Okay, so, I totally loved the 'Under Wraps' 2021 reboot. And I was really bummed that Halloween was over already. But that doesn't mean there are no other holidays to look forward to, which gave me the idea for this story. Please like and no flames. Thank you!

Twelve year old Summer was getting her luggage packed to spend Christmas weekend with her relatives living in Walgrove. Christmas was the most wonderful time of the year. But Summer wasn't exactly feeling the Christmas spirit.

Summer's favorite holiday was Halloween. It was the holiday she always thought about pretty much every day of the year. But her Halloween this year didn't go exactly as planned. It rained, so Summer was unable to go trick-or-treating. Then she found out the car needed repairs, so she couldn't visit family either. So, Summer had no choice but to stay at home and watch monster movies with her parents, and they ended up falling asleep throughout most of the movies. So, Summer got all her Halloween hopes up for nothing.

Sure, Thanksgiving was okay. And Summer's mom made an amazing turkey dinner like she always does. But it was just the same Thanksgiving as every year. And she always visits her same relatives for Christmas every year. Same cousin Marshall and same Aunt Diane. However, Aunt Diane has a new boyfriend named Ted. But Summer wasn't really excited to meet him. Once her bags were all packed, Summer heaved a heavy sigh. "This is going to be a long Christmas." She took out her phone and started scrolling.

A knock came to the door and in walked Summer's mom, Violet. Her straight black hair was pulled into a low ponytail. Her lips were painted red to match her red blazer, pencil skirt, and high heel shoes. "Okay, Honey! All packed?"

"Yeah..." Summer answered, but not in a positive way like her mother wanted to hear.

Violet frowned. "Summer, I thought we talked about this."

"But, Mom! All my friends are having awesome Christmas plans!" Summer looked at her phone. "Derek's family is going away to a lodge and Chelsea's family are celebrating for winning the town gingerbread house competition!"

"Honey, it doesn't matter what your friends are doing. We have our own plans and they'll be just as awesome!"

"Yeah, like how this year's Halloween was just as awesome." Summer rolled her eyes.

Violet put her hands on her hips. "Summer, I told you not to dwell on that. You have to learn to let things go and just be happy. If you keep dwelling on things and overthinking them, it not only hurts yourself, but everyone else around you. So, I want you to just let everything go and have fun this Christmas. Okay?"

"Okay, Mom." Summer answered, but not very honestly.

"Good." Violet kissed her daughter on the forehead and quickly noticed the lipstick smudge she left behind. Violet promptly reached into her purse and took out a package of wet wipes.

"Mom! Don't!" Summer pleaded, but it was too late as Violet used a wet wipe to clean off the lipstick smudge.

"Oh, come on. You're never too grown up to let your mother take care of you." said Violet. "Which reminds me, don't forget to put on the Christmas sweater grandma made for you! She's going to be visitng for Christmas. So, make sure you put in on!"

Summer rolled her eyes again. It was sort of a Christmas tradition where Summer wore a festive Christmas sweater made by her grandma. Summer went to her closet and there was the sweater. It was green trimmed with red. On the front of it was a smiling snowman with blue beads for eyes. She observed herself in he mirror. Dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, dark eyes, a skull t-shirt and faded blue jeans. As she looked at herself and the sweater, Summer hoped in her mind that this sweater wouldn't embarrass her.

At least she'll be wearing a coat when she goes outside.

And so, Summer and Violet traveled to Walgrove. As Violet was happily telling Summer her fondest memories of growing up in Walgrove, Summer was racking through her mind, trying to find a silver lining to all this. Next to Summer's hometown, Walgrove was probably one of the most boring towns in the United States of America. So far, the only silver lining she could think of was her cousin Marshall. Because there was one thing Marshall and Summer had in common; they both loved monsters. Whether it's Halloween, horror movies, or anything monster related, Marshall and Summer were all for it. Summer smiled. At last, she found her silver lining.

When they came to Walgrove, Summer was amazed by how much snow there was. There was probably nine feet of it! Back at Summer's hometown, the only snow they got was just frost on the dead grass. It was going to be a white Christmas in Walgrove for sure. Another silver lining!

"Here we are!" Violet said as they came upon her sister's house. They pulled into the driveway and got all their bags. Violet and Summer went up to the door and to their delight, the door opened and there was the smiling face of Aunt Diane. "Violet! You're here!" The sisters hugged as Summer went inside. She dropped her bags and looked around for Marshall, but Diane's arms were quickly wrapped around Summer. "Summer! I'm so glad to see you!"

Summer smiled. "Same here, Auntie. Merry Christmas." She hugged her aunt back.

"Hey, Summer!" It was Marshall.

"Hey, Marsh!" Summer quickly hugged her cousin. "Merry Christmas, man!"

"You too!" Marshall smiled.

