Holland Jolly Christmas

[Claudia Holland]

Free moments were increasingly rare for Claudia, but she had made sure Christmas stayed entirely empty of campaigning. Christmas time was full of traditions for her family, and she was happy to be able to spend another Christmas day with her daughters and husband. It was so nice to have the girls home again, though it startled her more and more to see how they had grown during the school year. Rose was approaching adulthood at an alarming rate, and Claudia was proud of the way the girl was maturing. Phoebe wasn't as open about what she had gotten up to at school, but Claudia was glad she hadn't heard anything about her daughter breaking rules this semester. Both Diana and Alice had their own stories about Hogwarts, which made Claudia glad. Though she had been a bit shocked to hear Diana had gone to the ball with a boy. Phoebe had wasted no time informing her parents of that fact, despite Diana's protestations. She had exchanged a look with James over it, though she hadn't decided if she should sit down and talk to her daughter yet. She didn't know how serious she was with this boy, maybe it had just been a single event they went to together.

It was Christmas morning, and Claudia had a rare moment to herself. James had made the dough for the Christmas biscuits last night, and she had decided to get up early and bake them so the girls could start decorating as soon as they opened their presents. With her hands wrapped around a mug of tea, Claudia leaned on the counter as she waited for the biscuits to finish baking. She wondered what Christmas would be like in a year. If she was elected, would she still be able to be a part of all the traditions? She knew the life of a Minister wouldn't be easy, but she also knew her family would be understanding and supportive. The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs made Claudia smile and look at the entrance to the living room. She wondered which of the girls had woken up first to get to her presents.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose had woken up with a start this morning, as she had every Christmas. There was no lazy lingering in bed on this day. Not when there were presents to be opened. She swung her legs out of her bed and got to her feet, quickly crossing the room in her pajamas. From the lack of arguing, she had the feeling she was the first one to be up. Quietly, she knocked on each sister's door to wake them up, though she didn't wait for them to join her on her mission. Her nose had picked up something very interesting, it seemed like biscuits were already being made. It was a little early for biscuits, but Rose's stomach didn't seem to agree with that. It rumbled as she made her way down the stairs and into the living room. The girl paused briefly by the presents under the tree, scanning them for any sight of her own name, but then decided to head into the kitchen first. She smiled at the sight of her mother, joining her at the counter. Taking a deep sniff, Rose grinned. "That smells really nice. Have you been up long?" Rose asked, glancing at her mother before glancing at the oven. "Are we eating them for breakfast?" She asked innocently, knowing full well that wasn't the case. But a girl could dream, right? "Are we opening presents soon? I can't wait." She added, grinning slightly. She knew she was asking a lot of questions, but there were a lot of things to ask about. "I woke up the others, but they're being slow. They'll probably get dad too."

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice had been dreaming about the yule ball, about all the dancing people in their pretty dresses and about the snow falling from the ceiling. In her dream, she was dancing with a boy, though she had no idea who. It wasn't bad, though it was strange to dance with anyone like that even in a dream. She was rudely awakened from her dream by a knock on the door. Groggily, she blinked up at her ceiling before blowing a strand of hair out of her face. It was the holidays, why was anyone knocking? It looked like it was really early. But then she remembered and sat up with a gasp. It was Christmas! With a grin, she jumped out of be, stumbling slightly. Diana was waking up too, she could see, but she didn't linger in their room to wait for her. She made her way out of the room and saw Rose heading downstairs. Alice headed over to their parents' bedroom instead. Judging from the smell of biscuits, at least one of them was awake. But maybe not both? Peeking inside, she quickly realized her dad was still asleep. With a grin, she turned on the light before heading over to the bed. "It's Christmas! Get up!" She shouted happily, jumping up and down in her pajamas.

