Merry Christmas, everyone! This was my contribution for the MM Secret Santa on tumblr, for the amazing Klarinette49! This is a collection of drabbles about Mary and Matthew and their children celebrating Christmas! There will be a Less Broken update next week, there was just too much going on this week to keep on schedule with that. Have a wonderful holiday!

All is Calm, All is Bright

1921

The bedroom was still dark when Mary woke, shadows from the bit of light streaming in from the covered window dancing around. The bedroom was so cold, she realized, pulling the blankets tighter around her. No wonder it was cold; Matthew was not in bed. It wasn't entirely unusual for her to wake up without Matthew by her side— he had to leave early for work many days, and he was an early riser anyway— but it was certainly unusual on Christmas morning.

"It's Christmas morning!" she said softly, to no one in particular. A little thrill coursed her as it had when she was a child. Of course, Christmas now was not nearly as exciting as it was when she was young, but the small thrill remained. And now she had a child to share it with.

And, of course, a husband, if he could be bothered to show up that morning.

` Fortunately, Mary didn't have to wait too long before she found out where her husband was, for he very quietly opened the door and tried to tiptoe in before noticing that she was awake. In his arms, he held their three-month-old son. "You're up!" he said, a note of surprise lingering in his tone.

"Well if I wasn't already, I would be up by now since he's bound to start crying soon," Mary said, looking at her son as Matthew sat down on the bed. She couldn't resist taking him from his father's arms though. "Here, Georgie," she cooed, in a voice that even struck herself as unlike her. But becoming a mother had changed her, at least in her interactions with her family. It had softened her somewhat. She was still the same Mary Crawley, but her priorities were different now. "And why do we have the pleasure of our son in here this morning?" she asked, her tone pointed at the abnormality of routine.

"Because it's Christmas!" Matthew exclaimed, as if that were all the answer in the world.

For Matthew, it probably was. Mary had discovered in the first holiday season of their marriage that Matthew loved Christmas, perhaps beyond what was reasonable. His plans for decoration and celebration had been elaborate, he would hum Christmas carols under his breath (or even sing them when he thought he was alone), and Mary was certain he'd been out to the village at least five times and York twice to get Christmas presents. This year, his eagerness consumed him even more. Christmas was more than enough of an excuse to do something out of the ordinary. And spending more time with his son was always an appealing thought.

Mary thought this a rather simple excuse, but laughed. "Really?"

Matthew rolled his eyes and leaned over Mary's arms to look at his son. "Yes it is, and we're going to make George's first Christmas wonderful."

"You realize he's not even three months old, he won't remember any of this."

"But we will. And soon enough he'll be grown enough to be all excitable and he'll be the one waking us up on Christmas morning, dragging us downstairs to open presents. But for this year, it's all peaceful."

Mary smiles softly. "Is anyone up yet?"

"I doubt it," Matthew says. "It's only half past seven, and no one in this house ever gets up before nine it seems. Even on Christmas." He got off the bed and walked over to the windows, pulling the curtain open. There was no snow, unsurprisingly but disappointingly, simply rain. But the light streamed into their bedroom, the rising sun illuminating everything.

"I think it will be many years before we have a peaceful Christmas morning like this again," Mary said. George wiggled in agreement.

"Well, then let's enjoy it," Matthew said, putting his hand on his son's head. "George's first Christmas," he said, shaking his head. "Really, it's enough of a gift that we have him."

"Oh good, I'm glad you say that," Mary replied, trying to hide a devious smile. "I'm glad to know you won't be disappointed when there's no gifts from me for you."

Matthew looked at her in shock for a second, but realized that the look on her face was one of mockery. "That is a cruel trick to play, Lady Mary," he said, trying to hold back laughter.

"I couldn't resist pulling that one," Mary said. "But you're right, we do have a gift in this little one. And we'll have that for many years to come."

Matthew kissed George's head and then Mary's. "Happy Christmas, to my two favorite people in the world."

"Happy Christmas."

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

1922

Everyone had told her to rest. And how could she protest? Of course she couldn't, she was just barely two weeks from her due date, her stomach protruded much farther than it ever had with George, and she felt tired, so she must have looked it. It was unfortunate, though, that she couldn't refuse. Not with Matthew looking at her like that, not with how Clarkson had told her to take it easy to prevent a premature birth.

Now the worry of a premature birth was fading; this baby was taking its time.

Mary had briefly imagined giving birth on Christmas, how dramatic it would be, how both anxious and excited Matthew would be. She had suggested the idea of a holiday birthday to Matthew, who said he wouldn't mind as long as the baby was healthy. But the prospect of a Christmas birthday for this one was diminishing by the minute, as baby stayed stubbornly put, only moving to kick once in a while.

