"We need red lights, and blue lights, and green lights, and-"

"Shouldn't we just get rainbow lights, then?"

"Oh yeah! That's a good idea!"

Vanessa furrowed her brow as she glanced over at the mountain of boxes next to her brother. There had to be at least 10 of them piled up. "Did you take all of those?"

"Yeah, I think they're good," Alan confirmed, nodding his head.

"Guys, look what I…whoa, that's a lot of lights, champ."

Alan spun around and beamed at his father. "Our house is gonna look so cool, Dad!"

"It definitely is, but that might be a few too many," Tyson chuckled, nodding towards the boxes. "We do still have some at home, after all."

"But they're not cool like these!" Alan cried.

"Why are these so cool?" Vanessa asked, pointing at Alan's collection.

"Cause they have a picture of them on the bushes," Alan explained, motioning towards the photo for emphasis.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow and glanced up at her father, silently pleading for him to tell Alan that was a stupid reason. Tyson, however, was not about to do that, and simply offered his son a polite smile.

"We'll look through them in a minute and decide which ones we want to take home with us," Tyson decided. "But I wanted to show you guys something first!"

"What?" Vanessa squeaked, tilting her head.

"Is it more lights?" Alan asked excitedly.

"No," Tyson chuckled, holding his hand out. In his possession was a spring of bright green leaves, dotted with red berries and adorned on the stem by a red bow.

"It's a plant," Alan dully noted.

"Not just a plant," Tyson replied, chuckling. "It's a Mistletoe!"

"Mistletoe?" Vanessa repeated, sounding confused.

"Does it blow up?" Alan questioned.

"It does not," Tyson refuted, smirking. "You hang it up, and whichever two people stand underneath it have to kiss!"

Alan twisted his face at the explanation. "That's gross."

"No, it's cute!" Tyson laughed. "I think I'm going to buy this and bring it home with us."

"Why?" Alan grumbled.

"Because Mom likes it," Tyson explained. "Besides, it'll be a nice decoration for inside the house! We can't only focus on the outside, after all."

Alan pouted. "But the outside is the best part."

Vanessa, on the other hand, beamed at her father. "I think the mistletoe is cute, Daddy!"

Alan scowled as he glanced over at his elder sister. "Suck up."

"Alan, that's not nice," Tyson scolded. "If you don't behave, I won't buy any lights."

The young boy instantly perked up, trying to present a happy façade. "Okay, I'll be nice! I like this one, Dad!"

Tyson sighed and smirked as his son patted one of the boxes. "Alright, we'll bring that one home too."

XXX

Hilary giggled as she watched Tammy turn the page of the book that was sitting between them. Pointing at the paper, Hilary asked her little daughter, "What's that? Do you know?"

Tammy mimicked her mother and pointed at the picture as well. "Twee!"

"That is a tree!" Hilary crowed. "But it's a special tree, right? That's a Christmas tree!"

Tammy looked over her shoulder and pointed towards the corner of the room. "Twee!"

"Yeah, that's our Christmas tree!" Hilary cooed. "It looks like a regular tree now, but Daddy, Alan, and Vanessa are going to come back with all kinds of pretty things we can decorate it with. Then it'll really be a Christmas tree!"

Tucker suddenly slunk beneath the pine, whacking at the low hanging branches with one of his paws. Tammy began to laugh wildly, highly entertained by the silly canine. Hilary, on the other hand, sighed and got to her feet.

"Tucker, what have I said about playing around with the tree?" Hilary questioned, folding her arms.

"raw," Tucker purred, emerging from under the tree.

"Thank you," Hilary trilled, grinning at the dog.

Suddenly, the jiggling of a lock sounded, and the front door opened, the rest of the family having returned from the store.

"You guys were gone for a while," Hilary remarked. "Did you find everything okay?"

"Yeah, maybe a little too well," Tyson chuckled.

"We got lots of cool lights, Mom!" Alan exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.

"You did?" Hilary giggled.

"Yeah, they're awesome," Alan replied.

