You ready?" Alice asked him.
"Ready when you are, love," Hatter replied, taking her gloved hand in his.
Alice brought Hatter to one of the nearby tree lots that popped up every year. There was Christmas music playing through the speakers set around the lot. New York still had yet to have their first snowfall of this year's Christmas season and Alice couldn't help but wonder what Hatter would think of it. She had learned that even though it does get cold in Wonderland, they never received snow there.
"How about this one, love," Hatter asked her. The tree in question was around five feet tall and full of branches. It was really the perfect size for their small apartment.
"It's perfect," Alice replied with a smile that lit up her eyes. Hatter loved seeing her like this. The first time he saw her light up like this is when she ran to hug him upon reuniting. It took his breath away. Or it could've been the fact she knocked the breath out of both of us with that hug, Hatter laughed to himself. He paid half for the tree because Alice insisted that they at least split the cost.
Hatter and Alice got the tree in the apartment safely. Once they placed the tree in the base, Alice swept up the loose pine needles on the floor. The refreshing smell of pine filled the apartment.
"That was fun," Hatter smiled, "What's next?" Alice laughed at his excitement.
"Well, now we decorate it with lights and garland and ornaments," Alice explained to him. "But first, I'm gonna fill the base with water." After the tree was watered, Alice opened up the hall closet to bring out her two boxes of decorations. One was decorations for the tree and the other had decorations for putting up around the apartment.
"What gets put on first?" Hatter asked. Alice untangled the long cord she held in her hands.
"Lights go on first," Alice told him. She plugged them into the outlet near the tree and Hatter watched the multi-colored strand illuminate. Alice handed him the other end of the strand to hold as they both went around the tree, wrapping the lights from the bottom to the top. They almost tripped over one another in the process which caused plenty of laughter. At one point they got themselves tangled in the lights together and had to work to unravel each other from the cord.
Eventually, they were untangled and the tree was lit up. Grabbing the silver garland, Alice handed him one end of it.
"Let's try not to get tangled this time," Alice giggled.
"Oh, but why not? I found it to be quite cozy myself," Hatter teased. Alice felt her cheeks warm up as a blush spread across them.
"You're such a flirt," Alice said with a playful roll of her icy blue eyes.
"Only with you, love," Hatter told her, placing a kiss on her cheek. They managed to get the garland wrapped around without any entanglements, much to Hatter's disappointment. The only things left in the box of tree decorations were ornaments and the tree topper. "So what do we do with the shiny baubles?" Hatter asked her.
"This is the easy part," Alice informed him. "All you do is place the hooks attached to them on the branches." They began adorning the tree with the ornaments, glittering in red, green and gold. They finished decorating with the main set and Alice dug through the more odd ornaments that she had collected since childhood. Among the mini snowflakes and handmade ornaments, a particular one caught her eye.
"Alice? What is it?" Hatter questioned.
"It's an ornament that my parents gave to me when I was eight," Alice explained. "I haven't seen it in forever. I thought I'd lost it." She brought it out of the box, showing it to Hatter. The ornament featured Alice and the Mad Hatter from the animated film, standing on a flat cobblestone base. The blonde Alice is looking on in amazement as the Mad Hatter enjoys half a cup of tea.
"That's quite a special ornament, yea?" Hatter asked in a playful tone.
"It really is," Alice confirmed. "Help me find a spot to hang it?"
"I'd love to," Hatter replied. Together, they hung the ornament in the midst of the sparkling lights.
Author's Note: Happy December 1st! I am proud to kick off this Christmas season with a 25 Days of Halice one shot fic! I will be posting a one shot each day through Christmas! Enjoy!