Chapter Text
It was a cold and snowy Sunday morning on the 21st of December, 2025, in Multimedia; the town was covered in a thick blanket of snow, although snow was still falling from the skies above. In one of the houses, Lumpy was fast asleep in his bed, hugging his blue stuffed elephant and his yellow stuffed giraffe - two stuffed animals he'd kept since he received them as gifts from his friends during a couple of missed trips to the circus and a costume party, respectively. His three Pokemon - Lillipup, Bunnelby and Rockruff - were sleeping on the edge of his bed, while his cats Missie and Cupcake were sleeping in their cat bed in the same room. And downstairs in their fish tank, Lumpy's goldfish Berk and Puff were sleeping in their beds, too.
Soon, however, Lumpy slowly opened his eyes as he awoke to the sound of his alarm clock, which had reached seven in the morning and begun to blare. He sat up in bed, yawning quietly into his hand, and then reached his hand over to hit the Alarm Off button, bringing the familiar sound to an immediate stop. Seeing that his pets were still asleep despite the noise the alarm clock had made, Lumpy put his elephant and giraffe to one side, then climbed out of his bed before he made his way out of the bedroom and into the bathroom.
Once he was there, he took a warm shower, making sure to clean every part of himself with a bar of soap and the water that emerged from the showerhead, and then he dried off with some warm towels. He made sure to wash his face after that, then brushed his teeth and rinsed his mouth out with a glass of water. After he was done spitting into the sink and wiping his mouth, Lumpy left the bathroom and went back into the bedroom. The timing couldn't be more perfect, as his five pets were waking up: Lillipup and Rockruff were stretching their limbs while Missie had begun grooming Cupcake's fur coat, and Bunnelby yawned into his front paw before rubbing his eyes.
"Good morning, little guys," Lumpy greeted them with a kind and polite smile, and the pets all smiled in return.
Downstairs in the living room, Berk and Puff awoke to a small alarm that had begun to beep repeatedly, the sound of which caused their eyelids to open. With Puff rubbing one of her eyes with her front fin, and Berk yawning silently into his front fin, the two swam over to the alarm, with Berk's free fin switching it off.
Lumpy then made his way over to the window and opened the curtains. As he looked outside, he could clearly see the thick blanket of snow that was covering Multimedia. It was a beautiful sight, and it made him smile once more.
"Looks like we'll be having a white Christmas this year," he acknowledged. He knew he'd have to put on some extra warm clothes so he wouldn't catch a cold, but it would be worth it.
He turned away from the window, opened part of his advent calendar for the 21st, then headed out of his bedroom and down the stairs, with his Pokemon and cats following him close behind. Soon he was in the kitchen, where he decided to feed his pets their breakfast.
Lumpy walked over to a cupboard, opened it and took out three bags - one held Pokemon kibble, while one held cat food and one held kitten food. He closed the cupboard, then brought out Lillipup, Bunnelby and Rockruff's food dishes, before pouring Pokemon kibble into each one. Then he put these dishes down in front of Lillipup, Bunnelby and Rockruff, and the three Pokemon began to eat. Lumpy put the Pokemon kibble back into the cupboard, then brought out Missie and Cupcake's food bowl, pouring cat food into one bowl and kitten food into the other. He then put these bowls down in front of Missie and Cupcake, and the two cats began to eat. Satisfied, Lumpy opened the cupboard again to put the bags of cat food and kitten food away, and then he closed it once more.
That was when he decided he had to feed Berk and Puff as well. Luckily, there was a container of fish food in the living room, placed close to the fish tank so he would know where to find it. Lumpy headed into the living room, picked up the shaker of fish food, and removed the cap to reveal its holed lid. By that point, Berk and Puff had woken up, rubbing their eyes cutely with their front fins. Lumpy shook some fish food into the tank, and the fish quickly perked up as they swam to snack upon the flakes.
Less than a minute later, Lumpy had closed the fish food and put it back down. He was just about to decide what he wanted for breakfast when he heard the doorbell ringing.
"Hm?" Lumpy stood up, looking towards the doorway that led out of the kitchen. "Who could that be?"
He walked out of the kitchen and over to the front door. Once he was there, he placed his hand on the doorknob, turned it and pulled the door open. When he saw who had come to visit him, his eyes widened in surprise. It was his mother and father, Marilyn and Lumpward, both of whom were bundled up for the cold weather. Marilyn was wearing a pink sweater with a heart on the front as well as dark blue snow pants and a blue scarf that was almost the same shade of blue as Lumpy's fur, while Lumpward was wearing a dark green sweater beneath a red jacket, some black pants and a dark green scarf with a gray horseshoe pattern, a scarf Lumpy had once given him for Christmas. Aside from their attire, they'd brought a couple of suitcases with them; and unbeknownst to Lumpy, both of his parents were also holding a bag of wrapped Christmas presents just outside of his view.
"Hello, Lumpy." Marilyn was the first to greet him, her pink and yellow flower-patterned bag of clothes standing out quite noticeably compared to her husband's plain gray suitcase.
"Hey, Lumpy," said Lumpward.
"Hi, Mom and Dad." The grin on Lumpy's face told his parents just how happy he was to have them come over. "It's good to see you, but isn't it a little early? It's only December 21st, and Christmas isn't for another three or four days."
"Yeah, we know, but we just wanted to spend the Christmas holidays with you," his father explained. "And we kind of wanted to get an early start before Christmas Eve."
"Rather than you coming over to our house and spending it with us, we decided it'd be better if we came to Multimedia and spent our holiday with you at your home instead," said Marilyn.
Lumpy smiled. "Gee, Mom, that's very nice of you."
He moved out of the way so that his parents could come inside, and they did so. Marilyn put her bag down on the couch to unload later, with Lumpward placing his suitcase next to it. Lumpward also took off his jacket, setting it on a coat hanger for later.