"Have you seen the new Warthead movie?!" Summer asked excitedly. "I mean, you had to have seen it by now!"

"I sure did! It was awesome! Warthead is a monster who never disappoints!"

Diane and Violet were happy to see their kids so happy. "Let's get your things put away!" said Diane.

Once Violet and Summer were all settled in, Summer and Marshall decided to take a walk around town. "So, how's Buzzy doing? Does she still work at Ernie's Eerie Emporium?" asked Summer.

"Yeah! And she's making the place both spooky and festive for Christmas!" said Marshall. "I heard she's got a black Christmas tree with skull decorations!"

"Really?! That's awesome!" Summer's eyes lit up. "Man, giving Christmas a Halloween makeover sounds like a dream come true! But my mom would never go for it. I asked her if we can get a purple Christmas tree this year, but she said no."

Marshall gave Summer a funny look. "Why a purple Christmas tree?"

"Because purple is awesome and it goes with anything, duh!" Summer replied. "In fact, purple is the new black."

"If you say so." Marshall shook his head. Suddenly, a hard snowball smacked Marshall right on the back of his head. "OWW!" He spun around and saw Todd, his arch nemesis.

"Is that Todd?!" Summer remembered Todd all too well. Ever since Marshall accidentally knocked Todd over into his own birthday cake back in the third grade, Marshall has been on his hit list ever since.

Todd laughed. "How'd you like my Christmas present, loser?" The smug in his voice was thick as a melted marshmallow.

Summer looked down. "Hey..." She looked down and saw a small rock among the debris of Todd's snowball. Angry, she scooped up the rock. "You put this rock in that snowball!"

"What?!" Marshall said, still rubbing his sore head.

"What is wrong with you, Todd?! You could have killed Marshall!" Summer clenched the rock in her fist.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Todd said with the smarmiest grin Summer had ever seen.

Summer glared at the evil boy. "I think you do, butt wipe!"

Todd's smarmy grin dipped into an angry scowl. "What was that?"

"What? Are you deaf, BUTT WIPE?!" Summer yelled as loud as she could. Enraged, Todd stomped toward Summer. Undeterred, Summer threw the rock with all her might and hit Todd directly in the mouth. Todd covered his sore mouth and screamed in pain.

Summer quickly grabbed Marshall's arm. "Come on!" She and Marshall made a run for it.

"I really don't think you should have done that, Summer!" sai Marshall, still running.

"Hey, no one throws anything at you and gets away with it!" Summer retorted. "Especially, in front of me!

"HEY!"

Summer and Marshall turned and saw Todd gaining up on them. "Quick! Let's hide in the museum!" The kids hurried as fast as they could and came to the museum. They rushed inside.

"Okay, now what?! Todd is still going to find us!" said Marshall, panting for breath.

"Don't worry! I know the perfect hiding spot!" Summer grabbed Marshall's arm and pulled him to the hiding spot.

"Oh, no!" Marshall yanked his arm out of Summer's grip. "I am NOT going in there!" Much to Marshall's discomfort, Summer's hiding spot was the girls' bathroom.

"Relax! Todd will never find us in here!" said Summer. "Now, come on!" She pushed Marshall past the bathroom doors and they hid in the stall farthest away from the door. "Okay, we'll just lay low in here until things cool off!"

"Summer! This is insane! Boys aren't suppose to be in the girls' bathroom! We're going to get in big trouble!"

"Only if we get caught!" Summer replied. "And if we do, I'll come up with some excuse, so don't worry!"

For several minutes, the cousins waited for Todd to eventually give up. "How long do we have to wait in here?" asked Marshall.

"I'd give it an hour and we should be good." said Summer as she looked at her phone.

"An hour?!" Marshall exclaimed.

Summer shushed him. "Keep it down! Todd might hear us!"

Marshall sighed as he put his back against the wall. "This is not how I wanted to spend my Christmas eve!"

"Dude, you worry too much. We'll just lay low for a while then head straight home. Besides, our parents don't expect us to be home by seven. So, it's cool." Summer assured her cousin. "Anyway, maybe we can talk our parents into getting a CHristmas tree like the one Buzzy has for next year!"

"Yeah, right." Marshall scoffed. "There's no way my parents would let us have a Halloween Christmas."

And so, Summer and Marshall waited and waited in the bathroom. It felt like an eternity, but they knew that if they stepped out, there was a good chance Todd was going to get the jump on them. Marshall looked at his phone. "It's already seven! We got to get going!"

"Okay, okay." Summer sighed. The kids left the bathroom and thankfully, Todd wasn't around. In fact, no one was around. "Huh. Where is everyone?"

Marshall let out a gasp. "Oh, no! I forgot the useum closes early for Christmas Eve!"

"What?! You mean we're trapped in the museum?! Oh, man!" Summer finally felt afraid. "Now what do we do?!"

