There was something magical about the month of December. As soon as it arrived, it brought joy. It was like this invisible force that could instantly put holiday cheer into people. This was why a certain group of friends was helping each other decorate. Hiccup and Astrid's home was the gathering spot in the first week of December. The friends had been there, seeing what exactly they wanted to do. Hiccup and Astrid were putting lights on the trees outside. By the time they were done, the three blue spruces out front would look like candy canes with their red and white lights. Some life-sized reindeer were being put near the door, courtesy of Fishlegs. Afterwards, he put out solar elf heads to lead up the driveway. Mala was untangling lights and handing them to Dagur who was on the roof, fixing lights so that they would stay and scowling at the ones which would not. Ruffnut and Tuffnut seemed to be causing more destruction than anything else, throwing fake snow at each other and anyone unlucky enough to be in their way. Overseeing all of this, Snotlout had a notepad and put a pencil behind his ear. He was carefully looking at what everyone was doing. Heather tried to position a few snowflakes in a window, but he stopped her.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
The brunette lifted the snowflake. "Decorating."
"No, you're ruining a perfect scene," Snotlout corrected.
He took the snowflake from her and frowned at the item like it had insulted him. Looking back at the window, Snotlout stepped back and tapped his chin.
"This is too big for that spot. It'll totally throw off the balance."
Heather let out a sigh. "Fine, put it wherever you'd like."
Just as Snotlout went to do this, the twins came running. He got a face-full of powdery, fake snow and spat it out. When they saw what had happened, they laughed and ran off again.
"There'll be repercussions for this!" Snotlout yelled. "Repercussions!"
The twins just kept snickering as they began grabbing garland. They wrapped the decorations around their shoulders like boas.
"Could you put those inside?" Hiccup requested. "They're supposed to go on the staircase railing."
"They're better like this," Tuffnut commented, flicking one part dramatically.
"Brother, you're not making the most of this opportunity," Dagur called down.
Hiccup looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
The redhead slid off the side of the home, grinning widely. "Girlnut and Boynut just lassoed themselves," he said, grabbing the end of both garlands. "All we have to do is pull them."
Too late, the twins realized their mistake. Snotlout felt avenged as he watched them get dragged into the home with more than a few complaints. After Dagur spun the twins out of the garland, the friends started draping it over the railing. Then it was time for miniature Christmas villages. This was when Fishlegs's eyes brightened, shimmering like snow in the sunlight.
"I have everything you could need for this!" he assured the others.
Behind the blond, he had a big bag. It contained fluffy snow and little lamp posts, deer, people, and buildings. His friends' jaws dropped more as he kept reaching into the bag. Tuffnut grabbed it, peeking inside.
"Is this thing a bottomless pit?" he asked.
"This is the collection that I've been accumulating for years," Fishlegs revealed proudly.
"It's certainly extensive," Mala commented, both impressed and shocked.
With everything out to see, the friends began setting up the little town on plastic tables in the basement. By the time this was complete, inside the home was somehow more festive than the outside. It was almost a winter wonderland. Hiccup would have stopped his friends hours ago, but they seemed to be having a lot of fun. Finally, Snotlout did a chef's kiss.
"It's perfect!" His smile faded as he began to squint. "Maybe we need a few more snowmen by the fireplace. You have to appreciate the irony."
Fishlegs shook his head. "It already took us hours to make those since someone didn't want us to just buy them pre-made."
"Those pale in comparison to what we can make ourselves," Snotlout said defensively. "So, if we add just a bit more—"
"No," came the unanimous reply.
Snotlout crossed his arms, pouting. "You're all Grinches."
"We just have great taste. We know how to use Christmas magic to the fullest," Ruffnut countered.
Her brother nodded. "Yeah! Why do all this when the elves can?"
"You muttonheads," Snotlout stated, "elves aren't going to show up and decorate."
"You mean you haven't seen one do that?"
"No one has!"