"I was just about to make my breakfast," said Lumpy.
"That's a good idea, but now that you mention it," Marilyn chimed in, "we didn't have breakfast before we left. In fact, we were thinking of having it with you."
"That'd be nice." Lumpy smiled. "Do you suppose you could make breakfast for us, Mom, like you've done before?"
"Of course, sweetie," Marilyn nodded. "I was just about to suggest that."
"Thank you."
Lumpward and Marilyn made their way into the kitchen, and Lumpy followed them there. By that point, all five of Lumpy's pets were halfway finished with their breakfasts. Upon seeing that their owner's parents had arrived, Lillipup, Bunnelby, Rockruff, Missie and Cupcake all paused to greet them.
"Hello, darlings." Marilyn petted Missie's ears softly, causing her to purr in contentment. "It's a pleasure to see you all."
"Hey, little guys, how are you?" Lumpward greeted them as well.
As Lumpward and Lumpy sat down at the table to wait, Marilyn made her way over to the refrigerator and opened it up. After some pondering, she brought some ingredients out of it and placed them on the counter next to the stove. Today she'd decided she and her family would have some pancakes with sausage and bacon for breakfast; it seemed like a good way to begin their holiday together as a family.
Marilyn got started on the pancakes first, pouring a bottle of pancake mix into a pan. She waited for the fragrant pancake to cook, sometimes flipping it over with a spatula. When it was ready, she placed it on a plate, and she repeated this until she'd placed two hotcakes on three different plates. Then she cooked the sausages and bacon next, moving them with the same spatula and listening to the sizzling sounds. Lumpy smiled as the sweet aroma of the sausage and bacon cooking filled his nostrils; it smelled very nice.
Soon they were finished as well, and Marilyn used the spatula to place some sausage and some bacon on each of the three plates. She picked up one of the plates and placed it in front of Lumpy, while the second plate was placed in front of Lumpward, and the third plate was set in front of the seat where she would sit. Satisfied, Marilyn turned off the stove, then sat down, and the three moose began to eat their breakfasts.
Lumpy was the first to take a bite, bringing a morsel of one of his pancakes into his mouth and chewing slowly. The sweet flavor and fluffy texture lifted his spirits and brought an odd sense of nostalgia. He'd had pancakes for breakfast before, of course, but it had been at least a decade, if not longer, since he'd had any during Christmastime. The sausages and bacon were cooked to perfection, too, and he almost liked the bacon even more than the pancakes - almost.
"Mom, this is delicious!"
"I'm glad you like it, dear." Marilyn was rather proud of herself.
When they were about halfway finished with their breakfast, Lumpward was next to speak. "What'll you be doing today, sonny?" There was a hint of genuine curiosity in his voice.
"I'm planning on going Christmas shopping to buy some Christmas presents for all my friends in Multimedia," Lumpy said. "I even wrote down a list of my friends' names so I can remember who to get presents for."
"That's very nice of you," Marilyn smiled, and Lumpward nodded in agreement.
"As a matter of fact, I'm planning on buying you and my pets some presents, too," Lumpy went on. "But those are gonna be a surprise." His mother giggled, appreciating his good intentions.
"I just hope that you won't come face to face with King Dedede while you're out." Lumpward changed the subject a bit.
"I hope so, too," Marilyn said. "You can't begin to imagine how much I dislike that nasty ruler of Multimedia, and I'd especially rather not talk about how he's always being mean to you..."
"Yeah, I hate him, too," Lumpy agreed.
At the sound of King Dedede's name, Lillipup, Bunnelby, Rockruff and Missie's expressions hardened, coming close to anger. They, too, disliked King Dedede, but Cupcake was the only one who didn't share their feelings; she just looked confused over the reaction of her mother and their friends.
A few minutes later, Lumpy and his parents were finished with their breakfast, and Lumpy got up from the table. He could see his list of names as well as his car keys sitting on the counter, so he headed over to it so he could pick them up and place them in his pocket. Marilyn had already gotten to work clearing the table, gathering each plate and putting them together before she gathered the six forks and knives they'd used as well.
"I'm gonna go Christmas shopping now," Lumpy announced.
"Okay, sonny."
"Be sure to bundle up, sweetie," Marilyn advised. "It's cold outside, and I don't want you to catch a cold."
"Okay," Lumpy nodded. "Will you take care of my pets while I'm gone?"
"Of course, honey," said Marilyn.
With a grateful smile, Lumpy walked out of the kitchen. He took a quick trip up the stairs and into the bedroom, where he put on some warm winter clothes. Today he decided to wear a red sweater, some blue pants, a pair of fluffy red socks, some dark gray snow boots and a dark blue scarf. Once he was finished putting everything on, he headed out of the bedroom and back down the stairs. He made sure he still had his car keys and his list with him, then picked up the shoulder bag he'd gotten for his birthday - his mother had given it to him, and in his thanks he promised to put it to good use. With that same shoulder bag's straps moved over his antlers and laying upon his shoulder while the bag part rested on his hip, he opened the front door and headed out of the house.
Now that he was outside, Lumpy headed over to his car, which Lumpward and Marilyn's own car was parked next to. He walked over to the front seat, unlocked the car, then opened the door and stepped inside. Then he closed the door, put on his seatbelt, placed his key into the slot and turned it. As the engine started, Lumpy pulled out of the driveway and drove away from his house, heading to the Multimedia shopping center. He switched on the radio to listen to some Christmas music along the way, and much to his surprise and happiness, a few of his favorite songs played - and without much commercial interruption to boot.
After a few minutes of driving, Lumpy had arrived at the Multimedia shopping center, so he drove his car into the parking lot of the shopping center. It took him a few minutes of searching, but he was able to find a parking space, so he parked his car, killed the engine and took off his seatbelt. Then he climbed out of his car, making sure he still had his shoulder bag on. He took a look inside, seeing it held his car keys, his list of names, and two wallets - his regular one, and an extra one his father had lent him - both of which were filled to the brim with dollar bills he'd earned and saved from months of working and running errands for his friends and others. He locked his car with his car keys, then put his car keys in his pocket and at last walked into the Multimedia shopping center.