Mary climbed up on the bed, her back aching. How she hated to miss the festivities! She had made it through the giving of presents and the luncheon, but had to concede to resting before dinner. But now she simply felt lonely and exhausted, with an aching back and tired feet. She lay down on the bed, and barely had closed her eyes before the door opened.

"Wan mama!" George shouted, toddling in ahead of his father.

"Rest, you said," Mary murmured, giving him a side-eye.

"George missed you," Matthew explained sheepishly. "And so did I. And we figured you'd want some company. But not for too long, since George has to go down for a nap too. But George wanted to read a story before sleeping, so we decided to come read it in here."

Mary laughed. "Alright, but you get to do the reading. Maybe I'll get to take a nap too, wouldn't that be nice George?" she asked her son, as Matthew lifted him up onto the bed.

"Now George, what story are we going to read?" Matthew asked, holding out a few books for George to pick from.

"Dat!" George giggled, pointing to the book in the middle.

Matthew laughed. "We read that one last night! But alright, we can read it again." He got onto the bed and took George into his lap, holding the book out in front of him. "Twas the night before Christmas, and all though the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse," he read softly, occasionally stopping to point out pictures to George or to let George babble about something.

Mary found herself relaxing listening to his smooth voice glide over the words on the page, and she closed her eyes, her hands placed over her stomach where the baby kept its routine of occasional kicking up. She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard Matthew read quietly, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night," but she noticed George was asleep in Matthew's arms.

"You'd best take him back to the nursery," Mary whispered, smiling at her sleeping son.

"Yes, I think I'd better. How is the little one today?"

Mary moved his hand to rest on her stomach. "Moving, some. I don't think he's ready yet."

"Well I hope that she comes at the right time, then. Not too early or too late."

"Frankly, I'd rather be done with the pregnancy and have our little gift to look forward to. Another squalling baby for a few years, but he'll be precious nonetheless," Mary said, her words pragmatic but her tone sentimental.

"Yes, she will," Matthew replied. "And it really doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl, not to me anyway. I hope you know it never mattered, despite the whole necessity of an heir. I wouldn't care if we had a household full of girls or full of boys, I would love them just the same."

"Of course we would." Mary laced her fingers with his and smiled. "Of course, I enjoy being right also, but any healthy child is the child we're meant to have."

Matthew pulled George closer, relived that he was still sleeping. "I'm sorry you're missing out on things, although there's not a whole lot going on right now. And soon enough everyone will be dressing for dinner. Of course, if you don't feel up to it…"

"Of course I'm going to Christmas dinner," Mary replied stubbornly. "Baby or no baby, I"m not missing out on Christmas dinner. Now, go put George to bed and let me get some rest, and dinner will come before we know it."

Matthew kissed the top of Mary's head and slid out of bed. "Of course, darling."

As he left, under her breath, Mary murmured, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

With Glowing Hearts

1925

"Are we sure we want to do this?" Mary asked, right before they entered the drawing room to open gifts with the family. "Perhaps we should put it off for a few days and let everyone focus on Christmas."

Matthew shook his head. "Don't you think they'll all find it a lovely Christmas present?"

"Probably, but maybe now isn't the right time, and to tell you the truth, I might like to keep it a secret for a few more days, so that no one is fussing over me."

"They shouldn't so much, you've done this twice before."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Let me remind you that you said that when you're fussing over me in a few months completely unreasonably."

Matthew had the good grace to at least look somewhat sheepish.

"Anyway, shouldn't we tell the children first?" Mary asked. "They might not totally understand- George might, at least, but I think it's important that they know first since they're the ones getting a sibling."

"Very well, we'll tell the children before their nap time and then announce it at dinner tonight, how does that sound?

"I'd rather…"

Matthew sighed. "Tell me Mary, when will we be able to get all the family together like this again? Either we'd have to contrive something or we'd have to tell everyone separately. And I'm sure you'd like Sybil to know at the same time as everyone else, and they're leaving two days from now. This is your best opportunity."

"You are right about that, it's just…"

"What?"

Mary bit her lip. "I'm just nervous about what they'll think. About another pregnancy. You know it's uncommon for aristocratic couples to have so many children in quick succession…"

"I think people are already aware that we love each other very much, there's no need to feel ashamed of that."

Mary smiled. "I suppose, I'm just… taken by surprise with this one."

"I know we weren't planning for it to happen now, but it has happened and I'm delighted that it has. The timing is never perfect and yet it always works out to be perfect."

