"Mabel, are you sure we should be doing this?" Dipper whispered as he and Mabel snuck down the hallway.

"Of course I'm sure! This is, like, a staple of parenthood!" Mabel whispered back.

It was around 6 am on Christmas morning. Mabel had woken up Dipper so they could wake their beloved adoptive fathers. She was overjoyed to finally be experiencing her first real Christmas with her forever family. Dipper was just as thrilled to see his sister so happy after so much heartbreak (and admittedly, he was giddy about Christmas too).

"I just hope Stan and Ford don't get mad at us for waking them so early," Dipper whispered as he turned his head towards his sister. Not watching where he was going, he walked right into his Grunkle Stan.

"What on Earth are you kids doing?" Stan said in an exaggerated angry voice. Dipper and Mabel were startled for a moment until they noticed he was smiling. "Ford and I have been up for hours! We were just coming to wake you sleepy heads up!"

"That's a lie, Stanley, and you know it," Ford said with a yawn as he appeared behind Stan. "This knucklehead woke me up like a child. Glad to know old age hasn't changed him." He playfully jabbed his Stan in the side.

Soon all four of them were laughing. In just about every way imaginable they were unconventional, but somehow, the four of them were just made for each other.

They decided to open their gifts from Janice first. Mabel's present came with a card. She opened it and read it out loud, mimicking Janice's voice as she did.

"Dear Mabel,

Thank you for all the lovely letters you sent me. All these kids today with their electronics…it's nice to see someone still sees the value of handwritten sentiments.

I hope you and Dipper are doing well. And give your uncles my regards (and let them know I'll be checking in very soon)."

Mabel giggled as Stan made an annoyed face before she continued reading.

"I want to apologize once again for the distress I've caused you. I hope my gift for you makes up for it. I love you and your brother very much! Merry Christmas!

Love,

Graunty Janice

P.S. The sweater you sent me was a hit with the ladies!"

Dipper and Mabel opened their gifts from Janice. Dipper was surprised but pleased to find an Oregon Ducks hat. He was not a huge sports fan, but it meant a lot that Janice was at least taking steps to accept his personal style. Of course, the pine tree hat would always be a staple for him, but a few backup hats couldn't hurt.

Mabel was left speechless at her gift. It was a scrapbook filled with her letters home to her mom and dad as well as their replies. Janice had even included several photos of her mother growing up and left several pages blank to "create her own memories"

Ford's and Stan's gifts were less thoughtful. She gave Stan a coupon for a free dental cleaning (a couple of years too late) and Ford a razor for his "unseemly sideburns." The two brothers weren't too upset, though. Janice allowed their kids to stay with them; that was gift enough for them.

"So, um, kids, these are from Ford and me…but really, it's a gift for all of us," Stan said, his voice wavering a little as he handed each of them a wrapped gift.

Dipper and Mabel peeled back the wrappers to find something they had longed to see for over a year: inside some fancy, luxury frames were two adoption certificates. They were probably the nicest items the stingy Stan Pines has ever owned.

Now the kids officially belonged to the two old men, and no one could tear them apart.

Stan proudly hung it over the mantel wanting to make sure everyone who entered the shack would know that he was the proud father of the two greatest children in the world.

"Man…I don't know if our gift for you guys can beat that," Dipper said.

"I'm sure we'll love it, son," Ford said with a smile.

"Yeah, let's see it!" Stan said.

"Okay, but you're gonna have to put on these blindfolds first." Mabel pulled out two blindfolds from behind her back.

"Blindfolds never lead to anything good," Ford said as he and Stan were blindfolded by the kids.

Mabel and Dipper grabbed their Grunkles, their adoptive fathers' hands and led them out of the shack.

The two blinded men were taken a considerable distance. The long walk not made any easier by the snow on the ground.

"Just a few more steps!" Mabel said eagerly.

"How do we know this isn't a setup?" Stan teased.

"Oh, come on, have some faith in your kids," Dipper said making the old men smile wide.

Before they knew it, the kids were pulling off their blindfolds. The old men were surprised to see that the kids had brought them all the way out to the lake, but they were even more shocked by what they saw.

On the frozen water was a wooden boat with the name Stan O' War written in black paint. The boat had nails sticking out all over the place, boards that were hanging loose, and holes that would ensure the boat would sink instantly.

It was poorly constructed, sure, but the two old men could see the kids poured their heart and soul into it.

"We tried to have it finished by Christmas, but it turns out building a boat was harder than we thought," Dipper said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, but I'm sure with a few more pieces, this baby will be ready to sail." Mabel fondly tapped the side of the boat, causing a whole board to fall off. She smiled sheepishly. "It's not as nice as your gift, though."

Ford bent down and put his hands on each kid's shoulder. "This is the best gift anyone has ever given us." The kids beamed.

"Yeah," Stan added. "It's a little rough around the edges, but nothing a little elbow grease can't fix. We can fix it up together…as a family." Stan was getting a little choked up. To think he would get to return to the project he and his brother began as children and finish it with children of their own made Stan feel like the luckiest man alive.

"It can't take you around the world, but we figured when the lake melts, you can take it on adventures just the two of you," Dipper said to the energetic nod of Mabel.

Stan raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. "No chance."

Mabel and Dipper looked up in confusion.

"None of our adventures are worth anything unless we have you two with us," said Ford.

The kids grinned as their eyes became misty. They opened their arms and hugged their adoptive fathers.

"This is the best gift we could have ever asked for." Ford wasn't talking about the boat.

"Same for us," said Dipper.

"I'm glad you guys like it, but I don't think we'll build anything again. It's not really our forte." Mabel glanced at the haphazardly-built boat. "Maybe next year, Dipper and I will just get you guys 'world's greatest father' mugs."

The four of them laughed as they stayed in their group hug, grateful knowing they'll be together for Christmas and many more Christmases to come.