 

[James Holland]

Christmas Eve was always a late night for James. He liked to stay up and have everything perfect for the morning, so that as soon as Claudia and the girls were awake everything was in its perfect place, where it should be. It had been getting into the small hours of the morning when he was finally sure everything was exactly right, snacks and activities for the morning prepared, presents arranged and stockings filled, and after finally sneaking into bed next to Claudia, he had fallen into a deep sleep, exhausted. As much as James would have liked the sleep to be rather less short-lived, it was hard to be grumpy when the sound waking you up was sheer cheer and excitement. Rubbing his eyes and letting out a tired laugh, James rolled over and shook his head. "Christmas already? Nooo, must just be your imagination." He teased, pretending to go back to sleep for a moment. He couldn't keep the smile off his face though, and it didn't take much more cajoling from his youngest to get James out of bed, doing his best to wake up properly as he let Alice lead him downstairs to where the family was already beginning to gather. "Good morning, my love." James greeted Claudia, giving his wife a quick kiss on the cheek when he saw her. "Don't suppose there's another cuppa brewing for me?"

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana was woken up by a knock on the door. Groaning, she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment while she listened to the sounds of Alice rushing out of their shared bedroom. Oh how she wished she had her own room. Sighing softly, Diana got out of bed. She took the time to brush her hair and wash her face before following her sisters downstairs. Yawning, she headed into the kitchen and looked between her parents and older sister. "What's for breakfast?" She asked casually, though a part of her really wanted to get to the presents first. She just didn't want to be childish about it.

 

[Phoebe Holland]

As soon as Phoebe heard Rose knock on the door, she knew what day it was. With a grin, she jumped out of bed and quickly put on a robe before rushing downstairs after Rose. Rather than heading into the kitchen (despite the wonderful smell), Phoebe focused on the tree. She knew there was no way she would get away with opening any presents before it was time, but she could make some educated guesses. She knelt in front of the presents and searched out the ones with her name. Carefully, she picked one up. It didn't seem too big, but that didn't mean it wasn't something good. As she gently shook it, she heard a clinking noise. She grinned as she realized these were likely the new set of potions bottles she had asked for. She put the present down and searched for the next one, maybe she could get a few good predictions in before she was inevitably called away from the presents by one of her parents.

 

[Claudia Holland]

Claudia smiled as Rose entered the kitchen, still a little startled to see how tall she was becoming. "Good morning, darling." She said as she watched Rose with some amusement. "I've been up for a little bit, but you know I like to get up early." Her eyebrows raised slightly at Rose's question about the biscuits. "No, but if you're fast in decorating you might be able to eat some before lunch." She said with a slight shake of her head. "And you know how it goes, we open presents when everyone is here." It wasn't a surprise to hear Rose had taken the initiative to wake up her sisters. Claudia had never known her oldest daughter to be patient.

Next to enter the kitchen were Alice and James. It was clear which of the girls had taken it upon herself to wake up their dad for this important day. She smiled as her husband kissed her cheek, then flicked her wand to turn the kettle back on. "There is now," she said with as light chuckle. "I didn't know how quickly the girls would manage to wake you. Alice was fast this year." She looked over when Diana joined them too, the girl seeming not to be as excited about Christmas as her sisters. "Morning Diana, we'll get breakfast settled after the presents. Shall we?" Only one person was missing now, and Claudia knew exactly where she was. With a slight sigh, she exchanged a look with James. "Will you pry away our second child away from the presents before she can give us all a list of what exactly we're getting? I'll make you some tea."

 

[Alice Holland]

As her dad pretended to go back to sleep, Alice only shouted louder that it was definitely Christmas and if he didn't get up quickly she would take all his presents. Pleased when he finally got out of bed, she took his hand and lead him down the stairs to where most of the family would be. She waved at her mum. "Merry Christmas!" Then repeated that for Rose and then Diana when she came in. When her mother told her she had gotten her dad to come down pretty quickly, she puffed up a bit with pride. "I just shouted a lot." She said, grinning. She turned to Diana. "Don't you want to see what we're getting? I bet you'll be very happy with your presents!" Alice never quite understood why Diana never wanted to appear excited for anything. She knew the girl had looked forward to Christmas, so why was she now pretending she hadn't?

