Hey folks!

I figured that given both the time of the season and how insane things seem to be getting everywhere in general, I felt like now might be a good time for an early infusion of seasonal silliness with the rerun of my Christmas special fic. I went through and revised every single chapter doing a bunch of little revisions and slight changes to make it a little more in sync with the show (this story was originally published before the final two episodes), and I also eliminated most of the remaining weird typos that I'm so absurdly prone to making. So I hope this cleaned up story will get everyone a bit more into the holiday spirit!

Of course, it would be pretty silly / ridiculous / rude / (insert less-than-flattering adjective here) of me just to add a new chapter merely to say "Hey, the story's been cleaned up, that's all!" So I'm also publishing a little one-shot glimpse of Wendy's second real Christmas (and the twins' first winter holiday in Gravity Falls) that I wrote a few days ago for you all to hopefully enjoy. I can't promise that I'll be able to write more of the same, but I'll definitely see what I can do! I'll also try and make an attempt to make a Christmas one-shot for my "Pines Will Be Pines" story collection.

Happy holidays to everyone! - SGA

Dipper cracked his eyes open with a whopping yawn. As set up in bed and stretched his noodly arms he took a look around the attic to take stock of his roommates. Mabel's bed on the other side of the room was empty, and looked like it had been so for some time. It was probably completely safe to assume that she had already been up and about for quite some time already, energetically tending to all kinds of various holiday-related activities while brimming with her usual overload of seasonal glee.

It was a completely different story in the cot that had been set up between the two beds. Wendy appeared to still be deep in a dead sleep as she lay totally curled up in the warm confines of her sleeping bag like it was giant cocoon. Dipper muffled another yawn, slipped on a sweatshirt, then used every bit of stealth he could muster to tip-toe around his friend and out the door without disturbing her.

Once he was in the clear, he headed downstairs to grab some breakfast. He let his mind wander aimlessly as he plodded along, not thinking about anything in particular. It was Christmas vacation, and he and his twin were here in their home away from home. He could just relax and-

"BOO!" A familiar voice started the daylights out of him the instant he entered the kitchen. After jumping at least a foot into the air he whirled around to find a very unexpected sight. Wendy wore her beloved red flannel pajamas and a gigantic toothy smirk as she leaned up against the wall next to the doorway.

"What the…." Dipper gawked at her in a confused daze.

"Mornin', dork." She chuckled before downing a spoonful of cereal.

"Huh? Wait, but...but how did you get down here so…." The boy stopped dead in mid-sentence, then face-palmed when he mentally put all the pieces together. "That….wasn't you that I saw upstairs, was it?"

"Doesn't look like it." She affectionately tousled her best friend's hair and chortled at the look on his face. After he finished processing what had just happened, Dipper burst out laughing.

"Oh man….you are good." He praised her.

"I know." Wendy readily agreed with a snicker. She took a seat at the table while the younger teen prepared a heaping bowl of cereal for himself.

"So….I'm gonna guess that making decoys is something you learned over some past holidays." He rightfully assumed.

"Yup. My Dad taught us that whole strategy just in case we ever found ourselves camping out and had to deal with something crazy lurking nearby. You know, to turn the tables. So like, while a wolf or a cougar is prowling around, you stuff a bunch of clothes inside your sleeping bag and hide. Then while it checks out what it thinks is you, you can ambush it."

"Did that ever happen to you?" Dipper pried curiously. While the pair chatted, a young woman bustled into the kitchen.

"Morning!" Melody cheerily greeted them as she poured herself some coffee.

"Morning." The pair chorused back before resuming their conversation.

"Nah. Closest I ever got was my Dad testing me and my brothers by sneaking around on us at night." Wendy answered her friend's question.

"That's….uh, kind of intense."

"Dude, this is my dad we're talking about." She pointed out, but then conceded, "But yeah, that was a little much even for him."

After they shared a couple snickers together, Dipper stirred his cereal until he worked up the courage to ask her, "So….you that maybe you could-"

"No prob. I'd be happy to give you a lesson later." She laughed as she read him like an open book.

The grin he sprouted almost split his face in half. Before he could let his excitement go overboard he hastily he switched the subject. "Soooo, how's Christmas Number Two going so far for you?"

"So far so good." Wendy flashed a thumbs up across the table, "A little more low key than I expected, though."

"Really?" Dipper was surprised by this answer, as was the young woman who had started listening in on their chatter.

"Low key…." Melody curiously mulled these words before chuckling in disbelief.

"Hey, don't get me wrong or anything." Wendy turned around in her seat. "I mean, I'm seriously loving how chill everything's been here with all the weird TV specials we've been watching and all snacks and everything. It's just….I was kind of expecting more…..I mean, think about it. You have all of us together right here in Weirdness Central."