Upon entering the shopping center, Lumpy looked around, seeing a variety of different things. He could see many people and critters, including some Pokemon, going into different shops to buy Christmas presents, and there were beautiful Christmas decorations everywhere, as far as the eye could see. There was also a large Christmas tree that had equally pretty ornaments decorating it, and an easygoing rearrangement of a familiar Christmas song was playing on the intercoms.
Lumpy looked at his list of names, seeing that the first name on the list was that of one of his best friends, Tootie. "Hmm, what should I get for Tootie?" Lumpy wondered to himself. They'd been friends for a very long time, and he knew she had a lot of hobbies and interests, so at first he wasn't sure what she might want. After a few seconds of thinking, though, an idea came to his mind, and he smiled. It was mostly a sudden burst of inspiration, but it was worth a try.
Lumpy walked towards the first shop in the shopping center. Not too long after he'd come inside, he went into the first aisle, the shelves of which were full of plush toys of characters. He couldn't find any of Tootie herself, not that he necessarily expected to, but he did see a plush toy of Bulbasaur. He could distinctly remember that Tootie once chose Bulbasaur as her starter when she began her Pokemon journey a few years ago, so he decided to buy this for her in case she was still in love with him.
"I'd like to buy this, please," Lumpy said, showing the Bulbasaur toy to the cashier.
The cashier ran a scanner over the toy's bar code. "Okay, that'll be five dollars."
Lumpy removed a five-dollar bill from one of the wallets in his bag, then handed it to the cashier. In response, the cashier placed the toy in a plastic bag and gave it to Lumpy.
"Thank you," Lumpy smiled, bringing it with him out of the shop. He held the handles of the bag in one of his arms so he would still have his hands free.
Satisfied, the moose reached his free hand into his pocket and pulled out his list of names again. The next names on the list were Mario and Luigi, so he made his way to the next shop. Rather amusingly, it was called "Presents for Video Game Characters," and Lumpy chuckled as he saw the logo above the door.
"That's pretty convenient." A bit too convenient, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
He entered the shop and went into the first aisle. To his mild surprise, this aisle was filled with Sonic the Hedgehog merchandise, from games to toys, from DVD sets to the occasional comic book and other paraphernalia. But after a few seconds of browsing, Lumpy shook his head.
"I don't think Mario and Luigi would want any of these," he'd decided. Besides, it wouldn't make much sense from his point of view.
He moved into the next aisle, smiling at what he saw. There was a variety of Mario-themed merchandise in this aisle, and Lumpy smiled. A lot of this merchandise, he saw, were plush toys of Mario characters, heroes and villains alike. At least a few of them happened to be made in the likes of Mario and Luigi themselves, but two different ones in particular caught his eye - one was a plush toy of Princess Peach, and the other was one of Princess Daisy. In a moment of sudden instinct, Lumpy picked up both of these toys and brought them with him to the counter. Peach and Daisy were said to be Mario and Luigi's love interests, after all, even if Lumpy wasn't too familiar with either of the princesses.
"I'd like to buy these, please."
"Let's see, two thirty-five... another two thirty-five... plus taxes... That comes out to five dollars."
Lumpy removed a five-dollar bill from his purse and handed it to the cashier. In response, the cashier handed the toys to Lumpy, and he placed them into the same bag that had the Bulbasaur toy he'd bought.
"Thank you."
He turned and made his way out of the shop, and then he brought his list out and looked at it again. As it turned out, the next name on the list was SpongeBob Squarepants, a good friend of his, so Lumpy headed over to the next shop. This little store was called Happy Toys, an appropriate name for a business dedicated to children's playthings.
"I think I'll get something for Gary while I'm at it," Lumpy said to himself. "Even if he's SpongeBob's pet, I'm sure he'd like something nice."
The moose made his way into the shop, turning his head this way and that as he looked around. He browsed the first two aisles for a couple of minutes, but couldn't find anything that he thought SpongeBob would want. As he moved onto the third aisle, however, he spotted some action figures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, two characters that SpongeBob liked, so Lumpy picked up these action figures and brought them with him out of the aisle. Besides, they'd reminded him of a time where SpongeBob had visited Lumpy and brought along a tape of a lost episode of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, which was one of his all-time favorite shows.
In the fourth aisle Lumpy spotted a blue ball that was covered with white stars. It was the size of a baseball and as bouncy as one made of rubber, so he picked this up and brought it with him, too. He had a feeling Gary would enjoy playing with this. Satisfied, Lumpy made his way over to the cashier, placing the action figures as well as the ball on the counter.
"I'd like to buy these, please."
"Okay, that'll be a dollar fifty for the ball, and five dollars for the action figures, please," the cashier told him.
Lumpy handed them a ten-dollar bill from his purse, and then took his purchases and put them in his plastic bag. He received three dollars and fifty cents in change, and the three dollars went in his purse as well while the fifty cents went in his coin purse.
"Thank you."
Lumpy walked away from the cashier and out of the shop. Then he brought out his list of names and looked at it again. The next names on the list were Audrey, Dot and Lotta - the Harvey Girls. Lumpy smiled. He had a feeling he knew exactly what to get them for Christmas.
"I think I'll buy some stuffed bunnies for the Harvey Girls," said Lumpy. "I mean, Lotta did tell me that bunnies were her favorite animals, and I wouldn't be surprised if Audrey and Dot like them, too, even if not as much as her..."
