Christmas day dawned bright and beautiful with Chester the rooster crowing at the very first hint of light on the horizon. It was one of those winter days that you remember from your childhood, with the sun sparkling like diamonds on the snow and the sky a shade of blue that takes your breath away.

The Grant farm was bustling early, because the chickens and the horses and Lizzie the cow didn't know it was Christmas. To them it was just like any other day, with eggs to be discovered by Jack and Charlie, milk to be collected by Allie and Jessie, and stalls to freshen by Archie. Elizabeth, Stella and Rebecca took charge of the farm breakfast while chores were being completed.

When they were finished cooking, the harvest table was fairly groaning under the sheer weight of the scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, potatoes, freshly-baked bread with Allie's butter, three types of jam, coffee, tea, and the piece de resistance, chocolate croissants courtesy of Gustav, carried hot and fresh out of the oven across the meadow by Julie and Lucas.

After the chores were done, everyone gathered, joined hands, and gave thanks to God for the glorious and blessed day they were sharing, and the abundance of the table before them. The usual urgency of children on Christmas morning was eased by the fact that Jack had still not tired of his train set, and Allie and Jessie felt themselves far too grown up to need to rip into packages just as the sun came up.

So family and friends sat around the table sharing memories of Christmases past and counted their present blessings. Then, when breakfast was done and dishes put away, they finally sat down around the tree to discover what was under it.

Allie and Nathan's Christmas morning ritual of finding out who could catch the bigger fish was postponed slightly to the afternoon, and their circle was widened to include Archie and Jessie. For eight years Nathan and Allie had enjoyed the time together alone, but their lives were bursting at the seams with new family and friends, and they happily stretched the boundaries of the ritual.

But not until after gifts were given. Allie and Jack had been awarded the duties of Santa Claus, so as Allie pulled a gift from under the tree, she whispered a name to Jack, and if he could carry it, he would run happily and deliver the present to the lucky recipient.

There were too many people in the house for gifts to be opened one at a time, so as Jessie sat with Stella and they opened theirs, Lucas and Julie did the same. Charlie and Rebecca exchanged gifts, and Nathan, Allie, Elizabeth, Jack and Archie sat around their own treasures.

Allie went first for the small box she'd been eyeing for days. This morning, she had purposely worn the gift that Nathan had given her last year, her charm bracelet. It still held only the small book and the fly that had been attached when she'd opened it with Nathan in their small row house last Christmas.

Elizabeth remembered very well when she'd first seen the bracelet as Ned delivered it to Nathan at the Mercantile. The meaning of the small silver book that Nathan held up was clear, but Elizabeth couldn't quite understand why there was a shiny silver insect attached to the bracelet. Nathan told her, "It's a fly. For fishing." Elizabeth had laughed. "Well, that's perfect for Allie," she'd said.

For a moment, Allie held the box to her heart, remembering how different things were this year from last, and especially from the years before. She knew that Nathan had always done the very best he could to make things special for her – but when she compared the last three years, it was hard to believe how much had changed. Two years ago, Christmas day was spent in a mess hall full of Mounties and had consisted of long, boring speeches at Fort Simpson. Last year, they were finally in Hope Valley surrounded by friends and new possibilities, but their Christmas morning was just the two of them. This year in their new house, Allie was surrounded by a mother and father, a grandmother and grandfather, an aunt, a brother and two more siblings on the way.

Allie had yearned so for family, and as she looked around her, the sudden awareness of the abundance in her life took her thirteen-year-old heart by surprise.

Elizabeth tilted her head at Allie and smiled. "You okay?" she asked, seeing the slight trace of tears in Allie's eyes as she held the box to her heart.

Allie nodded, smiling. "I'm happy," she said simply.

Nathan, who was sitting next to Elizabeth, said softly, "Happy tears... noted." Elizabeth laughed quietly and hugged his arm next to her.

"Open it," she said to Allie. Both Elizabeth and Nathan had noticed that Allie was wearing her bracelet this morning. After her chores, she'd gone straight to her little jewelry box and had put it on because she knew, or hoped she knew, what was coming. Those two little charms from last year dangled alone, and like Allie's life, her bracelet was about to get much more crowded.

Nathan and Elizabeth had been working toward this moment for a while with Kevin the blacksmith.

Kevin had actually altered his sign in front of the livery. It now said "Blacksmithing" in large letters, and under that sign hung a new banner, "Fine Jewelry Custom Made and Repaired." Elizabeth had remembered that Kevin had resized her engagement and wedding rings, and he had since expanded his business. He worked in silver, gold and brass, and even did some design work with gems. It was with Fiona's encouragement that Kevin found a way to turn his much-loved hobby into a business opportunity.