That afternoon, Mary and Matthew came into the nursery before the children's naps. It wasn't entirely unusual; Matthew liked to read a story before nap time to the children if he was home, and Mary often came to tuck them in, although less frequently than for bedtime. They asked the nanny to leave and sat down next to the children.

"George, Violet," Matthew said solemnly, to his three year old son and his daughter just weeks away from turning two, "We have some very important news for you."

"Okay," George said.

"You're going to get a new little brother or sister," Mary said seriously. "George, do you remember when Violet was little and couldn't play with you yet?"

George scrunched up his face and shook his head. "No."

"Well, the new brother or sister will be too little to play for some time, but not forever, and then they'll be lots of fun to play with. And," Mary said, leaning down quietly and deviously, "since you're bigger you can tell them what to do."

"Wow," George responded, his eyes wide. Maybe he understood, maybe he didn't, but his response was amusing.

"So Mama might be very tired," said Matthew, "and her stomach might get big, but that's because there's a baby growing in there. And when summer comes, you'll have your new baby brother or sister. Is that a nice Christmas present?"

"Yes!" George said, clapping his hands. Violet followed suit.

"Good. Now let's get you down for your naps," Mary said, picking Violet up off the ground and setting her in her crib.

That evening, during Christmas dinner, to Matthew's nod, Mary hesitantly stood. "Well… Matthew and I… we realized that we have one more Christmas present to share with you. We're expecting a child, who should be born in June."

A flurry of congratulations followed, despite the surprise that lingered on the faces of some attending the dinner. Mary realized, as everyone shared their excitement, that she too was very excited. And this baby growing inside her was somehow… different. But a wonderful kind of different.

Her heart was glowing with joy for the blessing that was the child inside her.

A few months later she would discover that the child was indeed children- the difference that she felt so clearly was that she was pregnant with twins.

Let Nothing You Dismay

1926

Two days before Christmas, George had come down with a fever. "Must have been from one of the village boys he was playing with," Nanny commented. George seemed to think little of his illness; he was simply disappointed that he was instructed to stay in bed and was missing out on the Christmas festivities.

On Christmas Eve, Violet woke up feverish. Mary had hoped George would fight off his sickness before Christmas and that everyone else would avoid it, but to no avail. George was delighted to have Violet stuck in the nursery with him; he had been lonely with all of the others relegated to the other room.

Unsurprisingly, that afternoon, the twins became ill. Lily started coughing incessantly, while Beth's rosy cheeks blushed bright red, indicating that the six-month-old girls had not escaped the virus attacking the Crawley children.

This was certainly not what Matthew and Mary had planned for this Christmas.

"Why now of all times? It's so cruel, for a child to be sick on Christmas," Matthew said, as they were beginning to prepare themselves to go to church for Christmas Eve. "I don't want to leave them alone tonight."

"They won't be alone," Mary said. "But I agree, it is rather sad that this should happen now. We should make an appearance tonight, I think."

Matthew pressed his lips together into what was quickly becoming a pout. "I just don't want to leave them. Especially with the twins ill, it must be overwhelming for Nanny. And I don't want George and Violet to feel abandoned, since they would be coming with us."

"They'll hardly remember it," Mary protested, although her argument and her passion was weak.

"George is pretty sharp, he at least remembers much more than you would think."

Mary sighed. "Oh, all right, we'll stay back tonight. I'll ring for Anna and tell her we're staying with the children."

Matthew didn't even bother to change into any sort of evening clothes before heading to the nursery to see his children.

"Papa!" George exclaimed when he entered the nursery. "Nanny said you were going to church tonight, and we'd be asleep when you came back."

"Well, your Mama and I decided it was more important to come here and spend Christmas Eve with you. So Mama is going to come in here soon."

"What are we gonna do?" Violet asked, sitting up and gripping the side of her bed.

Matthew went over to the twins's cribs and picked Lily, who was wide awake and sniffling dramatically, up. "Whatever you would like. We can read books or sing songs, anything like that. I know it's sad to be sick on Christmas so we want to make this nice for you."

"Will we still get to open presents? Even if we're sick?" George asked.

Matthew laughed. "Of course, but that's for tomorrow."

"But we get to open one the day before!" George protested, his bright blue eyes wide.

"I'll check with your mother on that, but perhaps since this is not a fun situation, she might be a little more merciful and let you open one tonight. But only if you promise to be good and sleep a long time tonight."

"Okay!" George said, and Violet nodded her firm agreement.

"I'm going to go find your Mama, alright? Stay here, I'll be right back," Matthew said, Lily still nestled in his arms.

He ran into Mary right outside the door. "How are they?" Mary asked.