He made his way over to the next shop, which was called "Woodland Toy Critters," and began looking through the aisles. It wasn't until he'd reached the fourth aisle, however, that he'd found three cute stuffed rabbit toys. Though these three had the same design and model as well as the same button eyes, pink nose and innocent smile, the first bunny was red as a cherry, the second bunny was yellow as the sun, and the third bunny was as blue as a clear lake in springtime. Lumpy took each one of these bunnies and brought them to the cashier.
"I'd like to buy these, please," Lumpy said as the cashier ran their scanner over the dangling bar code tags attached to each of the bunnies' right ears.
"That'll be five dollars," the cashier said, "altogether."
Lumpy paid them five dollars and placed the bunnies in his bag. He took another look at the list, seeing that Lucretia and FruFru were next. They were both on good terms with him, even though he knew that Lucretia was more consistently kind and nice than FruFru.
Luckily, Lumpy was quick to spot two things for sale: a Talking Animal Ball in the shape of a pink bunny with a yellow muzzle and tail, and a figurine of Luster Dawn, who he immediately recognized as from the final My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode. These were two things Lucretia and FruFru had bought him for his birthday the year before, although Lucretia's present had been the pink cat variant rather than a bunny. That being said, FruFru did mention that she already had a figurine of Luster Dawn, and Lumpy had a feeling she probably wouldn't take it well if she received a second one.
"You know what?" Lumpy put down the Luster Dawn figurine, another plan coming into his mind. "I think I'll get FruFru a different pony for Christmas. She probably won't be too happy over getting something she already has, anyway." As he did, he noticed that there was a figurine of Starlight Glimmer, about the same size as the Luster Dawn figurine. The moose didn't know if FruFru had a Starlight figurine already, but he decided to go ahead and take it along with the Talking Animal Ball.
He also spotted some plush toys of Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Remembering that Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were next on the list, conveniently written just under Lucretia and FruFru's names, it was these that he took and brought to the register. Before long, the cashier had rung them up, along with Lucretia and FruFru's gifts.
Lumpy could easily imagine that the Cutie Mark Crusaders as well as Lucretia would be pretty happy with their gifts, but he couldn't help but wonder whether or not FruFru would feel the same way. Once the moose had placed his five new purchases in his bag and walked out of the shop, the next name he saw on the list was the Pink Panther.
The next shop that Lumpy went to was called "Plushies and Friends." The first aisle didn't really have anything he thought his friend would want, but in the second aisle, the moose found a plush toy of the Pink Panther, and he decided that was what the real Pink Panther wanted for Christmas. So he brought it with him to the cashier, and he only had to pay one dollar for it this time around.
The next names on the list, Lumpy saw, were Yin and Yang. As he headed into the next shop, which was called "Wonderland Toys," the moose saw two things he thought Yin and Yang would like: a unicorn plush toy in aisle two, and a U-Dude action figure in aisle three. Even though he wasn't familiar with U-Dude in the slightest, he did recall Yang being a fan of the toys. Lumpy took the unicorn toy and the U-Dude toy and brought them with him to the cashier, and he was surprised he only had to pay two dollars for each of them.
Kit and Kate, the innocent blue kitten siblings he'd played with and babysat before, were the next names on the list. Luckily, Lumpy didn't have to leave the shop to find them a gift he thought they'd like; in this case, he settled on a toy train set. He took it with him to the cashier, paying four dollars and seventy-five cents for it by their request.
Gumball Watterson was the next name on the list. It just so happened that Lumpy was able to find a plush toy of Penny Fitzgerald, the girl Gumball liked in his home cartoon, in the shop. The coincidental find was one thing, but the fact that he only needed to pay one dollar for it when he asked the cashier about its cost was definitely another. After the moose placed that toy in the bag and brought his list back out to check it again, he saw that Unikitty and Puppycorn were the next names on the list.
In the next shop, Lumpy found some plush toys of Unikitty and Puppycorn, much to his mild amusement. He was happy to find that they only cost two dollars together, however, so he went and bought them. The second-to-last names on the list were for Speckle, Darnell, Reba, Luna and Ravi.
After a couple minutes of pondering, Lumpy decided to get them some plush toys of Clifford, T-Bone, Cleo and Mac, the dogs who came from the 2000's Clifford the Big Red Dog show that Speckle and his friends originally appeared in. Even if one group hadn't interacted with the other during the show's run, he still thought it made perfect sense. "I bet Speckle and his pals haven't seen these dogs in a long time," Lumpy thought to himself, "goodness knows I haven't seen any of them on TV in a long time..."
As he walked out of the shop, Lumpy pulled out his list to take another look at it. Sonic and Tails' names were next on the list, so he stopped by another store to pick out their gifts.
"Hmm, what should I get Sonic and Tails for Christmas?" As he was browsing, Lumpy spotted an aisle of Sonic-themed merchandise similar to what he'd found at Presents for Nintendo Characters. Specifically, out of the corners of his eyes he could see a couple of plush toys, one of Amy Rose, and one of Cream the Rabbit. It was these toys that he picked up and brought to the register, and after the clerk had told him the price, Lumpy brought out his wallet to pay that amount. The toys went into a bag that was handed to him, and he brought them out of the store as well.
"I hope Sonic isn't too upset about me giving him an Amy toy," said Lumpy to himself. "Considering his attitude toward her, I'll be lucky if he appreciates it at all." He was more than certain Tails would appreciate the Cream toy, though, considering the two of them were good friends.
He brought out his list and took another look at it. As it turned out, the last names on the list were Putt-Putt and Pep. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really know what they would want - granted, Pep spoke in barks and growls like a normal dog - but he did have an idea on what they might like.
Lumpy went to the next shop and bought two things: a dartboard for Putt-Putt, and a squeaky bone for Pep. The dartboard, which came with a dozen plastic darts that had suction cups on the tips so they would be safer to play with, was for Putt-Putt's Place in case someone who came over for a drink wanted to play a game of darts as well, and it cost eight dollars. On the other hand, the squeaky bone, white in color and made with high quality silicone, cost only one dollar.