"Huh. You actually have kind of a point there." Melody agreed before taking a sip of her coffee.

"Like I said, I got no problem at all hanging with all my crew here." Wendy reassured. "It's not bad or anything like that. I'm seriously loving it, and it totally beats spending my time outside somewhere in a hole I had to dig out of the hillside. It's just….kind of been a surprise to me, you know? I mean, the first holiday go-around last year felt totally nuts, and I wasn't even in anyplace crazy. It was just some regular town. No offense or anything, Di-"

She was interrupted by the entrance of a chubby man dressed in black boots, a red suit, and matching cap. Soos's costume was almost complete with the exception of one very obvious and vital piece. He anxiously rubbed his bare face as he hustled around the kitchen, searching high and low.

"Soos? Everything okay?" Dipper asked while he watched his friend check beneath the rickety table.

" Where is it….where did I….." He murmured to himself. "Huh…..not around here. Hey, dudes? Have any of you like, seen a-"

"Hold on." Melody spotted the fake white beard hanging halfway out of his back pocket. She tugged it free and dangled it in front of his face. "Looking for this?"

"YES! There is it. Thanks ,Corn Chip!" He gave her a thankful peck on the cheek before slipping the fluffy facial hair on. "Okay, how do I look?"

"Perfect!" Melody gushed with a loving grin.

"Lookin' good, Kris Kringle." Wendy complemented, then asked, "So, what's going on here exactly? You and Mabes in a Christmas-off or something?"

"Oh that's right, you weren't here last year. Nah dude, we're doin' a Mystery Shack seasonal special. We're gonna bring Santa's Village to Gravity Falls for the second year in a row." He puffed his chest with pride. "It was my idea."

"Uh huh. And a much, much better alternative than that ice maze Stan wanted." Melody remarked. Right on cue, Mister Mystery himself entered the kitchen.

"Soos! Did you find-"

"Yup! Soos-a Claus is ready for duty!" The co-manager of the Shack stood smartly at attention. Stan grinned from ear to ear and rubbed his wrinkled hands in anticipation.

"Ooooh, we're gonna make another killing this year, I can just feel it. Kids will be lined up out the door and into the parking lot, all of 'em wanting to talk to Santa and get their picture taken for fifteen bucks a pop-"

"What?" Melody set her mug down and raised an eyebrow. "Hold on here. I thought we were only doing five dollars a picture."

"Uhhh….." Stan froze before he cooked up an obvious lie. "Yeeeaaaah, five. That's what I meant to say. Sorry, it's still kinda early. Hard to think straight when-"

"Stan, we agreed on this." She put her hands on her hips and frowned disapprovingly.

"Okay, okay, fine. Five bucks a photo." He relented. However, Dipper caught the telltale glint in his eyes from across the room.

"Grunkle Stan? Is the price going to stay that all day?" The boy asked.

"Uh…." The old man was taken off guard by his hyper-observative great-nephew. "Well-"

"You're not just going to jack up the prices later, are you?" Melody demanded.

"Look, let's just see what the deal is with our supply and demand, and then we'll-"

"Stanley, no." Another dissenting voice appeared. Ford entered the increasingly crowded kitchen.

"Ah c'mon! We're gonna have families flockin' in here from all over town, and they're all gonna want to make happy holiday memories for their kids! And good memories don't come cheap."

"Oh for…." His brother sighed. "Stanley, if there's one thing you shouldn't gouge people on, it's pictures with Santa."

"Huh?" Soos had been distractedly adjusting and readjusting his beard. "Wait, what are we talkin' about now?"

"Nothing." Seeing as he was rapidly losing the argument, Stan switched tactics and tried to change the topic of conversation. "Uh, so has anyone seen Mabel? She said that she was gonna handle the decorations, and I wanna make sure-"

Everyone suddenly heard the faint but unmistakable sounds of protest from across the Shack, which grew increasingly louder until two more people entered the room. Actually, to be more accurate it was one person and one humanoid forest creature (plus a small sweater-clad pig that trotted along on Mabel's heels).

"Good morning, family!" Mabel greeted everyone in chipper singsong.

"What in the world?" Ford exclaimed, startled to see an outraged gnome trailing along on his great niece's heels and ranting up a storm.

"...You can't do this!" Jeff, ruler of the gnomes, fumed nonstop. "You can't! How do you honestly think that you can get away with….."

The little teen meanwhile didn't appear fazed in the slightest by the tiny bearded man currently haranguing her as she checked a drawer. "Let's see, where's the...aha! There you are, extra glue gun! Thought you could hide from me, huh?"

"You can't do this!" The gnome kept yelled. "This is an injustice! You can't just round up a bunch of my people and make them do your bidding for your stupid human holiday!"

Mabel looked him right in the eye and merely giggled at his fury. "You're being the biggest silly right now, Jeff. You know that?"