"Well enough, I think. They wanted to open a present tonight, I think we should let them."

Mary sighed. "They would want to. But I suppose that's fair."

"I think tonight will be nice. At least we're making the best of an unfortunate situation."

"And they're trying to get as much as they can out of it," Mary said with a laugh. "I suppose they deserve it, in this case."

Matthew grinned and kissed the top of Lily's head, disregarding the prospect of spreading germs. "They do."

A Beautiful Sight, We're Happy Tonight

1927

"Is that everything?" George asked, crawling underneath the Christmas tree in the hall to check for more gifts. He had insisted on handing out everything, and had taken on his task eagerly.

"I think so," Mary said, trying to contain a laugh at the pout on his face. "What, did a very spoiled little boy not get enough Christmas presents?"

"I got lots," George said, sheepishly.

"So did I!" Violet added, hugging her beautifully appointed new doll that was nearly the size of herself.

"I just wanted to give people more presents!" George protested. "And now I have to wait a whole year to do it. That's a long time!"

Matthew ruffled George's hair and picked up a large piece of wrapping paper off the floor. "As it happens, George, there's one more thing, although I couldn't fit it under the tree," he said. "How about you and Violet go get your coats on, and come back downstairs."

Mary gave Matthew a side-eyed glance. "What is this about, exactly?"

"You'll see," he replied. "Will the girls be alright without their coats? We shouldn't be out there too long."

Mary picked up Beth, who had been happily fascinated with a new teddy bear she had received that morning. "They should be. But really, what is all this about?"

"You'll see," he said.

"Should we come out too?" Robert asked, from his vantage point seated comfortably on a sofa.

"If you'd like to. It might help to keep more eyes on the twins, especially…" he looked around the room suspiciously, "especially since I don't know where Lily is…"

Mary sighed. "Not again."

"She slips away so easily, I'm not sure how she does it!" Matthew shouted, but he immediately started to search for her. It only took a few minutes for him to find her waiting at the base of the stairs, looking poised to climb up them. "There you are! Don't run off!" he chided, picking her up. "George, Violet?" he yelled up the stairs.

George's blond head appeared around the landing. "I'm coming!" he yelled back.

Violet skidded around the corner. "Me too!" They both hurried down the stairs. Violet quickly calmed herself and stood quietly by Matthew, but George ran all the way to Mary and began tugging on her arm.

"I want to see what it is!" he said. "Let's go!"

Mary sighed but glanced back at Matthew. "Well, lead the way!"

Matthew balanced Lily on his hip and took Violet's hand as they walked out the front door. "Now we're going to have to wait a minute, so can you be patient?" he asked, his question mostly directed at George and Violet.

"Yes," George replied seriously.

"Oh good because…" Matthew looked up with mock seriousness. "Who is coming down the drive? I don't think anyone was supposed to be here for dinner this early."

George and Violet squinted into the distance excitedly, and even Mary looked invested into what his surprise would be.

"I don't recognize that car," Robert offered, as the car came closer.

Mary's eyes widened. "Matthew, what is going on…"

The car coming down the drive was rather long and large, and was a sleek, shiny blue. Mary could not see anyone in it, only the chauffeur driving it.

"You didn't!" she said in surprise.

Matthew grinned. "This is for our family. See, since we've had a couple new additions recently, the cars here were quickly becoming too small. This one will seat all of us, with or without a chauffeur. So that we can all travel, together. And there's no reason you couldn't learn to drive it, either. So now we have a way to be together, just us."

Mary's eyes widened. She had not been expecting this.

"Car?" Lily asked, pointing to it.

"Yes darling, it's a car for us."

Mary's mouth was slightly agape. "How much did you…"

"Never mind all that, I've got lots of stories to tell you later about how I had to try so hard to keep it a secret. But don't you see Mary, this is our independence as a family!" His bright eyes were pleading with desperate hope that she would enjoy this.

"It is," Mary said softly. "It's a beautiful car. You know it makes me nervous when you drive…"

"I've gotten much more careful," Matthew interjected.

"And I'm sure you will be when our children are in the car," Mary said, trying not to roll her eyes.

Matthew nodded profusely. "Of course."

"I think I would like to learn to drive it. But not from you. You know I love you, but you would drive me crazy teaching me how to drive," Mary said.

"I think you may be right about that," Matthew replied, laughing.

"Excellent. Well, I don't think today's the right day to go for an outing, but why don't we go out tomorrow?"

Matthew took the few steps closer to Mary to kiss her deeply. "That sounds perfect."