"Okay, I think now's the best time to buy something for my parents as well," Lumpy decided with a smile. "And I think I know just what to get my mom for Christmas."
He walked into another shop and looked around, spotting a crystal frog vase. Its design could be seen on the box it came in, but the vase itself was wrapped in multiple layers of bubble wrap, so he wouldn't have to worry about breaking it. It was this vase that Lumpy picked up and brought over to the cashier, placing it on the counter. As the cashier was scanning his item, Lumpy also spotted an unbreakable snow globe, one that had some trees and a house inside it as well as small white flakes. Lumpy picked up this snow globe and placed it on the counter, right next to the vase. He could tell this would make a good gift for his father.
Once he'd paid for the items - they were placed in a stronger bag since the bag he was using was getting rather full - and brought them out of the shop, Lumpy stopped by the pet shop for his final gifts. After some pondering, he settled on four squeaky toys: a green ball for Lillipup, an orange carrot toy for Bunnelby, a pink bone toy for Rockruff, and a squeaky gray mouse toy for Cupcake, plus a mouse on a string for Missie. He also found a coral cube ornament and a turtle aquarium decoration, both of which were unbreakable and waterproof, so he decided to buy them so Berk and Puff could each have a Christmas present as well. After he'd paid for these as well, he slipped them into the bag that his other gifts were in.
"Now there's just one last thing to do before I bring all these presents home with me," thought Lumpy.
He brought his purchases out of the shop and over to a kiosk that was dedicated to wrapping presents for the people who intended to give them to others. One by one, he handed his purchased items to the workers, specifying what should be addressed to who. It took quite a few minutes to get every one of the presents wrapped, but soon the task had been completed. Lumpy paid the workers, thanking them for their help, then brought his presents out of the shopping center, and walked back through the car park to his car with the bags full of presents. Lumpy unlocked his car, opened the backdoor, put the bags on the passenger seat and closed the backdoor. He opened the front driver's door, climbed into the driver's seat, closed the door, strapped on his seatbelt, put his keys into the engine, then started up the car engine, drove his car out of the parking lot of the shopping center and drove away back to his house.
After a few minutes of driving, Lumpy arrived back at his house, pulling into the driveway of his house and parking next to Lumpward and Marilyn's car. He killed the engine, took off his seatbelt, then climbed out of the driver's seat and picked up the two bags of presents from the backseat of his car. Then he locked his car and walked up to the front door of his house, opening the door before walking in and closing the door.
"I'm home," Lumpy called as he went inside.
He took a look into the living room, seeing that his parents were sitting on the couch. Marilyn was knitting something with some light blue yarn and two knitting needles, while Lumpward was watching something on TV. Lumpy went upstairs with the bag that was full of presents for his friends. Once he was in his bedroom, he took off his boots, his socks, his scarf, his sweater, and finally, his pants. He took each one of the presents that were for his friends out of the bag, placing each one into what he called his "Santa Sack."
"Oh, hi, honey," Marilyn called, just as Lumpy had finished putting Putt-Putt and Pep's gifts into the sack. The moose smiled, glad his return hadn't gone unnoticed by his loved ones.
He grabbed his sack and brought it with him out of his bedroom. Then he went downstairs, picked up the bag that had presents for his parents and pets, and brought that into the living room. He brought each of the presents for Marilyn, Lumpward, Lillipup, Bunnelby, Rockruff, Missie and Cupcake out from the bag and set them underneath the Christmas tree, and then he sat down in one of the easy chairs.
"How did your Christmas shopping go?" Marilyn asked.
"It went better than I expected." Lumpy went ahead and told her what presents he bought for each of his friends, making sure not to reveal what he'd bought her or his father.
"Oh, that's lovely."
Lumpy then saw that Missie and Cupcake were relaxing on the other easy chair, which reminded him of his Pokemon.
"Were Lillipup, Bunnelby and Rockruff good while I was gone?"
"Yes, they were," Marilyn reassured him.
At that moment, Lillipup, Bunnelby and Rockruff all came into the living room. If it weren't for the fact that all three of them had bits of snow on their faces as well as their backs, the moose would have been forgiven for thinking they'd sensed their names being mentioned without necessarily being called. Lumpy chuckled, knowing they'd been playing out in the snow while he was gone.
"Could you guys shake that snow off in the hallway?" Lumpy asked. "If it melts in your fur, you might come down with something, and that wouldn't be good."
The Pokemon nodded and went back into the hallway. Once they were there, Lillipup and Rockruff shook their bodies out, while Bunnelby shook his head a few times and rubbed his face with his front paws. Before long, every bit of snow that had settled onto them had come off, and they made their way back into the living room as Lumpy smiled at them.
"What's in that sack you got there?" Lumpward raised an eyebrow curiously.
"It's got presents for my friends," said Lumpy. He then added, jokingly, "I'm just glad none of them are like that Scrooge guy from A Christmas Carol." He laughed a bit, and both of his parents laughed over his joke.
"By the way, Lumpy," Marilyn then said, "a letter came in the mail while you were shopping. I brought it in, and I found it's for you." She pulled out an envelope and handed it to Lumpy.
"Thanks, Mom."
He accepted the envelope that he now held in his hands, gently opening it before pulling out what was inside. As he read it, his smile grew wider
"Oh, cool! It's an invitation to a Christmas party tomorrow!"
"Oh, how lovely! Who's it from?" The envelope hadn't specified that part, mostly just having Lumpy's name and address on the back.
"Princess Unikitty," Lumpy replied. He showed the invitation to Marilyn, and she read it to herself.
"Dear Lumpy, you are invited to our Christmas party, tomorrow at 1 PM. It's going to be so much fun, and we're looking forward to having a holly jolly Christmas with you and all our friends! Love from Unikitty."