"We have. Our cousin Fluffnut was with us."
"That's not a real cousin."
"But can you prove it?" Ruffnut asked.
When Snotlout could offer no reply, she smiled widely. He huffed and looked at the others.
"Come on, we aren't believing in actual Christmas magic, are we?"
Mala looked thoughtful. "Well, 'Christmas magic' could mean something different for everyone. It would not necessarily have to mean an elf. It could be the feeling that one gets during this time of year." Her husband put an arm around her shoulders and they snuggled close. "In that way, I believe there is much Christmas magic around us."
They kissed and Snotlout rolled his eyes.
"Okay, does anybody who's not being gross want to take a stab at it?" he inquired.
Astrid shrugged. "This time of year has always been nice enough to me. I wouldn't call it magical or anything, though."
"Same," Heather admitted. "My mom and dad always made it special, but we just got gifts for each other after I turned eight. It was pretty straightforward, but I liked it."
"I guess I like the idea of Santa," Fishlegs said, looking at a miniature version of the jolly man in red. "I'd have fun pretending to be him for my own kids one day. It would be nice to keep some magic in their lives."
"Trying to deceive kids, Fishface?" Snotlout asked, sucking his teeth.
"You'd be my elf," the blond retorted.
The friends laughed at the duo. Hiccup began looking towards the door.
"Dad would dress up as Santa. He said it took too long to dye his beard white, so I just thought Santa was a redhead for the longest time."
"Santa breaking into homes always weirded me out," Dagur revealed.
Heather began chuckling. "You would make it sound like some criminal act."
"It is! Are you telling me that if you got up in the middle of the night and saw someone with a big bag in your place, you'd be okay with that?"
"Well, you shouldn't say it that way."
"Just saying what he does. I'd throw him out if he's lucky. If he's not…"
Heather knew that deranged twinkle in her brother's eyes well enough to guess the alternative. She sighed softly and shook her head.
"So, I guess my future nephews or nieces won't get much Christmas magic."
"Now, I didn't say that. I still like Christmas magic."
Before anyone could say anything else, they heard the sound of a car pulling up. Stoick and Gobber had just arrived, so Hiccup and Astrid went to meet them. Their eyes were wide at the sight.
"I didn't know we were going to the North Pole," Gobber commented, scratching his head.
"If we did, it might have been less festive," Stoick remarked.
"You have to admit that it's sort of nice," Hiccup said.
The father turned to the sound of a partridge singing on a bush near the front door. He raised his eyebrow, then looked back at his son.
"Or maybe not," Hiccup conceded.
Astrid looped her arm around his. "Well, you both made it in time to decorate the tree. We're about to do that and try Heather's new eggnog recipe that's been chilling in the fridge."
Gobber's eyes lit up and he started heading inside. He was greeted warmly by the friends, then Snotlout went over to a plastic cylinder filled with ornaments. It seemed like he was deeply thinking over who would receive what.
"Just pick something, Snothat," Dagur said impatiently.
"Don't rush me! It has to be perfect. I know that some of you can't handle the responsibility of having icicle ornaments."
Snotlout sent a pointed look to the twins who seemed unaffected. At last, he decided on what he wanted to do. He picked up a red, spherical ornament and handed it to Gobber. As soon as the dark-haired man had moved away from the decorations, everyone dug in. Snotlout's jaw dropped in horror, but it was already too late. He had accidentally relinquished his position as ornament distributor. All chaos could break loose. Fishlegs grabbed a penguin-shaped ornament, Mala got several purple spheres, and Dagur got some Christmas gnomes. The group promptly ignored the complaints as they kept decorating. Too horrified to stand it any longer, Snotlout went into the kitchen. It smelled nice because of the eggnog. He dramatically leaned against the counter.
"No one appreciates art," he lamented.
"Well, maybe this will make you feel better," Heather said, pushing a cup over to him.