After all, Fiona and Kevin had found each other through her need for what she called "doohickeys," to help with the reception on the telephone system. It had required the crafting of metal into a specific shape, and he'd done such a good job that Fiona had helped him to strategize about how he could expand his jewelry-making operations.

So about a month ago, Elizabeth and Nathan had gone to Kevin to ask him to create some unique charms for Allie's bracelet. By using a bright light and tracing paper, Kevin had created silhouettes of Nathan, Elizabeth, Archie, and Jack. Fiona had managed to get Allie in on the pretense that they needed a generic face for Kevin's jewelry. Allie had thought it was fun, without knowing it would be used to fashion a small charm of her own face in profile. Kevin had created them out of silver and then had etched onto each one; Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Jack, Allie.

When Allie opened the small box, she found not one charm, as she was expecting, but five. Nathan had his small pliers at hand, and one by one, he added the charms to Allie's bracelet. When he was done, Allie held up her wrist and wiggled it, laughing.

"It makes a sound now," she said happily. "Noisy. Like all of us." Allie jumped up between Nathan and Elizabeth and put an arm around each of them. "I love it. Thank you." When she stepped back, she looked at Elizabeth from under her eyebrows in her typical Allie way. "So, next year..."

Elizabeth laughed. "Yes, we'll get you two more," she said.

"And Grandma and Aunt Julie?" Allie said. She looked at Nathan and said, "I'm gonna need a bigger bracelet." Nathan laughed and hugged her. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said, raising an eyebrow.

Jumping back toward the tree, Allie pulled out something wrapped in brown paper and ribbon. She handed it to Elizabeth. "Now you," she said, beaming.

"Thank you, Allie," Elizabeth said, taking it. She pulled the bow out of the ribbon and unwrapped a small bound book with blank pages. But what made the tears come to Elizabeth's eyes was the cover. Wildflowers that Elizabeth recognized from the meadow in front of their house had been pressed flat so they still held their yellow and green colors brightly. They had been glued carefully to the front of the book, spelling out MOM.

"Allie," Elizabeth said very softly, looking at it while she moved her fingertips tenderly over the flowers in the lettering.

"It's for your writing. I know sometimes, when Jack is sleeping you don't want to wake him up with the typewriter, so you write by hand. You can use this, right?" Her eyes were wide, and Elizabeth saw a raw need there for reassurance that the gift was a good one.

Elizabeth reached out and pulled Allie to her, hugging her tightly. "It's perfect, Allie." She pulled away and looked into her sweet girl's eyes. "You're perfect. Thank you."

Allie released a breath and grinned. "Good. I hoped you'd like it."

"I love it," Elizabeth said. Then she kissed Allie on the cheek. "I love you."

Elizabeth looked over at Nathan and pointed to her eyes. "Happy tears," she said softly.

Nathan smiled and put his arm around her. He pulled her to him and said, "Got it. But that was an easy one."

Nathan then opened the package that Allie gave him. It was a box filled with small feathers, string, grasses and cattails that she had painstakingly gathered and dried over the spring and summer. Taking each piece out and turning it over in his hands, Nathan sighed and looked at her. "How did you get all these?"

Allie shrugged. "I looked for them," she said, gazing at him with bright eyes.

Elizabeth had a quizzical look on her face, and Nathan said softly, "For tying flies. For fishing." He folded a few of the long pliable blades of dried grass and wrapped the string around to show her. "It's why they call them flies. They look like insects and the fish come up to the surface to eat them." Nathan leaned over and pulled Allie into a bear hug. "Love you, Allie. This is the best present ever."

Then Nathan looked over at Elizabeth and she could see his eyes were glistening. She tilted her head and smiled.

"Happy," he whispered, as Allie ran to get more packages to distribute.

Nathan and Elizabeth had spoken earlier in the month about their own presents to each other. They'd decided that they already had everything they needed, and that they didn't need more things. In truth, their gift-giving was already a year-round activity that hinged on what they needed and when they needed it.

Their happiness was so complete, their love on such bedrock, and their gratitude so all-encompassing, that Nathan and Elizabeth decided that at Christmas, they wanted to give to others.

So, they'd made a pact that instead of giving gifts to each other, they would give away their love. Anonymously, quietly, telling only each other on Christmas day what they'd done. It might involve helping someone who needed assistance or paying for something someone needed. But it couldn't be told to anyone but themselves.

This is what they would do each year for Christmas. And this was their first Christmas. And now was the time for them to tell each other what they'd done.

