The holiday was upon Frisk before they were really aware of it. They'd made a point of making time to buy presents; but the night before, instead of spending time with any of their friends, they were feverishly wrapping them.
They'd tried to ignore it, which hadn't helped. They didn't expect to get anything- other than the gift Toriel had got them some days ago- but they were afraid of being proven right. Christmas in the past had been miserable; and although they told themself that it wouldn't be the same this year, their past experiences still painted their expectations.
This wasn't even Christmas. Taking place on the twentieth, Asgore had named it "the winter holiday", in his usual way of naming things- it was only Frisk's influence that had stopped the village from being called New New Home or Monster Village. They had recently been recognised by the humans as being called Dawn Village- a name that had enough symbolism to appeal to Asgore. Their symbol was, fittingly, a sun rising over a mountain.

That probably hadn't helped Frisk's planning. They'd spent their life surrounded by people who primarily celebrated Christmas, although aware that other holidays happened. It was miserable in the orphanage; the workers tried to make it festive, and some of the other children had got into the spirit, but Frisk always found it a painful reminder of being unwanted. What few gifts they got were always split into "boy gifts" and "girl gifts", which made it worse. It was a day where everyone was supposed to be loved and appreciated, and instead Frisk was reminded that they weren't loved, and that so many people wanted them to be someone they weren't, just to make their own lives simpler.
The prior two years, they'd stayed with the old lady who taught them to cook. She didn't care if they were a boy or a girl, or both, or neither; she just wanted company, and she didn't treat Frisk badly. On Christmas day, she went to have dinner with a group of other older people; she always managed to bring home a plate for Frisk, though, and they'd get a good, hearty meal that they didn't have to cook. That was the closest they got to a happy holiday.

They'd mentioned a little bit of this to their friends and their parents. They didn't go into detail, but their friends all listened to what they did say, all understood. The monsters did things so differently- they were all going to celebrate, together. Nobody had to be alone. They would gather, outside, in the cold, to share gifts that would- if it was dry- be piled underneath the most central evergreen tree in town. A shelter had been built nearby for the gifts in case it was wet- something the monsters in Snowdin had never had to worry about, but nobody seemed to care about the possibility of being rained on.

Frisk sat back and looked at the pile of presents on their floor. It didn't look like enough. Their friends had done so much for them, and they just hoped this would make each of them smile. They hadn't even managed to find anything for Mettaton or Napstablook. It didn't feel likely they'd get gifts from each of them in return- Frisk told themself that was okay, that was how it should be. That it was enough to spend the day with them.
The wrapping on the presents wasn't great, but it would have to do. Piles of ruined wrapping paper lay around them; Toriel had bought them plenty, but their first attempts had been so bad they'd torn them all off and kept trying. They'd probably still be re-doing them if they had enough paper left, but if they made them any worse, they wouldn't have enough to fix it.

The sky was clear; the moon was out, the stars winking. It was cold and fine, and the weather forecast suggested it would stay that way. Toriel had made sure they had plenty of warm clothes, and Frisk laid some out before setting an alarm on their phone, finally settling into bed. Nerves and worries and a little niggle of excitement kept them awake, tossing and turning, for some time before they finally drifted off.

Their sleep was still often disturbed- they tried to write some of the dreams down to talk about with their counsellor- so when the alarm went off, Frisk awoke instantly, turning it off before it could disturb Toriel.
They pulled their jumper on and packed the presents as carefully as they could in their backpack; they put their shoes and bag on and crept out the house.

The moon was starting it's descent. Frisk shivered in the cold air, heading towards the tree, hoping nobody saw them. It remained quiet and still- they saw one or two monsters, but none of them moving in the same direction as them.
The weight of their bag helped warm them up; in the moonlight, and with the luminescent moss and mushrooms, Frisk could clearly see their puffs of breath. It was a reminder of the warm bed they had to return to; the warm breakfast that would greet them later in the morning. They smiled.

The tree had been decorated; it wasn't a huge tree, but the top branches still had to be adorned by climbing and flying monsters. When the wind blew, little bells chimed- although the wind was still tonight. Presents were piled underneath, pointing towards the direction the recipient lived in. Frisk put the bag down and carefully placed the presents, placing one in particular a bit further back, and another right at the front. Lastly, they headed around to find Asgore's pile of gifts and left theirs with the rest of them. It was a bit sad- the monsters usually only gave gifts to family and closest friends, and Asgore's pile was smaller than they would have expected, for a beloved king.

Tempted as they were to see if there was anything there for them, they turned away. Why would there be? Silly. They shouldn't get their hopes up. They ran back home to keep warm, stopping outside to catch their breath before sneaking in.

Bed was waiting.