We were the only ones there, at one in the morning. One of my favorite parts of Christmas—getting our tree. It was picturesque. Snow on the ground, just a very light dusting, powdered white evergreens all around us, in different sizes and shapes. We needed big. Our new house in Avoca, Pennsylvania, had vaulted ceilings, with heights of fifteen feet at least, and the tree had to be the center of it all.

"Is this one good?" Emmett yelled from across the field. Before responding, I once again looked at the blanket of stars in the night, admiring their beauty. It's easy to get caught up in it…

"Let's see it…" I sighed satisfactorily as I waltzed over to my brother and sister—the moon was so bright tonight, I noticed, that their skin was glowing--Rose in particular. The tree was perfect, actually. Usually, Emmett picked out the ugly ones. He always liked the Charlie Brown-esque variety, but this one…it was sturdy, wide, tall, towering over me, and at least a foot taller than Emmett.

"Perfect!" I quipped, jumping up and down…the perfect tree. I was glad we had come. Everyone had suggested getting an artificial this year, but I couldn't bear the thought of the evergreen fragrance not being present in our home.

"Edward! Bella! Jasper! Carlisle! Esme!" I called out loudly for everyone, and my voiced seemed to bounce off the houses surrounding us. They all followed the sound of my voice, arriving at the tiny clearing we stood in within five seconds.

"Look! We found the perfect tree!" I squealed. They looked it over, appraising it

"Okay…looks good…let's get it in the car…wait, we took the Mercedes! It will never fit…" Esme was always worrying about little things like this.

"We'll carry it!" Emmett, of course

"…Alright…"

***

"Okay…we got the decorations out?" Carlisle asked, nobody in particular

"Yep…we're all set" Jasper replied, grinning. Putting up the Christmas decorations is always a "big thing" for us. Pulling the old boxes down from the attic is practically an event in itself…

"Okay!" Esme squeaked, clapping her hands together. The tree was up, in the very center of the enormous living room. The normal décor had been cleared out, to make room for holiday accents.

"How about…Three of you can do the tree, and the rest of us can set up the other decorations?" Carlisle suggested.

"I'll do the tree!" Emmett and Rose shouted in unison

"Me too!" from Bella. As we began the long task awaiting us (We go all out), Jacob burst through the door. When we moved from Forks only a few months ago, he, much to the dismay of some of us, had to come with us. We made a compromise, and he now resides in the guest house on the large property we purchased. He was panting; he had probably run up here, seeing our car arrive.

"Can I put the angel on the top of the tree?" he begged…so immature sometimes

"Hmm…let's look at the list…" Esme pulled out an old piece of paper, folded over several times, and yellowing around the edges. Carlisle leaned towards her to see the paper too.

"What's that?" Edward asked

"Well, you guys all usually want to put the angel on the top, so, we made a list…to make it fair, of who has done it, each year…this year…we don't have anybody penciled in…"

"Yes!" Jacob yelled, triumphant. Edward and Bella rolled their eyes. I started placing ornaments on the tree. They were similar, uniform, yet all quite different. The lights we draped around the branches glowed white light, brightening the whole room.

"It's Christmas time…" Bella mused, happily. Yes, it is…

"So…" Jacob was practically bursting. Why he cared so much…

"Somebody lift me up, that tree top's a little too tall…"

"No! We are not, under any circumstances, picking you up!" Rose shrieked. He looked rather disheartened.

"Here, step on this." Esme pushed a chair in his direction, and he was finally able to put the gorgeous, handmade angel on top of the tree.

"I'll set up the "It's a Wonderful Life" Christmas town…" I made my way over the ledge in front of the giant picture window to create the scene with the tiny porcelain homes, smiling to myself all the while.

The Holiday Season has officially begun.