Elizabeth leaned in closely and said, softly but excitedly, "You know the Sutherlands, with John's accident, were very short this year for gifts for the children. Esther loves the books of the Brontë sisters, and she's checked them out of the library so many times that no one else has been able to touch them for months." Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, and took a deep breath. "I got her Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Jane Eyre and had them shipped directly to the Mercantile with only a note to put it under the tree for Esther. I saw the shelf was empty yesterday, which means John picked it up."

Nathan laughed softly and kissed her. "You're so excited about this, it's like you just opened a present yourself, Elizabeth."

"I did!" she said, throwing her arms around him. "It makes me so happy that she'll have those books to read any time she wants them. Books are so important." Her eyes danced. "Now you!"

Nathan smiled, his own excitement showing. "Well, Bill and I were talking one day, and I was wondering if he had any photos of himself in the red serge. He told me that there was one taken of him, a daguerreotype that he'd had for years but had misplaced somewhere in a move." Nathan frowned and exhaled softly. "I watched Bill as he got really quiet for a minute. He was looking out the window as if he was trying to find something out there that he'd lost."

Nathan brightened and said, "I got in touch with a friend at Headquarters and had them do some digging, and they found it. They've sent him a copy, just saying that they discovered it in their files and thought he might like it."

Elizabeth hugged him tightly. "Oh, I wish we could see his face when he opens that," she said happily.

Nathan nodded. "That's against the rules, isn't it? Anyway, I have a feeling it might end up in a frame on his bookshelf and we'll see it then."

Elizabeth took his face in her hands. "I love this. I don't ever want to do anything else for our Christmas presents to each other."

Nathan kissed her softly. "I agree. But that doesn't mean I won't give you things during the rest of the year, you know."

"I know," she said, "And I'll probably do the same for you. But I'll be thinking all year long about this, and about what to do next year. It's a way of keeping Christmas all the time."

After dinner, the family, which now included Stella and Jessie, Lucas and Julie, and Rebecca and Charlie, sat around the harvest table. Elizabeth had a new tradition she wanted to start.

Jack had fallen asleep on Nathan's chest, and rather than put him to bed, he indulged himself and left him there. It had been one of his greatest pleasures since he first held Jack as he slept. Allie and Jessie were enjoying their nearly grown up privilege of sitting with the adults in anticipation of their future among them.

A story Elizabeth had recently discovered was The Gift of the Magi. Its author, O. Henry, had died just as Elizabeth had arrived in Hope Valley in 1910. He'd not had an easy life, and in fact, he'd lived through something much like Archie had, spending time in prison after embezzling funds from the bank that employed him. He'd written many of his stories behind bars in order to help support his daughter.

This story was a Christmas tale of a young couple short on money but long on love for each other. Each had a prized possession. Della had long hair described as "rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters." Jim had a precious gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The short version of the already short story was that Della sold her hair to buy Jim a fob chain for his watch. And Jim sold his watch to buy the tortoise shell hair combs that Della had long admired in a shop window.

Elizabeth read the first few paragraphs of the short story, and then passed the book to Nathan, who continued. The story moved around the table, and most sitting there had never heard it. As it became clear what the young couple had done, there were sighs and a few tears. As it turned out, the final paragraph was read by Archie, the patriarch of a family he thought he had lost forever.

"The magi, as you know, were wise men – wonderfully wise men – who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. They are the magi."

There was silence around the table. Each person had their own story of love and sacrifice. Some had found their true and final love, some still searched, some had almost the whole of their life ahead of them. But in this warm house on the outskirts of Hope Valley, each could understand how a person could give up what they loved most dearly in order to make another truly happy on Christmas.

Without speaking, Elizabeth reached her hands out to Nathan on her left and Rebecca on her right, and hands moved quietly around the table until there was a closed circle.

Elizabeth spoke softly, looking around at those she most loved in the world. "When Nathan and I married, we did it inside a circle like this one. It symbolized God's love, which encircles everyone and everything, as it does here. We love you all, so much. Thank you for spending this Christmas with us." She looked at Nathan, whose eyes were soft on her and very blue.

Nathan looked from Elizabeth to each face in turn, and spoke softly so he wouldn't wake Jack on his chest. "A year ago, I had no idea what waited around the corner for me." Looking back at Elizabeth he said, "If you'd shown me this table, this room, this house, this family, I wouldn't have believed it."

Nathan took a deep breath and smiled, his eyebrows raised in wonder. "I guess what I'm trying to say is..." He laughed softly, and many at the table did as well, knowing that Nathan and speeches didn't always go easily together. "...don't stop dreaming, don't give up hope for the perfect life." He looked at Elizabeth, and then looked at Allie. He'd just remembered what she'd said last year when she'd found the perfect Christmas tree. "Don't settle for anything less."