“So, we have agreed when we are going to hold the Bob-White Christmas party,” Madeleine “Honey” Wheeler said as she looked at the notes in front of her. “We have picked names and decided on a theme.” She lifted her head and looked at the six other individuals sitting on the various furniture in the living room.

“I think that covers it all,” Beatrix “Trixie” Belden said. “That was the reason we agreed to meet tonight.”

“What about snacks?” Martin Belden asked. “I think the feast that we will partake upon for this festive occasion should get a great deal of attention.”

“Don’t we all just bring something to share, and we enjoy ourselves?” Dan Mangan asked.

“Because Mart is bringing up food, he must expect to be served a 10-course meal,” Brian said.

“You’re thinking about food after everything we ate yesterday?” Jim Frayne asked. “I don’t think I will be able to eat for days.”

“We need the nourishment to continue with our extracurricular activities,” Mart said.

“We will make sure you make it to the party and that you will have plenty of food to eat,” Diana “Di” Lynch said. “I forget, what is your favorite holiday treat?”

“Fruit cake,” Brian and Trixie chorused with identical grins.

“You can make that for him, Di,” Dan said.

“No one has been able to present to me a fruit cake that was worthy of its name,” Mart said. “I don’t understand why no one can follow the recipe and make that delectable treat.”

“I don’t understand how you like that,” Jim said.

“Then you don’t have the taste palate that I do,” Mart said. “We all know that I am the best at determining the quality of food.”

“Maybe we should all just give Mart his fruit cake for Christmas and hope he will get over his fascination with a treat that 89% of the population can’t stand,” Jim said.

“That many people don’t like it?” Mart asked. “That can’t be true.”

“I think there are lot more that can’t stand it than can,” Dan said. “There are at least 6 of us in this room that would rather eat dog food over fruit cake.”

“All the more for me,” Mart said.

“So,” Trixie interrupted and wanting to get the topic of discussion away from a food she cannot stand. “Since our party is planned, is there any new business that needs to be discussed?”

They looked around at one another and Brian spoke up, “I actually have something.”

“The floor is yours,” Jim said.

Brian looked at the floor for a moment, before meeting the gaze of each of his friends.

“Yesterday was a really busy day with all of us doing what we could to make the Thanksgiving open house at Crabapple Farm run smoothly,” Brian began. “We were in and out numerous times and talked to a lot of people.”

“I think it was a success,” Trixie said. “Moms seemed happy.”

The others nodded in agreement.

“I agree,” Brian said. “But when I came in to get something to eat, I walked past Mrs. Vanderpool and Old Brom talking. I didn’t plan to listen to their conversation, but they were sitting close to the buffet as I made myself a plate.”

Concerned drifted onto all of their faces. Honey asked, “Is everything all right with them?”

“It’s nothing bad, but Mrs. Vanderpool was talking about how she was going to have to scale back her holiday activities since she’s getting up there in age.” Brian looked over into the roaring fire across the room in the fireplace. “We’ve all been over there during the holidays and her home is a holiday showcase. She said she just doesn’t have the strength to bring down all the boxes and do all the decorating on her own anymore.”

“That’s so sad,” Honey said. “I love going there and seeing everything she has collected over the years. Every piece has a story.”

“What were you thinking, Brian?” Jim asked.

“Mrs. Vanderpool has always welcomed us into her home as if we were family,” Brian began. “She feels that way about everyone.”

“You want us to go over and help her decorate for the holidays so her tradition of making everyone who visits welcomed, don’t you?” Honey asked.

“Would you all be willing to put in some time to help her?” Brian asked. “I didn’t say anything yesterday about it but thought it might be something nice to do for someone in the community.”

“When were you thinking of doing it?” Dan asked.

“Maybe Sunday afternoon?” Brian suggested. “We could go over after lunch and offer our services for the day. With the seven of us, we should be able to help her out and maybe only leave a little bit she would have to do.”

The room was quiet as they all looked at one another.

Brian took a breath. “Well? What do you think?”

“I’m in,” Trixie said. “Her house needs to continue with its tradition. I can’t see that stopping. If she needs help, I’ll be there.”

“Me too,” Honey said.

“Same for me,” Di said.

Jim nodded as did Dan.

They all looked at Mart.

“Well?” Brian asked. “Are you in?”

“Of course,” Mart said. “She always has sweet treats when we come over and I’m not going to miss any of that.”

Trixie looked at her eldest brother. “I’m glad you thought of this. It will take some time, but to see her face when it all comes together will be worth it.”

“I agree.”

As discussed, the Bob-White station wagon made its way along the gavel driveway to their destination. Approaching the snow-covered farmhouse, they could see Mrs. Vanderpool sitting at the table by the front window.

Her face turned at the sound of the crunching tires and a smile filled her face.

The seven of them climbed out at the front door opened.

“Good morning,” she greeted them cheerfully.

“Good morning, Mrs. V.,” Dan said.

“It’s so nice to see all of you,” Mrs. Vanderpool said. “But this is an unexpected visit.”

“We are here to help you,” Trixie said, bouncing slightly on her feet.

Confusion crossed the woman’s face. “Help me?”

“We all were talking and wanted to offer our services to help you decorate for the holidays,” Brian said tactfully before his siblings tried to talk over one another in an attempt to explain.

“We all love your decorations and thought some helping hands would make the job easier,” Jim spoke up.

Mrs. Vanderpool looked at each of them and she slowly lifted her right hand to place over her heart.

“You all are such sweet children to think about helping me. I’m touched.”

“Just tell us what to do and we will get it done,” Honey said.

“Come on in,” Mrs. Vanderpool said, leading them back inside.

Once the removed their winter coats, she led them upstairs to the room she used for storage. There were numerous boxes labeled for the holiday so they made multiple trips down the stairs so everything that was needed was at their fingertips.