"I like the twinkly rainbow ones the best!" Vanessa chimed in.

"Hmm, it does sound like the shopping went a bit too well," Hilary commented, glancing up at her husband. "Just how many lights did you buy?"

"Not that many," Tyson calmly argued. "Like…six boxes."

Hilary smirked and shook her head. "Great, so six new boxes to go along with all the boxes we already have?"

"It's not like we had tons of lights before," Tyson refuted.

"We had a fair amount," Hilary scoffed.

"It's okay, Mom, cause we're gonna have the best house in the whole city!" Alan cheered.

"Yeah, the brightest and the prettiest!" Vanessa agreed.

"Oh, good, we're going to be those people," Hilary sighed, though she was smiling.

"Hey, those are the best kind of people!" Tyson crowed. "They get so into the holidays, it's awesome! I always wanted to decorate our house like that growing up, but we couldn't afford to buy that many lights."

"You don't have to make your house visible from space to show how much you love Christmas," Hilary reasoned with her husband.

"Nah, I know that," Tyson agreed. "It's also about the food, and the presents, and-"

"Your family?" Hilary interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"I was getting there," Tyson whined. "You cut me off before I could!"

Hilary giggled and tilted her head. "Right."

"Oh, Daddy, show Mommy what else we bought!" Vanessa cried, tugging at her father's pants.

Hilary blinked. "I thought you were only going to get lights."

"That was the plan, but I found something else that I thought would be nice," Tyson explained, turning around and kneeling to dig in one of the plastic bags he'd brought inside. He pulled out the mistletoe, catching Hilary's interest. It caught Tammy's as well, who ambled to her feet and began toddling towards her father.

"Mistletoe?" Hilary snickered.

"I thought it was cute," Tyson chuckled, taking another close look at the plant.

"It's gross," Alan complained, sticking his tongue out.

"Well, I happen to like mistletoe!" Hilary laughed. "I'm not surprised Daddy does too, even though it took him years to get there."

Alan and Vanessa curiously glanced up at their father, who sheepishly began to rub the back of his neck.

"Daddy, what does Mommy mean?" Vanessa asked, tilting her head.

"Uh…"

"When Daddy and I were younger, I used to get him under the mistletoe to try and kiss him," Hilary explained, smirking at a flustered Tyson. "But he always freaked out and ran off!"

Alan and Vanessa both began to laugh wildly, causing Tyson to blush. "Come on, I was just a kid! That's hardly fair."

"So you thought it was gross too!" Alan cried.

"I did not!" Tyson argued, although his blush had intensified. "It just made me nervous, that's all."

Tammy, who was too young to laugh at her father's expense like her older siblings, simply attached herself to his leg and rubbed her cheek against his shin. Glancing down, Tyson showed off a relieved smile, scooping up the toddler with one arm.

"Hey there, pumpkin," he cooed. "You wanna see the mistletoe?"

He held the spring out towards Tammy, whose eyes widened out of curiosity. Like most children her age, Tammy was very inquisitive and loved to examine things she was not familiar with. She reached out and gently touched one of the leaves, giggling when she felt how soft it was.

Chuckling, Tyson slowly pulled the mistletoe away from his daughter and instead held it above both of their heads. Tammy squeaked and tilted her head back to stare at it, watching as the plant gently swayed.

"Now we have to give each other a kiss!" Tyson laughed. Tammy, however, just looked confused. With a small smile, Tyson pressed a delicate kiss against his daughter's forehead, causing her to shriek with delight.

"Dada!" Tammy babbled, reaching up to hold onto his cheeks.

"Where's my kiss?" Tyson asked the toddler. "Do I get one too?"

Tammy smirked and shook her head.

"No?" Tyson gasped. Tammy shook her head again.

"Just like Daddy when he was little!" Vanessa giggled. Alan looked at her before joining in, leading their father to furrow his brow.

"Alright, that's enough of that for one day," Tyson tiredly decided, putting the mistletoe to the side.