Happily, Snotlout accepted it and took a sip. "Ooh, okay, this is helping."
Heather picked up a tray, putting several cups on there. She saw that she could not fit them all on there and gestured to another tray with her head.
"You can return the favor by helping me out with this," she stated.
Snotlout nodded, picking up the other tray and going out. Heather's eyes widened when she saw the tree. Despite her friend's groans, it looked really nice. The duo handed out beverages, getting thanked by the others.
"This is a great recipe," Hiccup complimented.
"Thanks! I'll have to make it again next year," Heather told him. "You're all doing well with the tree."
"If you ignore the fact that the candle ornament is obviously too close to the little gift-looking one," Snotlout said.
"We shall indeed ignore that," Mala commented, smiling proudly.
Her friend good-naturedly rolled his eyes at her.
"While we do this, does anybody want to play Christmas trivia?" Gobber asked. He heard Stoick let out a groan. "It used to be fun when I was a lad."
"He'd win all the time," the larger man stated. "I used to swear that he was cheating and hoped that he'd get a stocking full of coal because of it."
The younger friends chuckled. They could already imagine a younger version of the man pouting over a lost game.
"Sure, this sounds like it could be nice," Astrid agreed.
"Great!"
Gobber pulled out a piece of paper. When he unfolded it, it seemed much longer than the others expected. He cleared his throat.
"What Christmas song was originally used for Thanksgiving?" he began.
Stoick put another ornament on the back of the tree. "How would we know that?"
"Jingle Bells!" the twins cried.
Everyone looked at them, eyes wide.
"What?" Tuffnut asked. "We like to collect random knowledge."
"Then I might finally have competition," Gobber commented. "I wonder if you'll beat my old score."
"You're on!" Ruffnut exclaimed.
Excitedly, the older blond kept going with his questions. "Where was St. Nicholas born?"
"The North Pole?" Stoick offered half-heartedly.
"Wrong."
"It's Turkey," Mala answered.
"Correct! Next question. Where did this tasty eggnog come from?"
"Heather," Snotlout answered, grinning.
"What country did it come from?"
"England," Fishlegs answered, starting to put some white lights on the tree. "I remember reading about that."
"What happens on the seventh day of Christmas?"
"Swans were swimming," Dagur responded, holding part of the lights to help.
"How many gifts were given by the end of that song?"
There was a pause as the group looked at each other.
"364!" Ruffnut answered.
"Even I didn't know that," Tuffnut admitted.
"I'm the smarter twin, remember?"
"Oh yeah."
"Well, here's a tough one for you," Gobber said, brow raised challengingly. "What were the first stocking stuffers?"
The twins looked at one another, thinking over it hard. Simultaneously, their eyes lit up.
"Gold coins!"
Shocked, Gobber nodded and the siblings headbutted in victory. The friends kept going through more of the trivia, adding the finishing touches for the tree all the while. When Gobber asked his final question, the twins were the winners with Fishlegs coming in second place and Mala in third. They were nearly done with the tree, but there was one part remaining. Hiccup turned to his father, holding the angel.
"Care to do the honors?"
With a smile, Stoick accepted the angel and put it on the top of the tree. He stepped back and put his hands on his hips.
"I think it looks rather nice."
"I agree," Hiccup said. "And we finished just in time to check out the Christmas lights."
He went over to the coat rack, grabbing his own and putting one on Astrid. The others started getting their winter clothes as well and got in their cars. It was a short ride as they made their way to the location, eyes shimmering when they saw the bright gold and red colors. The group got out of the vehicles, walking around in the brilliant display. Music played in synchronization to the moving lights. The group watched formations like the Nativity and a snowy scene. Hiccup put an arm around Astrid's shoulders.
"This seems like Christmas magic to me," he admitted.
"Me too," she said, kissing his cheek.
"I think this is going to be a special holiday this year," Hiccup predicted, looking over his shoulder at his family. "I can't wait to see how it goes."