“That box should hold the tree,” Mrs. Vanderpool said, pointing to the last box to be brought down. “A few years back I purchased one that was pre-lit to save time when I put it up. There are some additional light strands in another box to make it a little fuller.

Brian and I will start on the tree,” Jim said.

“We’ll work on the other items,” Trixie said. “Let’s all take a box and get to work.”

As they opened each box, they looked to Mrs. Vanderpool to see were she would like it placed.

Trixie lifted the lid off the box in front of her, finding a wooden manger. A smaller box was sitting on the fence around the manger. She opened that one and slowly started unwrapping the individual pieces of the manger set – Mary, Joseph, the baby, cows, sheep, donkey, camels, shepherds, wisemen and an angel. There was also a bag of hay that could be spread in the manger before the figurines were put in position.

“Put that over here, Trixie,” Mrs. Vanderpool said, pointing to the corner table.

Trixie set the manger where she indicated on a red table runner and plugged in the light that shown down on the inside of the piece. Her fingers moved over the faded colors on each piece, knowing they were old and had been worn down over the years with rubbing against their protective wrapping. Trixie loved that aged look and knew that Mrs. Vanderpool cherished this set.

The older woman stood beside Trixie. “This set has been in my family for years. It’s been passed down through the generations.”

“It’s beautiful and even though it’s aged, it gives it a lot of character,” Trixie said.

“I think so too,” Mrs. Vanderpool said. “I’ve never thought of replacing it because of the family history.”

“Mrs. V.? There are a bunch of bulbs that go along this cord,” Dan said. “What do they go to?”

She turned from Trixie. “There should be a couple boxes that have houses in them and another box with accessories.” She moved toward him and opened the top box revealing a white fleece cloth. “This goes on the mantle with the houses. The lights go into each house.”

“These houses?” Mart asked, lifting up a church that had a snow covered roof and Christmas wreaths on the front doors. It could be a replica of Sleepyside’s church.

“That is one of them,” Mrs. Vanderpool said. “All the accessories get spread out around the buildings.”

“There is a water tower here, a skating pond, people, trees and benches,” Di said, examining the details on each one.

“I always love looking at the accessories,” Mrs. Vanderpool said. “each year I look to see what is new, hoping to find another piece that I just have to have. When I find one, I think the village is set, but then the next year I find another one. I don’t think I will ever finish the display.”

Di smiled. “I like that kind of project.”

As they continued to work, putting battery operated candles and poinsettia’s out, Mrs. Vanderpool turned on a holiday music station. It no time at all they were signing along as if they were holding their own holiday concert.

Slowly but surely, the mass of boxes dwindled. Once emptied, they were turned to storage giving them more room to work.

Reaching into the bottom of the box, Honey pulled out a rope with red and green clothes pins attached to it. She looked at it, wondering what she was holding.

“Oh good, you found it,” Mrs. Vanderpool said. “I was hoping it was in one of these last boxes.”

“What is it?” Honey asked.

“Brom made this for me so that I can display all of my holiday cards. It’s my favorite decoration,” the older woman said. “I have hooks that I drape it across and then clip the cards in so they are displayed. I used to tape them to the mantle, but the heat would leave some tape residue and was hard work to clean.”

“This is a brilliant idea,” Honey said.

The final boxes were emptied and put away just as Brian and Jim finished with the tree.

Brian stood by the outlet as the rest of the Bob-Whites flanked Mrs. Vanderpool so they were all facing the tree.

They counted down to turn the tree on and Brian plugged it in. The white light created a soft glow, lighting up the room.

“This is absolutely beautiful,” Mrs. Vanderpool said, the flickering light catching the unshed tears in her eyes.

They all watched as she turned slowly, taking in the finished decorated room. Her gaze took in each one of their faces in turn.

“You all are amazingly wonderful,” she said. “I appreciate your help in getting this place decorated for the holidays.”

“We were glad to help,” Honey said, giving Mrs. Vanderpool a side hug. “I enjoyed it, getting to see all the unique pieces you have.”

“Everyone decorates differently based on their heritage and preferences,” Di said. “It’s like traveling to a new place.”

“And it’s interesting to see how a traditional character has changed over the years as depicted by different artists,” Mart said.

Trixie nodded in agreement as she looked at what they had accomplished. As her gaze came to rest on the tree, she saw a couple strands of white lights flicker and then go out, leaving a dark spot in the center of the tree.

“Ummm, I think we have a problem,” Trixie said.

The others looked at her and then followed where she was looking.

“They were all working before,” Jim said, moving over to the tree, beginning to fiddle with the individual bulbs on the strands that were out.

“It’s all right, Jim,” Mrs. Vanderpool said. “I can get a couple strands and fill that area in. Lights go out and it’s a quick fix. I expected some strands would go out sooner or later and instead of messing with each bulb, adding another strand is the easiest solution.”

“Are you sure?” Jim asked. “I don’t mind working on this to find the problem.”

“I’m sure,” Mrs. Vanderpool said. “You’ve been a great help today. When I go into town this week, I can easily get more lights and add them. You’ve taken a load of work off my shoulders, and I greatly appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, Mrs. V.,” Dan said.

“And for your generosity, I would like you to join me in the kitchen,” Mrs. Vanderpool said. “I had just finished making a sweet treat that I know all of you, but especially Mart, will enjoy.”

“Fruit cake!” they all called out as they looked at Mart and started laughing.

Mrs. Vanderpool smiled. “Unfortunately it’s not fruit cake, but I definitely have pinwheel cookies that are calling all of you.”

“Woo-hoo!” the seven of them cheered and followed her into the kitchen, feeling good about helping during the holidays.