"It's okay! We just call the police and they'll pick us up and take us home!" Marshall was about to call the police when he spotted something strage. "Hey! Who's that?"

"Huh?! What?! Where?!" Summer looked around.

"That tall guy! He went in the ancient Egyptian room!" Marshall went off as Summer followed him. The kids peered into the room and saw a rather tall and thin figure dressed in a black cloak. He was standing next to the two sarcophagi.

Now Summer was geting really nervous. "Marshall, I think we should call the cops now. That guy doesn't look like security!"

Just then, the cloaked figure raised his arms. The kids were shocked to see the man's hands were all bone! There was no skin! The man lifted up one of the sarcophagi, revealing a mummy inside. It was a mummy that Marshall was familiar with.

"What's he doing with Harold?!" Marshall blurted out.

Summer looked at her cousin like he went insane. "Harold?"

Marshall blinked, immediately regretting what he said. Unlike Summer, Marshall's Halloween was very memorable. He and his friends, Gilbert and Amy, snuck into his neighbor, Mr. Kubot's basement and accidentally revived the mummy that was stolen from the museum. And Harold had to return to his coffin before midnight on Halloween or he could turn to dust. Fortunately, Harold was saved in time and Mr. Kubot was arrested along with his accomplices.

Marshall and his friends agreed to keep the whole thing a secret. But Summer was becoming both scared and confused. "Marshall, what-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Summer screamed. Marshall looked and saw Harold rising from his sarcophagus! And not just Harold, but his mummified girlfriend who was laying beside him! Summer's scream made the cloaked figure turn around, revealing his face, which was really a skull!

Now Marshall screamed too. The kids tried to run, but the cloaked figure jumped in their path. He pulled down his hood, revealing his skull. The skeleton glared his empty eye sockets at the petrified children. "You're not going anywhere." Hearing unearthly moaning, the kids spun around and saw Harold and his girlfriend staggering towards them! Summer held onto Marshall, squeezing her eyes shut. She hoped that this was all a dream, but it seemed all too real. So, she prayed in her mind that she and Marshall will get out of his alive somehow.

Marshall watched Harold grumble something to the skeleton man. After several grunts and moans, the skeleton blinked with surprise. "Really?!" Harold replied with a nod, so did his girlfriend. The skeleton pointed to Marshall. "Is it true that you saved this mummy's soul from being lost forever?"

Marshall nodded mutely. Summer looked at her cousin in shock. "What?!"

Knowing he had a lot of explaining to do, Marshall heaved a heavy sigh. "Summer, there's something you need to know." He explained everything. Reviving Harold, taking down Mr. Kubot, and saving Harold. Summer was shocked to say the least.

"Oh, man..." Summer staggered, slowly comprehending all of this.

"Yeah, I know it's a lot to take in. But trust me, I was freaked out too." Marshall turned to the skeleton. "But I have no idea who you are and what you want with Harold."

The skeleton nodded. He removed his cloak, revealing his black and white pinstripe suit with a bat-shaped bowtie and black shoes. "I'm Jack, Jack Skellington. And I come from Halloween Town."

"Halloween Town?!" Marshall gasped. "There's a town dedicated to Halloween?!"

"In a way. You see, holidays like Halloween, Christmas, and many others come from different worlds. They all work hard creating unique holidays especially for the human world. As the ruler of Halloween, my job along with the other Halloween Town citizens is to frighten people in the real world on Halloween. So, my job is very important." Jack explained.

Marshall and Summer were completely stunned. Summer pinched the space between her eyes. "Okay, hold on. You're telling us that holidays come from different worlds?! Like, parallel universes?!"

Jack nodded. "Basically speaking, yes."

"But what does all this have to do with Harold?!" asked Marshall.

"Well, I received word that two new monsters were located in this town on Halloween night. Of course, I was busy with my duties on Halloween and the plans for next year! I didn't receive the news until today! So, I had to take Harold and his partner with me before anyone else spotted them!"

"But I thought Harold and his girlfriend were able to rest in peace!" said Marshall. "That's what the curse on Harold's amulet meant."

"Not exactly." Jack replied. "The moonlight revived Harold and his girlfriend due to the amulet's magic. And after three days of walking among the living, they had be in their sarcophagi on the third day before midnight or they both turn to dust and their souls would be lost forever. You were able to save Harold from that fate, Marshall, but that doesn't mean they can pass on to the afterlife."

"Why not?" asked Marshall.

"That's what I'm trying to find out. So, I'm taking Harold and his girlfriend to my world to process this while I have replacement mummies take their place in their sarcophagi." Jack said. "The last thing these monsters need is unwanted attention by the humans!"

"You got a point." said Marshall. "Well, I hope you take good care of them in your world."

"Wait!" Summer said suddenly. "Can we come with you?"

"WHAT?!" Marshall and Jack blurted out.

