Ah, home sweet home again! Having enjoyed a delicious chicken dinner, our heroes are now ready to decorate the house and trim Penelope's new Christmas tree!

"Thanks again for making dinner for us, Penelope." Peter praised his love. "That slow cooker chicken of yours always hits the spot every time."

"Oh, thanks, fellas." Penelope blushed and giggled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, as always! And you're gonna love the desserts I made for everyone as well. Delectable, seasonal Christmas cookies! And this won't be the last time making them this year!"

"Penelope, could you remind us where all your Christmas decorations have been stored?" Clyde requested.

"Every little ole thing we'll need is down in the basement, boys." Penelope replied. "After all, I feel it's much safer to bring everything upstairs."

"Duh but then we'll have to take everything down again when Christmas is over." Dum-Dum said.

"Either way, that's where you'll find the boxes of Christmas items. Just follow me."

"Right, Penelope." Clyde replied.

Penelope was just about to lead Peter and the Ant Hill Mob to the basement, when unknown to them, she took a moment to grab a picture frame from her wall. The picture had been taken years back in her childhood on Christmas morning. The then-little Penelope was with her mother and father around the tree, holding a snow globe that had Santa Claus and his reindeer. As she looked at the photo, she sighed and a small tear fell down her cheek.

"It sure feels great to have a moment free of peril for once, doesn't it?" Pockets asked.

"You got the 'for once' part right." Penelope sighed again.

By the sad sound of Penelope's voice, the boys knew that something wasn't right, so they stopped walking at once.

"Penelope, are you alright?" Peter asked her, feeling concerned.

"I'm fine." Penelope answered in a quiet, small voice.

"Don't lie to us, Penelope." Clyde told her. "Clearly nothing's fine."

"Won't you tell us what's wrong?" Zippy begged.

"You won't feel better if you don't tell us." Softy sobbed.

"This just isn't how I want my Christmas to be like anymore." Penelope explained to them with a frown. "All the perils I've been dealing with."

"What's the picture you're holding, Penny?" Peter wondered.

"Just a little ole reminder of better days, better Christmases, before, you know…"

The boys nodded, as they knew only too well what she meant.

"You boys remember what else was a cherished reminder?" Penelope showed them her picture. "That little ole snow globe, like in the picture."

"Of course we remember, Penelope." Clyde answered. "Your mother and father gave that to you."

"That's right." Penelope answered, more sighs coming. "I loved that snow globe. I remember for years when the Hooded Claw first put me in peril, that every day at Christmastime I'd look at it and just get lost in happier memories. Happier memories of the holiday season before peril and before Mama and Dear Daddy each lost their lives. I'd give anything to have it back."

"Penny dear, whatever happened to your snow globe?" Peter couldn't help but ask.

"We know what happened. We were there, too." Clyde began to explain. "It was New Year's Day of this year, and we were all cleaning the house and putting away not only stuff from the New Year's Eve party Penelope hosted, but all the Christmas decorations as well. After we boxed everything up, we were heading to the basement, one at a time."

"Penelope carried a few more boxes downstairs." Clyde continued. "Halfway downstairs, she tripped on her heels and almost fell, and the snow globe came flying out of her hands. She used her hand to catch the rail before she could really fall, but the snow globe crashed at the bottom of the stairs. The other guys downstairs were too late to catch it on time. Upon hearing the sound of the glass breaking and the sound of a devastated, heart wrenching scream, I rushed down to see what broke and to see if she was screaming because she got cut on the glass. I was relieved that she wasn't hurt, but she was on her knees, shaking and crying over her treasured Christmas item breaking. We knew it was a Christmas gift from her mother and father and we knew how much it meant to her, so we helped her pick up the pieces, took her onto her bed and laid with her, holding her close and comforting her as she kept sobbing."

Clyde gave a sigh of sadness himself.

"It was a sad New Year's Day for everyone that year. Our hearts were just as broken as hers."

"It's been almost a year, and I still miss it." Penelope sniffed a bit. "And I miss my peril-free Christmas seasons. This whole thing is never going to end, is it?"

"Penny, Penny dear, come here." Peter took her gently and held her close. "There will come a time when the Hooded Claw is foiled for good and all this peril will end, and you can finally enjoy a normal life and Christmas again."

"It may not be this year, but someday at Christmas." Clyde nodded.

"How can y'all be certain?" Penelope asked.

