Page 14 of Mistletoe & Magic
Every time we think of a tradition, Junie practices copying it down in her careful, crooked handwriting, complete with pictures, so she knows what’s what.
Christmas lights tour
Hot cocoa and homemade marshmallows
Cozy fires with storytime
Christmas movie marathons with popcorn
Bake cookies for the neighbors
Make paper snowflakes for every window
Gingerbread house contest
Snowball fight (if weather cooperates)
Decorate the tree with only the weirdest ornaments we can find
Ugly sweater party
Make a snowman
Orange slices hung across the windows
When the list is done, we make little paths between each tradition, winding like a pirate map. I add tiny doodles as we go with mugs of cocoa, candy canes, holly berries. Junie draws a giant Santa hat on the treasure chest and announces it “done.”
We march out to the garage, armed with flashlights, and dig through the stack of boxes markedChristmasin thick black marker that Remy left for us. Some lids are dusty. The tape is peeling. I pop one open and find an avalanche of ornaments, some shiny and new, some clearly from decades ago when Remy was little.
Junie gasps like she’s discovered buried gold. “We have so much stuff!”
“We haveeverything,” I say excitedly. “And we’re going to use it all.”
Over the next few hours, the house transforms. We hang garland along the staircase and wrap the banister with twinkle lights. Junie finds an old box of ornaments shaped like tiny sleds and hangs them in a row across the mantle. I set a big bowl of pinecones on the coffee table and tuck in sprigs of greenery.
We put on Christmas music at almost full volume. I teach Junie how to slice oranges thin for drying, and I explain to her how we're going to thread them with twine between strands ofwhite lights. They glow like little suns once we hang them across the kitchen windows.
We drag the boxes from room to room while I arrange wreaths and fill mason jars with cinnamon sticks and cloves. She insists on wearing the Santa hat we found in one box, even though it keeps slipping over her eyes.
By the time we finish, the house doesn’t just look different. Itfeelsdifferent. It's as if Christmas had been waiting in those boxes all along.
We stand back in the living room, side by side, looking at the decorations everywhere.
Junie grins. “It looks like a Christmas wonderland. We just need a tree.”
I grin back. “That’s because it is. We can ask your dad about that.”
She hugs me, "Thank you, Ivy. This is going to be the best Christmas ever."
It’s past nine when I finally head down the hall to my room. I’m tired in a satisfying way that comes from making something beautiful.
I take a quick shower to wash off the dust and glitter from the day. My cheeks are still warm from all the laughter, my hair smelling faintly of oranges and cinnamon.
I climb into bed with my phone and call my mom. She answers on the second ring.
“Well, if it isn’t Buddy the Christmas Elf herself,” she says.
I laugh. “I think I might be. This nanny job is…honestly, it’s amazing.”