"Silly? Silly?! What I'm doing right now is advocating on my people's behalf!" He shot back. "You can't make them stand still outside for hours for people to gawk at!"

"Whoa, hold the phone here!" Stan interrupted. "Mabel, what's he talkin' about?"

"My innovation! We're going all-out with our North Pole with super-realistic elves!" Mabel boasted.

"We're what?"

"Santa's elves! I got us a whole crew of gnomes who are gonna be dressed up in green and red, with little bell hats and everything! And they'll be all positioned to look like they're busy making toys, and…." She was so excited that she had to pause to clap her hands and let out a squeal. "Oh it's gonna be the best! All the kids will love it!"

Without missing a beat she then turned back to the enraged gnome chief. "And I told you already, no one is forcing any of your guys to do anything. I put out flyers by your grove yesterday, and anyone who wanted to apply to be an elf for a day did so through the proper channels!"

She reached into her jacket and took out a manilla folder that was crammed full of forms. "See? Everyone submitted an application like I asked, and they all signed their own contracts and everything! Mabel Pines is a legitimate seasonal employer!"

Jeff briefly glanced through all the meticulous documentation. He softened up a little, but still flashed her a grumpy scowl, "Well…..I bet you used some kind of-"

"Nope, no tricks or anything like that here! Only promises of fair wages for a fair day's work! Everyone gets three of my secret-recipe homemade Christmas cookies an hour, unlimited bathroom and Mabel juice breaks, and a slice of my famous candy cane pie ie at the end of the day for their holiday bonus!"

"Huh." Jeff scratched his beard. "Candy cane pie, huh?"

"Uh-huh! And trust me, it's just's as delicious as it sounds! And this year I baked whole gingerbread men into them too!" She boasted.

The gnome chief fell silent as he temporarily deep into thought. "...How big a slice of pie are we talking about here?"

"No size limit! I baked plenty to go around this morning so everyone gets as much as they want!" Mabel replied.

"Wow." The gnome's demeanor had changed dramatically in the last half-minute. He now shuffled his feet, met her gaze and asked awkwardly, "Uhhh….so, are you….um, I know this is kinda last minute, but…..you still talking applicants?"

"Yup! The more the better!" Mabel gave him a hearty handshake. "Welcome to Santa's Village! Your guys are getting ready out back. I'll get your papers ready to sign before we open."

"Yes ma'am!" Jeff scurried off out of the room. Everyone gawked at the over-enthused gnome until he vanished from sight. Ford turned and looked back at Mabel.

"You...you hired gnomes?" He said incredulously.

"Well, of course! I mean, they're just perfect for the part, right?" Mabel replied. "It's just common sense."

"That….is…..GENIUS!" Stan exploded gruffly with delight. As he started laughing up a storm, he reached for his great niece, tossed her up into the air and caught her in an adoring hug.

"I know, right?" Mabel giggled while he hefted her up onto his shoulders. "It just hit me yesterday morning. I was sketching out some decorating plans and then BOOM! Best idea ever out of nowhere!"

"It's genius, kid! Pure genius!" Her great-uncle lavished praise upon her. "You're gonna probably gonna give us at least double the traffic today!"

"You think so?" Her eyes sparkled brightly.

"Hey, You're talking to an old business pro. I know a money-booster when I see one, and you better believe that I see the heckuva out right now." He said matter-of-factly before he paraded her out of the kitchen. "You make your Grunkle proud, you know that?"

"I make everybody proud!" Mabel happily boasted.

"Great thinking, Hambone! Santa's Village is gonna look crazy amazing now!" Soos almost had a skip in his step as he excitedly followed. Mabel's squeaky laughter echoed all throughout the Shack alongside Stan's enthusiastic cries.

"We'll be able to charge 'em fifteen bucks a picture now! No, twenty! No, twenty-five! And not only are gonna fork over the cash, they'll be happy to do it! Who else is gonna have a setup like ours? The Santa at Gravity Mall's got nothin' on us!"

"Twenty-five dollars?" Melody shook her head, took one last sip of coffee and headed off after them. "Stan, no!"

Ford took off in pursuit too, protesting loudly all the while. "You can't be serious about this! Part of a gnome colony all just standing out in plain view? Now just hold on…."

The kitchen rapidly emptied. Soon the only ones left were Dipper and Wendy still sitting at the table and Waddles lapping up at his water dish. The two teens passed one another silent looks. The boy's face scrunched up, and the lanky girl let out a snort. Together the two quickly dissolved into unstoppable laughter.

"I'm...I'm pretty this just became an official Gravity Falls Christmas." Dipper chuckled like mad.

"It totally just did." Wendy nodded in one hundred percent agreement. She then paused to listen to the still-ongoing racket and burst out snickering again. "Oh yeah, now that's the good stuff there….."