It all happened so fast. And for a morning person like herself, it really shouldn't have startled her that much. In fact, she should have been anticipating it. Both of her children were bouncy the night before- well, for the most part. Boruto still had his doubts about Santa Claus, but Himawari was thrilled to have the chubby man visit their home to give them free presents. She'd been a good girl all year long, and she made sure everyone knew it too. As the month of December inched closer, Hinata had noticed her innocent young daughter occasionally linger around both her and Naruto, giving them curious tugs to inquire whether she was being "a good girl" or not. She never wanted to admit why the question mattered much to her, but both of them had a pretty good idea. Himawari wanted to gauge the chances of her getting mountain loads of toys. As for their son? He'd been told countless times he'd be receiving coal for his behavior. Too bad it did so little to curve his trouble making.

But here they were now, trying to sleep for the few hours they had left until Christmas morning stirred them awake. But seven to eight hours of rest was never promised when one had children under the same roof. Both she and Naruto knew that; especially on Christmas. Boruto was a night owl, but Himawari was an early riser; even more so than her mother.

"Tou-chan! Kaa-chan!" The pattering of bare feet reached her ear a little too late. In seconds, Hinata could feel a small pink ball of joy clamber upon her chest, filled with bubbly giggles.

"Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Santa came! Come look! Come look!" One second after another, Hinata allowed her pale eyes to gradually slide open, taking in the wriggling form on top of her. With a forced smile, she pulled her body upwards into a sitting position. From the side, she noted a groggy and rather grumpy Boruto stationed near their doorway. As irritable as he looked at being woken up, she could tell from the fidgeting of his feet that he was anxious to get back to those wrapped presents just as much as his sister was.

"Well good morning, you two… Merry Christmas. Did Santa bring you both a lot of presents?" Santa meaning Naruto…but neither of them knew that, of course. Her husband had been rather quiet about it; even she had difficulty knowing when he'd gotten them all under the tree.

"He did! Come see!" With two small hands, Himawari grabbed at her sleeping father's arm, using the other to grab for her mother, giving one excited tug after another. "Tou-chan! Wake up! It's Christmas! Come see what Santa put under the tree!"

The slumbering blond would give a simple grunt in response to his youngest daughter's excited tugging, rolling onto his back with a soft noise. Lifting his bandaged arm over his face, the kage sighed, smacking his lips as he began to rouse. It was no surprise to anyone that Naruto was far from a morning person. While being a parent and a leader had required him to become more accustomed to early hours, he'd never quite completed the adjustment. It didn't help that he'd been required to stay up later the night before, having to outlast his anxious children. Once they had finally slipped off to sleep, the blond got to work, transforming himself into the signature fat man, knowing Boruto had laid cameras in hopes of catching his father in the act. Once he'd completed his fatherly duties and enjoyed a few of his wife's delicious cookies, Naruto clambered into bed beside his wife in hopes of squeezing as much sleep as possible out of that cold winter night.

That sweet sleep was interrupted mere hours later by the excited bouncing and exclaiming of his youngest child. Naruto didn't mind this in the least- as a child he'd never known the excitement of waking up his family on Christmas morning. Having two children allowed him to experience some of that joy in a way. Letting out another sleepy noise, blue eyes began to flicker open, focusing on the tiny fingers tugging at his arm. It took everything in his being not to respond with 'Five more minutes'. No, he knew that would absolutely not do on Christmas morning.

"Mmf…" Was the first noise to escape his lips, followed by a loud yawn and a rub to the eyes. "What's this now…?" Asked the blond, focusing his one open eye on the girl beside him. "Under the tree? You sure about that Himawari?" Teased Naruto, his sleepy expression shifting to a more cheeky grin. That was certain to get a rise out of the little girl. His eyes soon shifted to the doorway.

"And what about you, 'ttebayo? Why're you lookin' so sour? Did Santa bring ya coal?" He cooed at his grump of a son, earning only a noise of acknowledgement from him. Shifting to a seated position, Naruto stretched high, joints popping loudly as he began to force himself awake, patting the covers in an effort to get both of his children to join him.

"Alright you guys… we'll go see what Santa gotcha in a second… but you know the drill!" He nodded, eyes closing in a matter of fact expression. Family tradition and all. "Yer 'kaa-chan's gotta go set up the camera first. Then presents." Naruto nodded, before yawning again, leaning over to place a good morning kiss on his wife's cheek

Hinata could always leave it to Naruto's sparkling attitude to start their day together as a family. When it came to the holidays, he was essential in helping everyone get on their feet- excluding Himawari, who was perfectly capable of getting herself up and around on her own. If there was anyone in the Uzumaki household that stubbornly stuck to the bed in the mornings, it was Boruto. However, Christmas was a special exception for their son to not argue and cause trouble. If he got presents out of it, then there didn't seem to be any real reason to complain. Still, it didn't stop him from trying to scope out who the true 'Santa' was. For the past two years, their feisty son had been working to peel away the fat man's identity through multiple traps around the house. He stuck a poker upwards into their chimney the year before, placed super glue on the roof to capture reindeer, and even whipped up some strange contraption to ensnare poor Santa in a cage the second he took a bite out of their homemade Christmas cookies. Fortunately for all of them, 'Santa' was a skilled ninja that knew how to avoid such traps with ease- for the most part, anyway. While being in disguise, her husband had a bit more trouble leaping and moving in his usual stealthy ways. Having a giant beard on, a floppy hat, and then some made movement rather…difficult.

Turning her body sideways and out of the bed, Hinata placed her feet on the floor, focusing her attention on her sour looking son. "If I didn't know any better Boruto, it looks like you're just as eager as Himawari is to see what's under the tree. Could it maybe be that… you're worried about coal?" Stifling a small laugh, she couldn't help but smile at her son's grumping and muttering. Upon his head he wore Naruto's former sleeping cap. A perfect fit, really. It snugly rested over his head and successfully got across the boy's grouchy attitude for any and all mornings.

From her position on the bed, she could have sworn she'd heard him quietly grumble about his failure of new traps. He was quietly promising himself that he'd catch the 'fat man' next year, all the while throwing suspicious stares at his rousing father.

"Well, let's all get up and get into the family room, hmm? I'll get the camera set up and we can open up presents."

That was all Himawari needed to hear before she was bounding off the bed, moving to grab hurriedly at her big brother's arm to tug him down the hallway. He complained, of course, but stumbled along to their sparkling tree, all the while adjusting his grumpy sleep cap.

With one gentle stretch, Hinata turned to sleepily gaze over at her husband, smiling. "Mn…well, time to get our day started. Do you want to go on ahead and make sure Boruto doesn't try peeking in his presents early?" He'd do it too, she knew. Boruto didn't like to admit it, but he wasn't thrilled with the idea of getting coal and wanted to make certain that none of his wrapped presents fit the description.

The Jinchuuriki would give Hinata a simple nod in response, a bright smile tugging at his whiskered cheeks. Turning in place, he lowered his bare feet to the cool, wooden floor, stepping up with another stretch. Giving his back a twist, Naruto let out a few more pops and cracks before following the bubbly siblings down the hallway.