"Hm, that sounds familiar," Lumpward said. "Didn't you get an invitation to one of Unikitty's parties a while back?"
"Yeah, one time I was invited to a costume party she was having. I couldn't go, though, because I'd come down with a cold." Lumpy brought his hand up to rub his nose, as if recalling that unfortunate event was making it tickle just a bit. "It kind of reminded me of when I couldn't go to Luigi's Fourth of July party because I didn't feel so good on the day of that one, either."
"Indeed, you weren't," said Marilyn. "I just hope you don't get sick this time."
"Yeah, me too," said Lumpy.
Not much else happened for the rest of that afternoon; Lumpy spent some quality time with his parents and pets, sometimes watching something on TV, sometimes having a conversation. At one point, however, a memory occurred to him. He remembered one Christmas when he was little, where he'd helped to put the star on top of the Christmas tree Marilyn and Lumpward had finished decorating.
"Hey, wasn't there a time where I helped put the star on the Christmas tree?" Lumpy wanted to know. Marilyn and Lumpward thought about that, and the memory came to them, too:
"Mom, Dad?" he'd asked, having been about four or five years old at the time. He couldn't remember the exact age, but it was definitely before he turned eight. "Can I put the star on the tree, please?"
"Of course, honey!" said Marilyn.
"Sure, sonny," Lumpward said. "Here, let me help you."
He bent over and picked up Lumpy, bringing him close to the top of the tree. Lumpy placed the star's little nozzle on top of the tree, and then Lumpward moved him back down to the floor.
"I was a little tired of doing that myself, anyway," Lumpward pointed out, and he, Marilyn and Lumpy shared a laugh.
It was a nice memory that made the three moose smile. Not too long after that, Lumpy heard the phone ring, so he went to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Lumpy, it's the Pink Panther," the voice on the other line greeted him.
"Hi, Pink Panther, what's up?" Lumpy was happy to hear from him.
"Could you drive over to my house and help me with something, please? And you might want to get dressed, too, so the snow doesn't get to you," said the Pink Panther.
"Sure. I'll be over in a few minutes."
"Thanks."
Lumpy hung up the phone, then went to put on some warm clothes. It took him a few seconds to decide, but he settled on a sweater, some pants, a scarf and his snow boots; the sweater, pants and scarf were slightly different colors than the ones he'd worn earlier that day. Once he'd finished putting them on, he decided to tell his parents about where he was going so they wouldn't get worried.
"Mom, Dad?" Lumpy asked, watching as they turned their heads to look at him. "I'm going out again, but I won't be going too far; I'm just gonna visit the Pink Panther for a little bit. He wants me to help him with something."
"Okay, sweetie. Don't be out too long," Marilyn advised.
"I won't," Lumpy reassured her.
He picked up his car keys, placed his hand on the doorknob, turned it and pulled the door open before leaving the house. He made sure to close the door behind him, of course.
Lumpy went over to his car, unlocked it, opened the door to the front driver's seat, closed the door, put his keys into the slot, started the engine of the car, then pulled out of the driveway of his house and drove away to the Pink Panther's house.
"I'm a bit worried about the idea of Lumpy delivering presents to his friends the way Santa does," Marilyn said to Lumpward.
"Why?" Lumpward wanted to know.
"It's because of how late it'll be at that time of night; not to mention, it'll be very cold," Marilyn pointed out.
"That's true, but I don't think that's gonna be too much of a problem," Lumpward assured her.
A few minutes of driving later, Lumpy had arrived at the Pink Panther's house. After parking his car outside of it, he killed the engine, then opened the door and stepped out. That was when he closed the door and made his way up the steps to the front door. He pressed his forefinger against the doorbell, listening to the chimes play as he waited.
Finally the door opened to reveal the Pink Panther. "Hi, Lumpy. Glad you could make it."
"Hey, Pink Panther. So what's up?" Lumpy wanted to know.
The Pink Panther explained. "I've just finished decorating my whole house with Christmas decorations, but just as I finished I realized I don't even have a Christmas tree set up yet. It doesn't help that the Multimedia Garden Centre has run out of them, either. So could you drive me to Santa's Treeland and help me pick out a Christmas tree, please? It's only a few miles from Multimedia."
"Sure," Lumpy said with a nod.
The Panther smiled. "Thank you so much." He then turned to his goldfish and said, "My friend and I will be back soon with a new Christmas tree, Finley." The goldfish nodded in understanding.
Lumpy and the Pink Panther headed out into Lumpy's car, with Lumpy getting behind the wheel while the Panther settled for the passenger seat. The moose started the car again, and then he drove away from the Pink Panther's house. Along the way, the two decided to chat a bit: Lumpy told the Panther about his parents' plans to stay over at his house for Christmas, and Pink agreed that it was thoughtful of them. He was also noticeably intrigued when Lumpy brought up the Christmas party Unikitty had invited him to. Likewise, the moose couldn't believe his ears when the Panther mentioned that he'd gotten an invitation himself.
That being said, the Pink Panther admitted that he wasn't sure what he wanted to receive from Santa - not only because of indecision, but because he already had quite a few things as he did.
"Yeah, I know how that feels," said Lumpy. "But I have an idea, why don't you give something you don't want to someone you know?"
"That's a good idea," said the Pink Panther. "I think I have an old soccer ball somewhere that I could give to Speckle and his friends."
The moose pictured it in his mind, the 5BFF playing with the aforementioned soccer ball in one of the parks as their laughter filled the air. It was a heartwarming thing to imagine.
"Definitely wouldn't see why they wouldn't like it," Lumpy finally said. "Aside from that, maybe you could make a donation to somebody to help make their life a little easier."
"You know, I just might have already decided who that somebody could be." The Panther was smiling thoughtfully.