 

[James Holland]

The chaos of Christmas certainly didn't seem to lessen as their girls aged, and James sometimes wondered if things were somehow only getting more and more chaotic with teenagers running around. He smiled warmly at Claudia in appreciation. "Thanks, dear." He said fondly, relieved at the prospect of imminent caffeine to help him wake up properly. "Morning, petal." He added to Diana as she joined them, unable to resist ruffling her hair slightly even though he knew it would bother her. He nodded in response to Claudia's request, not surprised at all when he slipped through to the living room and found their second oldest thoroughly investigating the presents under the tree. "You know if you figure out what's in the boxes the elves come back and change it when you're not looking." He teased lightly. "Come on, everyone's up. We'll start on presents as soon as I've got my cuppa."

 

[Diana Hollis]

Diana felt herself grew bored at the conversation around her, and she shot Alice a look when the girl seemed proud of how much she had shouted that morning. She didn't really enjoy waking up early, and had to suppress a yawn from escaping. "Fine." She muttered to her mother. "Can I get some tea too, at least?" She asked, glancing between her and her father. "Dad!" She complained when he ruffled her hair. She tried her best to smooth it back down with both her hands. "I spent time on that," she complained in a huff, rolling her eyes. "And I'm sure I'll like my presents fine, I'm just not in a rush to get to them like a baby." She said the last part quietly, hoping her mother wouldn't hear. But judging by the look she sent Diana's way, that hadn't exactly worked out.

 

[Phoebe Holland]

Phoebe had found a second present with her name on it, and it felt like it was soft underneath the wrapping paper. Some form of clothing, maybe? She wasn't sure. For a moment she imagined it was something as cool as an invisibility cloak, but then dismissed the thought. Something like that was incredibly rare, and she didn't think her parents would trust her with it even if they would be able to get their hands on it. Before she could speculate any more, she heard her dad come up to her. She looked up and got to her feet, tossing her long hair over her shoulder as he gave him a challenging smirk. "Right, when are they going to do that? We'll all be right here and we would notice. And how? Switching spells? I don't think elves are capable of that. Assuming you mean house elves, though I wouldn't know what other kind you could mean... By the way, does 'Santa' pay them?" She asked, shrugging. "And it's why should it be depended on your tea habits anyway?" She added, musing. "What if one of your presents is tea? Or a new mug to drink it from? Shouldn't you wait to make sure you couldn't improve on your tea experience by opening your presents first?" Phoebe knew this wasn't actually going to get her her presents any faster, but she enjoyed teasing her dad back. "But fine, I'll wait. I wasn't actually opening them, anyway. Just guessing."

 

[James Holland]

As much as his tired brain didn't quite know how to respond, James couldn't help a proud chuckle at Phoebe's stream of questions. "Too early in the morning for so many questions." He said in a teasing fake grumble, patting her on the head. "And you know I meant Santa's elves, they have powers house elves don't..." He teased. Her questions about tea made him laugh slightly and he shook his head. "Then I'll have to have another cup of tea after this one." He smiled, and made his way back over to the kitchen door. "We about ready for presents?"

 

[Phoebe Holland]

Phoebe huffed and rolled her eyes, but she smiled. "It's never too early for questions, I'm pretty sure you told me that." She said with a smile, though she allowed him to pat her head, even though she was nearly fifteen and didn't really need to be treated like a kid anymore. On Christmas it was okay. She followed him to the kitchen and grinned. "C'mon Alice, Diana, don't you want presents?" She asked, unsure what was taking everyone so long. She glanced at Rose. "I got you something really good, you should be excited." She said, grinning at her sister.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose nodded at her mother, she did know her mum liked to get up early. It was a little strange to Rose, but it was one of those things about her mum she liked. She grinned and shrugged when her plan to have biscuits for breakfast was shot down. "It was worth a shot." She said with a grin. Then her dad and youngest sister entered, and Rose waved merrily at them. "Hi Alice, good job waking up sleepy-head over there." She said, smiling at them both. Diana not being very happy when she entered the kitchen wasn't unexpected, though it didn't stop Rose from waving at her as well. Rose had known Phoebe wouldn't join them, she did the same thing every year. That was what she liked about Christmas, everything was familiar and comforting. Predictable, but in a good way. Dad went to get Phoebe, and Rose grinned at her as she entered the kitchen. She knew the girl was goading her into getting to the presents faster so she herself would get to open hers soon too, but she didn't mind. "Alright, let's go!" She said, nodding. "I'm SO ready for presents!"