Chapter 5: Holiday Preparations

Frisk woke up one morning before the alarm clocks went off and she gasped as she realized it would soon be Thanksgiving and Christmas. Giggling, she jumped out of bed and raced down the hall, going into Lisa's room and jumping up on the bed where the girl was still sleeping. "Lisa! Lisa, wake up!" The child said eagerly.

The older girl groaned before waking up and looking at the time and chuckling. "You're about a half hour early, little Jillaroo," she said sleepily as it was five in the morning.

"But it's nearly Thanksgiving!" Frisk said excitedly. "And Christmas too!"

Now more awake, Lisa chuckled. "That it is," she said, sitting up. "One of Grandpa's friends gave us two turkeys to use for Thanksgiving and Grandpa's got a couple hams saved for Christmas."

The child was excited as she remembered the one year she had both Thanksgiving and Christmas with the family before she was taken away. "This is going to be the best Thanksgiving and Christmas ever because I'm with my whole family this time," she said, hugging her sister.

Lisa smiled, hugging her back. "You got that right, kiddo," she said. "I'm going to do some holiday shopping online with Grandma after the morning chores. Want to help us?"

"Yeah!" Frisk said excitedly.

"Alright, we best go get the others. It's nearly time to get up."

Frisk scampered down the hall to wake up the others, some who were already awake after hearing her rushing down the hall earlier, chuckling at her enthusiasm as they got up for the day. Undyne was eager to go collect the eggs and feed the chickens and ducks while Alphys decided to see to the mare that was going to have a foal soon. Papyrus went to help Charles check on the machinery while Sans helped James muck out the horse stalls and Gaster joined Dylan and Lisa on moving the cattle. Asgore tended to the vegetable garden and Toriel did the flower garden while Grillby worked on baking as Muffet had been teaching him how to back and Cynthia was teaching Muffet how to cook. Asriel and Chara tended to the baby animals, giggling as the babies seemed eager for attention.

Since everyone got up to do the chores a bit earlier, they all gathered to eat breakfast afterwards, not minding that they did that since they had been eager to get started early. Cynthia stood up. "I have some good news today," she said, making them look at her. "A good friend of ours gave us two turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner, which is coming up soon."

"Already?" Dylan asked in surprise. "Time really flies."

"Yes," Charles said. "Now, we still need a few things. Lisa, would you be willing to go next door and trade with our neighbor some of our squash and potatoes for the cranberry sauce and some packages that I believe arrived yesterday?" He asked. "There's a few other neighbors too."

"Yes, Grandpa," the brown-haired girl said.

"Can I come with you, Lisa?" Frisk asked.

"Us too?" Asriel asked, indicating to himself and Chara.

Charles chuckled. "If it's alright with your mom and Lisa, then yes," he said.

"I don't mind if they do," Lisa said with a smile.

Toriel nodded. "You three just stay close to Lisa and mind her," she said gently.

"Yes, Mom," Chara said respectfully as her siblings nodded.

"When you get back, we'll do some more ordering things online," Cynthia said. "Got to get ready for the holidays. They'll be here before we know it," she said.

"We'll help in any way we can, Miss Cynthia," Sans said with a nod.

"It's going to be fun!" Papyrus said enthusiastically.

"That it will be," Charles said with a chuckle.

After breakfast, Lisa got out her bike, which had not only two metal baskets curving around near the back tire, but also a basket in the front and then a good-sized wagon attached to the back. There was wooden sides on the wagon and looked like it could hold a bit. "Hop in, kids," Lisa said. "We're going for a ride."

"Yay!" The kids cheered, hopping into the wagon excitedly before Lisa hopped on her bike and began pedaling. The road was even, so that made it easier to ride and it wasn't long before they arrived at a neighboring house that was still a bit away from the farm, but still close enough to ride to.

"We have a few homes to visit," Lisa explained. "And we trade some of our produce and other stuff to the neighbors for something else. Some of them will grab extra stuff that they know we'll use too and trade it with us."

"Neat!" Chara said.

Their first house was that of a kind lady who lived with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. Lisa gave them a sack of potatoes and a couple squashes while the lady gave her four cans of cranberry sauce and a few packages that had come by mail. "Thank you again, ma'am," Lisa said.

"And thank you," she said.

The kids helped Lisa put the items in the baskets and wagon before they set off again, coming to the home of an elderly couple. Lisa gave them two quart containers of blueberries and raspberries and they gave her some more packages that had come by the mail, along with some flower seeds from the lady's flower gardens where she had beautiful lilies and roses growing. Thanking her, Lisa and the kids headed off again.

"How many people collect packages for you guys?" Asriel asked curiously.

"Five of them do so that we stay hidden," the older girl said. "And you might not notice it right away, but the people we're visiting are either Grandpa's army buddies or people who worked with him in the secret service, CIA, and other places."

"Wow!" Frisk said, having not known that.

"So they know how to keep secrets," Chara said.

"Bingo, kiddo," Lisa said with a smile as they arrived at a third home, getting not only more packages and some fresh apples, but also giving the family two squashes and some herbs, which were greatly appreciated.

Seeing they had more room, Lisa smiled. "You guys are in for a real treat," she said. "The next home we're going to makes all sorts of candies from scratch, even ribbon candy for Christmas."

The kids' eyes lit up. "Really?" Asriel asked in shock.

The older girl nodded. "We'll visit next month for the ribbon candies and Christmas candies, but for now, we're going to pick up some candies for Thanksgiving. The lady who makes them, Mrs. Caralen, might even let us help her make some."

That made the kids more eager to visit and so they headed to the house, seeing a lady in her late fourties at the door and she smiled at them. "Did the smell of candy bring you four to my door?" She asked.

Lisa chuckled. "That and me telling the kiddos that you make the candies from scratch and might even let us help you make them," she said.

"Well then, come on in," Mrs. Caralen said, leading them to the kitchen.

For the next two hours, the kids had fun making candies and after another hour, they were given the candies that their grandparents had ordered and Lisa gave the woman some green beans, summer squash, and two pumpkins. "Thank you again, Mrs. Caralen," she said.

"Oh, you're welcome and be sure to come by next month for the Christmas candy," she said.

"We will," the older girl promised.

Frisk giggled. "This is fun!" She said.

"Yeah!" Asriel said, grinning. "The neighbors are so nice."

"They didn't say one mean thing about me or Asriel," Chara said.

Lisa smiled. "They've known our family for a long time and are accepting people," she said as they arrived at the last house. "Okay, here we are. Last delivery."

A young woman came out and smiled. "Lisa! Welcome!" She said happily. "I was just thinking about how good your grandparents' strawberries are on angel food cake."

"Well, you're in luck," the teenager said, handing her two quarts of strawberries, some snap peas, and two pumpkins. "Grandma has been saving those for you and your family."

"Thank you," she said. "Oh, and a couple of your packages arrived. Let me go get them."

Moments later after accepting the packages, the four waved goodbye and Lisa pedaled for home with the kids in the wagon. There was just enough room for them with the packages and even Lisa's three baskets were full. "What's in the packages?" Chara asked curiously.

"Some are Christmas gifts and others tools that Grandpa ordered," Lisa replied. "Grandma will look at the packages and then separate who gets what to wrap so that we don't see our Christmas gifts too soon and then I'll order something for Grandma when she's done her ordering. Grandpa helps us out with that."

"Awesome!" Frisk cheered.

"This is going to be a great Thanksgiving and Christmas," Asriel said.

"One of the best," Lisa said with a smile as they were soon home and everything was put away before they continued to get ready for the holidays.

It's almost that time. :)

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GoldGuardian2418