"Hapchew--!" Elsewhere in one of the alleys, a certain blue cat gave a barely audible sneeze. He shook his head a couple of times, then rubbed his nose with the side of his light blue hand before he continued to dig through the snow-covered ground, trying to get rid of the snow that threatened to block the way to his cardboard box. "Maybe I should ask Santa for some warm clothes for Christmas," he muttered.
A few minutes of driving later, the two had arrived at Santa's Treeland, where there were a variety of evergreen Christmas trees of different sizes waiting to be purchased, brought home and decorated. Lumpy killed the engine, and then he and the Pink Panther stepped out of the car before heading into the tree lot. The air smelled of pine, a scent Lumpy found nostalgic.
"Now that we're here, we'll need to find the right Christmas tree," the Pink Panther said, "the kind that'll be perfect for setting up in my house."
"I just hope it won't take us too long." As Lumpy looked around, he could see that Kiff the squirrel and her own parents were at Santa's Treeland as well, each trying to find the right Christmas tree for them to put up in their house. As much as Lumpy wanted to say hi to them, he decided to leave them to their task instead, just in case they were in a hurry.
The first tree the blue moose and the Pink Panther went to was a very, very big tree, one that was taller than either of them could carry by themselves.
"Do you think we should get this one?" the Pink Panther wanted to know.
"Hmm, I'm not sure..." Lumpy admitted. "It looks like it could be too big for your living room. Besides, I don't see how Santa would place your presents underneath it with all those branches in the way..."
"Yeah, neither do I," the Panther agreed. It would probably take a while for him to decorate it, anyway, even with the large number of ornaments and lights he had back at home.
They continued to browse, and soon the next Christmas trees they found were much smaller than them. As a matter of fact, they were short enough that only one of them could carry it with little effort compared to a regular-sized tree.
"How about one of these?"
Lumpy wasn't exactly sure it would be a good investment. "I don't know, Pink Panther. If you get one of those, you probably won't even be able to see it under all the presents you'll get on Christmas."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
The next trees they found were bigger than the ones they'd just seen, but smaller than the first ones they'd seen. In other words, they were just the right size, and the two shared a knowing smile.
"I think we've found our answer."
"I think so, too. But could you help me with this one, Lumpy?" asked the Panther.
"Sure, of course," the moose nodded.
A couple of minutes later, they let one of the workers know they wanted to buy one of these perfect-sized trees, and Lumpy was willing to pay. for it. They loaded this tree onto the car, and with Lumpy behind the wheel and the Panther in the passenger seat, they drove away from the Multimedia Garden Centre and back to the Pink Panther's house.
Once they were there, and once they'd stepped out of the car, Lumpy helped the Pink Panther take the tree off of the car, then brought it into the living room and set it up in the open corner.
"Thanks, Lumpy," the Pink Panther thanked him.
"Don't mention it, Pink. It's the least I could do. You could say it's one more reason for me to be on the Nice list." Lumpy chuckled, and his friend joined in.
The two then looked out the window for a moment, seeing that the sun was setting in the darkening sky.
"I'm gonna head back home now," Lumpy said to the Panther. "It's getting dark, and I promised my parents I wouldn't be out too long."
"But before I go, will you be at Unikitty's Christmas party tomorrow?"
"I was planning on going there, yes," the Pink Panther nodded. "I can't wait to see you there. Thanks again, Lumpy. See you tomorrow."
"Thanks, and Merry Christmas."
Lumpy headed out of the Panther's house, waving goodbye to him as he made his way out to his car. He stepped behind the wheel, started the engine and drove away from the house, with the Panther waving goodbye to him as he watched him go.
A few minutes of driving later, Lumpy breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled into his house. He parked his car outside of the garage, then killed the engine and stepped out, before finally heading over to the front door.
"I'm home!" Lumpy called as he opened the door, headed into the house and then closed the door behind him.
He took off his winter clothes, setting his boots by the door and his sweater and pants in the hamper, while his scarf went on the rack for tomorrow. Then he made his way into the kitchen, where an aroma of something cooking found its way to his nostrils. Lumpy took a few sniffs to breathe it in, smiling as he did. It smelled great, and it caused his stomach to growl just a bit in hunger.
"Oh, hi, honey," Marilyn greeted him as she smiled. "I'm making our dinner right now."
As Lumpy headed into the kitchen, he could see that his mother was, indeed, cooking dinner for herself as well as her husband and son. It seemed like the smell got stronger and tastier the closer he was to the stove.
"What are you making, Mom?" Lumpy wanted to know.
"I'm making spaghetti," Marilyn answered, "with meatballs, tomato sauce, and your favorite kind of parmesan cheese."
Lumpy kept his smile. "Sounds delicious."
He made his way out of the kitchen and into the living room, where he spotted Lumpward, sitting on the couch and watching TV. Close by, Lillipup, Bunnelby and Rockruff were relaxing on the rug, with Missie grooming Cupcake in another part of the room.
"Hey, Dad," Lumpy greeted his father.
"Hey, sonny," Lumpward greeted him in return. "What did the Pink Panther want your help for?"
"He wanted me to help him pick out a Christmas tree, so that's pretty much what I did," said Lumpy.
"That's nice." Lumpward smiled. "I remember when you were a child, and you used to get excited about Christmas every year. In fact, your mother and I thought you were getting too excited every time you saw us putting up the Christmas tree..."
"Yeah, well, it was pretty hard not to," Lumpy mentioned, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
Many years ago, when Lumpy was a child, a Christmas tree had been set up in the living room, which was adorned with Christmas-themed decorations.
"Oh, boy! I can't wait until Santa gets here! I wonder what he's gonna bring me!" Lumpy said, his hands pressed against the top of the couch's armrest as he jumped up and down. He was about five years old at the time, and unsurprisingly, he was excited for Santa's arrival.
Lumpward and Marilyn, however, took it upon themselves to calm their son down. Lumpward placed his hand on Lumpy's shoulder, while Marilyn spoke soothingly to him.