"Good, because I have to put Tam down for her nap," Hilary breathed, gently taking the little girl from Tyson's grasp.

"But I thought we were gonna do the decorations!" Alan whined.

"Sweetheart, relax," Hilary sighed, her eyes travelling towards Tammy as the toddler put her head down on her mother's shoulder. "We can do a little bit once Tammy is asleep. I just don't want us to do something like the tree. Tam should be there for that."

"What about the lights?" Alan asked.

"We can do those," Hilary assured him. "That's something Tam is too small to help with anyway. But I also need you and Vanessa to try on your Christmas outfits for me."

Alan pulled a face at that request. "I hate dressing up for Christmas."

"I know you do," Hilary scoffed.

"So how come I hafta?" Alan groaned.

"Because it's a nice holiday, so you should look nice," Hilary replied. "Besides, everyone else in the family dresses up!"

Alan raised an eyebrow. "Then I should be different!"

Hilary smirked. "You're very cute, buddy."

The boy's face lit up. "So I don't hafta dress up?"

"No, you still have to."

Alan sulked as his mother turned towards the stairs. Vanessa laughed at her brother's misfortune, causing him to scowl at her.

"You shouldn't laugh," Alan smartly reminded his twin. "That means you've gotta wear some kinda girly dress."

Vanessa quickly stopped giggling, knowing her brother was right. Tyson smiled at the two and knelt down to their level.

"Why don't you two head upstairs so you can try on those outfits and get it over with?" Tyson suggested. "I promise I won't do any decorating without you!"

"Fine," Alan grumbled, stomping towards the stairs. Vanessa, however, wasn't as quick to move, and stared at her father as she batted her eyelashes.

"What's up, Van?" Tyson asked. "Aren't you going to go with Alan?"

"Yeah," Vanessa replied slowly. "But Daddy, I have a question."

"Yes, princess?"

Vanessa pointed at the mistletoe. "Who made up that whole story about having to kiss people under that thing?"

Tyson blinked. "Um…I'm not sure."

"So that means you don't really have to do it, right?"

"Well, no, you don't have to do anything. It's just like a tradition."

"Could we do something else?"

Tyson seemed perplexed. "Why do you want to do something else?"

"I don't know," Vanessa admitted. "Just cause maybe it'd be fun! I like making up stories. So I can make one up just like whoever made up all that kissy stuff!"

"We'll see," Tyson finally relented, smirking at his daughter. "Go try on your outfit, kay?"

"Okay," Vanessa squeaked, turning on a heel and running off.

As she ascended the steps, Tyson finally put his attention back on the mistletoe. He grew wide eyed, however, when he saw that Tucker had jumped on the top of the couch and was slowly inching towards the plant.

"Tuck, what are you doing?" Tyson asked slowly.

Tucker glanced at him before continuing his lazy stride towards the mistletoe. Before Tyson could process it, the dog had batted it off the couch and jumped down after it, continuing to swat it around the floor.

"Tucker!" Tyson groaned, diving after the dog. He mewled and jumped out of the way, sending Tyson face first into the floor.

Then, the canine, who was completely oblivious to all of the carnage he'd inadvertently caused, rolled over on his back and began tossing the mistletoe in the air using his front paws.

Tyson looked up, grimacing at the partner. Although loyal and sweet, Tucker's playful side tended to overtake him rather easily, and he could create an awful lot of trouble and mess without meaning to. That made it pretty easy to get frustrated, but not enough to take it out on the innocent animal.

"I have to get that mistletoe back," Tyson declared.

Getting up on his hands and knees, Tyson crawled over to Tucker, who was still busy playing with the holiday plant. "Hey, Tucker, would it be alright if I took that from you? It's part of our Christmas decorations, and I need to hang it up! I'd be happy to give you something else to play with instead!"

Tucker halted his paws and turned his head, though he continued to lie on his back with the mistletoe resting in his palms. "roo?"

"So I can have it?" Tyson asked, pointing at the mistletoe before reaching out for it. "That'd be-"

The dog barked and threw the plant once again, getting up to his feet and smacking it with his tail once it got close enough to him again.