"Penelope, part of Christmas is finding hope, and keeping it." Peter told her. "It's up to you to have hope and to keep it even when you are faced with the worst of situations."

"Peter's right Penelope." Clyde agreed with the rest of the Mob. "We know how much you love Christmas, and how much it means to you. Every year, you're always so full of Christmas cheer. Don't let that fiend the Hooded Claw steal it from you."

"Come with us, Penelope." Said Zippy. "Come with us."

The boys led her to a window and after they pulled the blinds, they beckoned Penelope to look out.

"Look out the window, Penelope." Clyde told her. "You see that star in the night sky?"

"What star, Clyde?" Penelope wondered. "There's so many stars in the sky?"

"I'm talking about the big star, the one that's shining brighter than all the others."

Penelope looked closer and indeed saw a large, golden star whose light was brighter than the other stars in the sky.

"That star is a very special star. It's the kind of star that gives people hope around Christmastime, but only if you truly believe. Only those who truly believe will see the star."

"And I do believe." Penelope smiled at the sight of the star. "That little ole star looks like the one in Bethlehem that guided the shepherds and the Wise Men to the manger where the Good Lord himself was born to give us hope and faith, which is important around this time of year."

She turned back around to look at the boys.

"You boys do know that Christmas will never be about presents, trees, fancy decorations, or even the free food. It's about kindness, hope, and faith, which are the best Christmas gifts anybody could ever receive. These gifts are so special that you can't see it or wrap it up, but you can feel it if you just believe, and spreading them to those around us is a great way to celebrate Christmas, because those things will win over evil. And I think the best part about Christmas is being around such caring and supportive friends like you."

"That's right, Penelope." Pockets replied as Penelope went to hug all the boys.

"It's great to see that smile back on your face, Penelope." Softy wept.

"Yeah, smile…" Snoozy snored.

"Yes, and I am going to keep that smile." Penelope kept smiling. "And I am going to keep my Christmas spirit, because I believe Christmas spirit will triumph over evil! And with caring and supportive friends like you, I'll see to it for sure!"

The men all cheered.

That's the Christmas spirit, Penelope!

"Now if I remember, we still have a little ole tree to trim and little ole halls to deck."

"That's right, Penelope!" Peter smiled. "What are we waiting for? Let's go get what we need!"

"Right!" The Ant Hill Mob answered in unison before they, Peter and Penelope went to grab the decorations from the basement.

Now our heroes can finally get their decorating done!

"Duh what comes on the tree first?" Asked Dum-Dum.

"The lights always come on first, Dum-Dum." Peter answered as he took a strand of lights from one of the boxes. "Would you chaps like to help?"

Once the Ant Hill Mob helped Peter wrap the lights and the garland around the tree, everyone was helping each other decorate the tree. The Mobsters handed each other ornaments and would give ornaments that went on the high part of the tree to Penelope or Peter. Penelope then picked up each Ant Hill Mob member so they could hang their stockings above the fireplace with hers and Peter's. They were about to grab the mistletoe when Penelope politely stopped them.

"Let little ole me handle the mistletoe." She grinned as she took it.

Peter was about to grab a decoration when Penelope's voice caught his attention.

"Oh, Peter, it looks like your lucky year!"

"My lucky year?" Peter was confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"Look above you!"

Peter did look above him, and he saw the mistletoe that hung above him and he saw Penelope coming to it.

"Oh, Penny, we're under the mistletoe!" Peter grinned as he held Penelope and prepared for the kiss.

"So that's why Penelope wanted to be in charge of the mistletoe." Yak-Yak chuckled.

"Exactly!" Said Penelope before she and Peter shared a long kiss under the mistletoe.

Everyone's teamwork proved to be very resourceful in helping Penelope get her home decorated, and soon Penelope's home was decorated beautifully, the way that a house at Christmastime should look. Penelope stepped back to admire how it looked and she was very happy about it.

"Oh, it looks ever so wonderful!" She couldn't stop looking. "And it's all thanks to you, fellas! What I would've done without your help I'll never know!"

"Oh, Penelope! We're glad we helped!" Peter took her again and kissed her. "We love helping you!"

"I just know we're going to have a great Christmas! The Hooded Claw is not going to spoil it!" Penelope continued to keep her faith. "Come on, boys. Let's go get some cookies, and we'll watch a little ole Christmas movie! After all that hard work, and all that peril, I say we earned it!"

"Right, Penelope!" The boys agreed.