"It's okay, Lumpy. It's okay, we're excited, too," said Marilyn. It took her a few tries, but soon he'd stopped jumping, even though the smile remained plastered on his face.
Lumpy returned to reality as he brought his hand down from his neck. He could see that Lillipup, Bunnelby and Rockruff had overheard this tale, and they were now giggling a bit in amusement. A sight that brought a smile to Lumpy's face.
A few minutes later their meal was ready. Marilyn brought two plates of spaghetti to the table, placing one plate in front of Lumpward and one in front of Lumpy. Then she went to retrieve another plate of the hearty pasta and placed it in front of the chair where she would sit. With everyone served, she sat down, and the family began to eat. As they did, Lillipup, Bunnelby, Rockruff, Missie and Cupcake began to eat from their respective food bowls as well.
"Mom, this is delicious," Lumpy said after taking his first bite. "By the way, what have you and Dad been up to since the last time you came to Multimedia?"
"I haven't been up to very many things lately," Marilyn stated.
"Neither have I," said Lumpward.
"It's alright, I was just wondering. And do you remember years ago when you warned me against skating on frozen ponds, especially when the ice was thin?"
"Oh, yes." Marilyn could remember that quite vividly.
Quite a few years ago, when Lumpy was around five years old, he'd finished getting dressed to play out in the snow. His mother had helped him put on a sweater, some pants and a scarf, as well as some warm socks and snow boots.
"Mom?" Lumpy asked. "Do we have any ice skates?"
"No, honey, why?" Marilyn wanted to know.
"I wanted to try going ice-skating," Lumpy answered. A look of worry was quick to appear on her face.
"I don't think that's such a good idea, honey," Marilyn warned, her tone matching her expression.
"But why?" Lumpy asked.
"Ice on a frozen pond can be a bit of a hazard - that means dangerous - when it's thin," Marilyn explained. "If you step onto it, it might break apart, and you could fall into the cold water underneath it. Trust me, you don't want to feel even colder than you already are."
"Yeah," Lumpward nodded, "and if that happens, you'll catch a cold and start coughing, sneezing and feeling terrible."
Now that he understood, Lumpy looked a bit worried about that possibility.
"That's why we think it'd be much safer if you stayed closer to our house," said Marilyn.
"You know, that makes sense," said Lumpy. "In that case, I'm not gonna go ice-skating, I'll just make some snowmen or something."
Marilyn smiled and rubbed the top of his head with her hand. "Have fun, sweetie."
Lumpward smiled as well. "That's our boy."
"Ever since the day you told me that, I've never gone ice-skating," Lumpy said, "not even on one single frozen pond."
"Honestly, you were a good boy for listening to that warning," said Lumpward.
"Indeed, you were," Marilyn agreed.
"You know, I was," Lumpy said with a smile. "That being said, I was planning on dressing up as Santa and delivering presents to my friends this Christmas Eve, just like how Santa does."
"I wouldn't recommend delivering that, honey," Marilyn said, a look of concern appearing on her face.
"Why?"
"With how late it'll be, it'll be very cold outside," Marilyn answered. "Not to mention how it turned out years ago when you were sick and sneezing..."
Lumpy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I remember that. But don't worry, I won't be doing that this year."
"Okay, good. But I have an idea," Marilyn went on. "Instead of playing Santa and delivering your presents on the night of Christmas Eve, why don't you give them to your friends the day before Christmas? It won't be as cold if you do it while it's light."
"You know, that's a good idea. Thanks for the suggestion, Mom," Lumpy smiled.
"By the way, sonny," Lumpward chimed in, "we might have brought over a box of that hot chocolate we all used to drink when you were little."
"Even better," Lumpy kept his smile, even as he turned to Marilyn. "And one more thing: do you suppose you could tuck me in when I go to bed tonight, Mom?"
"Of course, sweetie," Marilyn nodded.
Lumpy gave another smile. "Thank you."
Some time later, Lumpy and his parents had finished their dinner. Soon Lumpy was in the bathroom, getting ready for bed. He started by brushing his teeth, making sure to rinse his mouth out with a glass of water afterward, and then he washed his face. By the time he'd finished and headed into the bedroom, he saw that Lillipup, Bunnelby, Rockruff, Missie and Cupcake were already asleep.
Lumpy smiled and crawled into his bed, gently so as not to disturb any of his pets. Then he picked up his stuffed elephant and giraffe, bringing them closer to him as Marilyn came into the room. She made her way over to the bed and tucked Lumpy in, then placed a hot water bottle at the end of his bed to keep his feet warm.
"Good night, sweetie," Marilyn said.
"Good night, Mom."
Marilyn gave Lumpy a gentle kiss on the end of his nose, and he blushed a bit. Then Marilyn turned around and went to the door, switching off the light once she'd gotten there. As the room filled with darkness, she headed out of the room and closed the door behind her. Lumpy lay his head down upon his pillow and closed his eyes. As he drifted off into a peaceful sleep, Lumpy could hear crickets chirping and the wind blowing outside.
In the fish tank in the living room, Berk and Puff settled into their little green and pink beds, making themselves comfortable. Berk could have sworn that he could see Puff blowing him a kiss with her front fin to wish him goodnight, an action that brought a smile to his face. With the gentle hum of the endless moving stream of bubbles, the two goldfish slowly drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, Marilyn and Lumpward were in the guest bedroom, and both of them had finished getting ready for bed as well.
"I have a feeling this is going to be a good Christmas with Lumpy this year," Marilyn told Lumpward.
"It sure will be," Lumpward agreed.
They climbed into the double bed; Marilyn got on one side first, and then Lumpward got on the other side.
"Good night, sweetie."
"Good night, Marilyn."
They switched off the lights that were by their sides, filling the room with darkness. And then they lay down, closing their eyes as they went to sleep. Their blankets kept them warm.