"Come on, Marshall! This is the opportunity of a lifetime! I mean, going to a world where every day is Halloween! The coolest holiday of the year!" Summer explained. "Think about it, we can finally say goodbye to our boring, normal lives and hang out with real monsters!"

Marshall shook his head. "No way, Summer. This is where we belong."

"But-"

"Marshall is right, Summer." said Jack. "I understand your thirst for adventure and I'm glad you have an open mind about all this, but it really is for the best. You wouldn't survive in my world. You have your own life and your own loving family in this world. But none of that exists in my world. How would your families feel if you and Marshall were gone forever?"

The skeleton's words hit Summer hard. She never thought of that. "Okay, you're right. I guess I was so blown away by all this, I was losing sight of what's really important. The last thing I wanted was to hurt my family."

"Exactly, just appreciate what you have in your life, Summer. All the little things and big things." Jack reminded her. Harold and his girlfriend nodded in agreement.

Summer smiled. "I will."

And so, with a little magic, Jack, the mummies, and their human friends returned back to Marshall's home. "Thanks for bringing us home, Jack." said Marshall.

"Yeah, we owe you one." Summer said.

Jack shook his head. "No need, just don't lose sight of what's important and live your lives to the fullest."

Marshall nodded. "We will." He turned to Harold. "I hope things work out for you, Harold." He and the mummy hugged.

Summer smiled. "I'll never, ever forget this." She looked at Harold's girlfriend. "So, do you have a name? If not, I can give you one."

The female mummy blinked in surprise. Then smiled with a nod. Summer pondered on the right name. "Let's see...how about...Marianne?"

Marshall looked at Summer. "Marianne? Like, as in our grandma, Marianne?"

"Why not?" Summer shrugged. "You named a mummy after our grandpa. What do you think, Marianne?"

The female mummy grumbled her new name to herself. Once she got the hang of it, she smiled with a groan.

"She said she likes it." Jack smiled. "Well, it's getting late. These mummies and I better get going. We'll all have a Christmas celebration with my family!"

Marshall cocked his head forward. "You have a family?!"

"And you celebrate Christmas?!" Summer added.

Jack nodded. "Sure do." He reached into his jacket pocket and took out his wallet. He opened it and out came several pictures of his wife and children.

Marshall's eyes grew with amazement. "Whoa!"

"Awesome!" Summer breathed in wonder.

"Indeed." Jack put his wallet away. He waved his hand and a black, spiraling portal opened before him. "Time for us to go." He smiled and waved goodbye to his new human friends. "Merry Christmas, Marshall. Merry Christmas, Summer." Harold and Marianne groaned a Merry Christmas to the children and walked with Jack through the portal. Once they walked all he way through, the portal closed and disappeared.

"Wow, that was...something." said Marshall.

"That, was the single, most coolest thing that's ever happened to me!" Summer beamed. "I will never call this town boring again!"

Marshall laughed. "That's exactly what Amy said when she met Harold!"

The kids came into the house and saw the whole family gathered for Christmas. "There you kids are!" said Diane.

"Sorry, Mom. We lost track of time." said Marshall.

Diane's boyfriend Ted came in with a batch of Christmas cookies. "You're just in time!" said Ted. "The cookies are ready to be decorated!"

Seeing Ted, Summer smiled. "So, you're Ted, right? It's nice to finally meet you!"

Ted smiled back. "It's nice to meet you too, Summer. You in the mood to decorate some cookies?"

"You bet I am! But there's something I need to do first." Summer went into the living room and saw her grandma, Marianne, sitting on the sofa. Summer smiled and went right up to her grandma, giving her a big hug. "I love you, Grandma."

Grandma Marianne smiled as she hugged her granddaughter back. "I love you too, Honey. Merry Christmas." She looked at Summer. "Oh! You're wearing my Christmas sweater!"

Summer nodded. "Yep! It's the best sweater ever because you made it!"

Violet was surprised by how happy Summer looked. She didn't look or sounded fake at all. "I'm so glad Summer feels better!"

"What do you mean?" asked Marshall.

"Well, she was afraid that she wasn't going to have a great Christmas because she didn't enjoy Halloween this year. But it looks like the Christmas spirit got to her in time."

Marshall laughed. "Yeah, it sure does look that way!" He looked toward the window. "Hey! It's snowing!" Everyone gathered to the window and saw snow falling in the beautiful night sky. Summer felt her heart fill with joy. She always loved watching the snow fall, especially at Christmas. Perhaps this is what Jack was talking about. Little things like this that make life so special, and thanks to that skeleton, Summer will never take for granted the people who matter the most.

It's been a tough year for everyone, including me. But as long as you count your blessings and appreciate all the little things in your life and the big things like a loving family to wake up to every morning and come home to every night, there's no reason for you to be sad.

Be safe, have fun, and Merry Christmas.