At Lindsey's house, her mansion was completely decorated for Christmas. There was garland all around the railings.
In the middle of the room was an enormous Christmas tree that reached from floor to ceiling. It was covered with the most lovely decorations money can buy.
Her parents, George and Veronica sighed while holding each other's hands."
"There's nothing like spreading a little Christmas spirit, Honey." George said. He dressed in his usual tuxedo.
"Oh, yes, dear." Veronica said, wearing a floor-length red dress. "Nothing gets more festive than hiring decorators to deck the halls!" They laughed in their snooty way.
Sitting by her lonesome on the living room couch was Lindsey. She sighed as she looked up at the ceiling.
She did not look happy at all.
"Lindsey? What's the matter, buttercup?" George asked as he walked in. "You've been gloomy all day!"
"Tomorrow's Christmas!" Veronica said. "Here, have another present, dear." She handed Lindsey a golden-wrapped gift.
Lindsey sighed. "No thanks, Mom."
"Oh, now. I insist!" She put the present in Lindsey's lap. "Your father and I will be back, sweetie. We're off to do something more shopping!"
As soon as George and Veronica left the house, Lindsey called her friends. "Guys, emergency meeting at the mansion."
A few minutes later, Danny, Tucker, and Sam arrived.
"Hey, guys. Glad you can come." Lindsey said, welcoming them. She stared. "Tucker, what's that on your head?"
"Surely you don't mean my mistletoe." said Tucker, pointing to the small plant dangling from his head.
"That's mistletoe? Like on TV?" Lindsey asked.
"It sure is." Tucker puckered his lips.
Danny rolled her eyes. "Tucker, there's no way Lindsey's gonna-
Lindsey kissed Tucker on the lips.
Danny and Sam felt their jaws drop. Did they just witness a Christmas miracle?!
"Wow! Kissing under mistletoe does feel special!" Lindsey said in amaze.
Tucker's face turned red as a poinsettia.
But Lindsey started to smile sadly. "Sure wish mom and dad put up mistletoe. Or something simple like that."
"Not in the Christmas spirit, Lindsey?" asked Danny.
Lindsey shook her head. "Nope."
"Good, neither am I." Danny said. "I just need to get away from my family for a bit."
Lindsey sighed. "I hear ya, the only Christmas magic they believe in is money. To them, Christmas is just an excuse to buy a bunch of useless presents and holiday junk we don't need. I have a closet packed with mink coats thanks to my mom and my dad bought me a pony! I mean, really?! A pony?! I'm not five! It's a greed induced nightmare!"
Danny, Tucker, and Sam stared as Lindsey continued.
"I've never had a humble little Christmas like the ones on TV. Where friends and family who love each other come together and celebrate peace on Earth, sing carols, and go sledding and all sorts of fun things like that!"
Lindsey looked down at the polished marble floor. "I wish...just once...I could have the Christmas I always dreamed of."
"Oh, dear. You poor thing." a sweet voice said.
Danny's ghost sense kicked in.
A bright light suddenly filled the room. The teens shielded their eyes as it became brighter.
When the light died down, a gorgeous woman in a long white gown holding a flaming candle appeared. A silver tiara was placed on her shimmering blonde hair. Her eyes were kind.
A red glow shined, a giant man in a green robe and a bushy red beard appeared. Around his head was a wreath of holly. In his hand he held a horn.
"My! What a lovely place!" the giant man chortled merrily.
The very scared and confused teens started to back away.
Now the room went dark, an eerie silver mist began billowing in the darkness.
Lindsey's heart was hammering. "Uh, guys-"
She bumped into something. With a gulp, Lindsey turned around and saw a tall, ominous phantom shrouded in a black cloak.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Lindsey screamed and jumped into Tucker's arms. "DANNY! Get them out of here!" she screeched in terror. "Get them out now!"
"Please, child! Do not fear us!" the ghost woman said calmly. She frowned at the hooded ghost. "You just had to make an entrance like that." she scolded.
The phantom said nothing.
Shaking her head, the woman snapped her fingers and the lights came back on.
"Who are you?!" Danny sputtered.
"Oh! Forgive us, dearie." The woman put a hand to her chest. "I am the Ghost of Christmas Past."
"I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present!" boomed the big ghost.
The third ghost was silent.
"And this is the Ghost of Christmas Future." said Christmas Past.
The four teens dropped their jaws on the floor.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Danny said. "You're the ghosts from A Christmas Carol?!"
"As in the ghosts who turned around Ebenezer Scrooge?!" Lindsey said in complete bafflement. "NO WAY! And in my house?! Awesome!"
"Yes, we are." Christmas Past said. "So nice to meet you."
"So, the Christmas Carol story is real?!" Sam said.
Christmas Present nodded. "That's right. And every Christmas we change someone for the better. But it can be tiring working on the holiday. So we're taking the day off."
"What? You can't just take the day off!" Sam said. "What if there's a Scrooge out there!"
"Actually dearie, we checked and there's not a single one out there!" Christmas Past said. She looked around. "I must say, this place will do nicely for our vacation."
"Now, hold on a minute!" Danny said. "You guys can't just waltz right in and-"
Lindsey covered his mouth. "Don't listen to him. You ghosts are all welcome in my home!"
"You can't be serious!" Sam replied.
"Come on, Sam. Where's your Christmas spirit?" Lindsey said. "I mean, these are nice ghosts! Not bad ones!" She turned to the ghosts. "Of course you guys are welcome in my home!"
"Then you wouldn't mind doing a little chore for us?" Christmas Past asked sweetly.
"Anything, just name it." Lindsey gladly accepted.
"And here we go..." Sam said under her breath.
"We left some presents behind at the mall." Christmas Present said. "Could you and Danny Phantom here fetch them for us?"
Danny blinked. "Presents? What do mean presents?"
"Why, Christmas presents of course!" the giant ghost said. "Even ghosts do a little holiday shopping."
"Sure!" Lindsey said.
"What?!" Danny said.
"Danny, Christmas is about thinking of others and good will to all. The least we can do for these ghosts is help them get their presents."
Danny would argue, but Lindsey made a very valid point. Christmas was about thinking of others. Besides, the ghosts of Christmas didn't seem like the bad ghosts he was used to fighting all the time.
"Okay, let's go." Danny struck a pose and became Danny Phantom.
Christmas Past handed Lindsey a piece of paper. "Here is where you'll find our gifts."
"Got it." Lindsey gave a salute. "You can count on us, Ma'am!"
Danny took Lindsey's hand and they flew out of the house.
Tucker and Sam looked back at the ghosts of Christmas. They were all alone with them.
"Now then, who's for some Christmas movies?" Christmas Past said with a cheerful smile. She snapped her fingers and a stack of DVDs appeared.
"Come home soon, Lindsey..." Tucker said under his breath.