"Great," Tyson grumbled as the dog scurried off.

Tyson sighed, shaking his head. "It was worth a shot, though."

"What's Tucker got?"

Tyson looked over his shoulder just in time to see Vanessa hopping down the stairs, sporting a navy blue dress printed with red roses and green leaves and sporting a red rosette at the green lined waist. The little girl didn't give her father time to respond, however, before asking a follow up question: "is that the mistletoe?"

"Hey, I like that way better than kissing!"

Alan was laughing wildly as he pulled up beside his sister, wearing a red sweater with plaid shoulder patches and dark gray dress pants.

"Guys, come on, it's not funny!" Tyson whined. "I need help getting it back!"

"Why don't you just ask?" Vanessa suggested.

"I already tried that," Tyson begrudgingly admitted.

Vanessa thought about it for a moment before her face lit up. "I know! Let's make this our tradition with the mistletoe!"

"What, have Tucker destroy it?!" Tyson cried.

Vanessa grinned and nodded her head.

"Yeah, I like that!" Alan continued laughing.

Hilary came slowly down the stairs, silently watching as Tucker continued to run around with the mistletoe as the kids giggled and Tyson fretted. Once she reached the bottom, the mother shook her head and approached their dog, kneeling down and gently plucking the spring from his mouth. Tucker mewled sadly, but stopped as soon as Hilary pet his head.

"This isn't a toy, Tucker," Hilary gently informed. "You can always play with something else!"

As she stood back up, Alan groaned. "Aw, why'd you stop her?"

"Because the mistletoe isn't a toy, just like I told her," Hilary replied. "I know you guys think it's a little silly, but Daddy and I really like it."

"I don't think it's silly, Mommy," Vanessa refuted. "I just wanted to make up something that's just for our family!"

"Which was very sweet," Hilary assured her. "But our family has lots of traditions that are special just to us! The mistletoe may be something that a lot of families do, but it can still be very special."

Turning towards Tyson, Hilary held the mistletoe out towards him. "Why don't you hang this up so it's out of Tucker's reach?"

Tyson blinked, but took the plant out of her hand and got to his feet, walking towards the doorway between the living room and the foyer. "What do you think? Right here?"

Hilary hummed and glanced down at the twins. "Do you guys like that spot?"

Vanessa's eyes shimmered as she rapidly nodded her head. "Yeah! It's perfect!"

Alan, on the other hand, was nowhere near as excited, though he was willing to give his input. "That's fine."

With the placement decided, Tyson tied the mistletoe's bright red ribbon around a small, barely visible hook in the very top of the doorway. Once he was done, he took a step back and placed his hands on his hips, examining his work.

Hilary beamed at her husband, and then down at her children. "You two are such a big help! Thank you!"

"Of course!" Vanessa chirped, leading Hilary to giggle.

"Now, why don't we get you out of those nice clothes so we can really start decorating?" Hilary suggested.

They both cheered loudly, causing Tucker to pick his head up from the spot on the floor where he'd now busied himself with one of Tammy's stray toys.

"Go upstairs quietly," Hilary instructed. "I don't want you to wake up your little sister. I'll be there in just a minute."

Alan and Vanessa nodded before clamoring up the stairs. Once they were out of sight, Hilary strode towards Tyson, who had turned towards her with an innocent look plastered on his face. Smirking, Hilary reached out and gently pushed Tyson until they were both standing in the nearest doorway. Tyson waited for her to do something, and was surprised when all she did was tilt her head back. He did the same, and chuckled when he realized she was staring at the mistletoe.

"So…you like it?" Tyson asked, smiling slyly at his wife.

Without a word, Hilary grabbed the material of his shirt and yanked him forward, catching his lips in her own. Tyson smiled against the kiss, reaching up to gently touch her face. Once Hilary pulled away, she smiled softly at him and rested her forehead against his.

"No. I love it. And I love you."

Tyson laughed and closed his eyes. "I love you, too."