The Silent Stars Go By

1931

It was a cold, but beautifully clear Christmas Eve, and as Matthew and Mary stepped out of the church with their children in tow, month-old baby William nestled in Mary's arms, a palpable sense of joy surrounded them. The service had been lovely, Beth and Lily especially awed by the candlelight as the tones of 'Silent Night' echoed through the church. All the children were bounding with energy; Mary, however, was not.

"I think William's begging to be fed again," she murmured to Matthew. "He might not make it the walk home before breaking down."

They had walked to the church; the evening was too lovely to squander, Matthew had said (and Mary suspected he wasn't really comfortable with driving as the roads had been icy all day- not that she minded, as she wasn't particularly comfortable with it either) and so they had all walked. But now the walk home seemed so terribly long, especially with a squalling one-month-old.

"Maybe you should get in the car with Robert and Cora," Matthew suggested. "I'll take the children and we can walk."

Mary looked reluctant but William was beginning to whimper, so she nodded. "Alright. But don't delay, or I'll start to worry."

Matthew kissed her cheek. "Don't, we'll be home soon." He waved her off into the car and turned to the children. "Alright, are you all ready to go home?"

George immediately started running up the path that would eventually lead to the Abbey. "The sooner we get to sleep, the sooner we get to open presents!"

Lily and Beth looked at George with wide eyes. "Really?"

"Yes, it'll make the time feel faster," Violet said. She strode next to her father, trying to look as distinguished as possible. She really had turned out to be very much like Mary, but wise beyond her years.

"Let's get home!" Lily said, running ahead to be next to George.

Beth, however, was dawdling, looking around at the night sky. "Papa!" she said, tugging on his sleeve. "Look, stars!"

Matthew stopped and looked up at the sky. "Yes, you can see the stars very well tonight!"

The other children stopped to look up as well. "Wow," Lily said breathlessly. "So pretty."

Matthew got down on one knee, putting a hand behind Beth's back and pointing up to the sky with the other. "Look to the right of that tree. Do you see that really bright star right next to it?"

"I see it!" Lily exclaimed.

"Look at the stars next to it. Can you see the shape of a woman, spread out and lying down?"

The children squinted very intently at the sky. "Is she upside down?" Violet asked. "I think I see it."

"I don't," Lily said.

"Well, sometimes constellations look nothing like what they're supposed to look like. But that's supposed to be Andromeda."

"Who's that?" Beth asked.

Matthew laughed. "Someday, your mother and I will have to tell you the story of Andromeda and Perseus, I think. Speaking of Perseus, if you look to the right of that constellation, the constellation next to it is called Perseus. It hardly looks like anything at all, I think, but Perseus is supposed to save Andromeda from the sea monster."

"How do you know all this, Papa?" George asked.

Matthew stopped and pressed his lips together tightly. He had learned from a fellow soldier during the war, a young man who had been in university studying astronomy, but who had dropped out to serve. Private Thomson. Thomson had died of a bullet wound after suffering for hours with no medical transport arriving. With his last gasping words he remarked on how glad he was, if he had to die, to die under the stars.

Matthew swallowed and shook his head. "I learned all this from a friend. We spent a lot of time watching the stars together. Now come on, we'd better get home."

"We should watch more stars," Violet said.

"I still don't think they look anything like what you say they look like," George moaned.

Matthew laughed. "Yes, the names are rather a stretch. Now, remind me when we get back, your mother and I are going to tell you the story of Andromeda and Perseus."

Heedless of the Wind and Weather

1934

The wind had been blowing all of Christmas Day, as snow swirled about the house. Isobel had come up that morning, before the snow had really started falling, and was looking out the window, her lips pressed together.

"I'm not sure I want anyone to drive me home tonight," she said.

"Of course you could stay overnight," Robert offered. "There would be no problem with that, I'll just ask Mrs. Hughes to make up a room."

The lights flickered above them as another gust of wind pummeled the house.

Isobel returned to looking out the window. Despite the blizzard-like conditions, George, Violet, Lily, and Beth were all out in the snow, spinning around and throwing snowballs at each other. She looked to her daughter-in-law as Mary approached, three-year-old William on her hip. "You're letting them play in this?"

"Matthew could hardly resist their begging. It's been so long since it snowed, and… it looked like this when we got engaged, and of course he's very sentimental about that sort of think."

William tugged on his mother's necklace as he looked at his siblings playing outside. "I wanna play," he begged.

"It's too cold out there for you," Mary responded, moving the little boy's hands off of her jewlery. "I'd rather they not be out there, personally, but Matthew caved."

Isobel laughed. "Well, they should come in soon so they can all take hot baths before they change for dinner."

Mary smiled. "I really should tell them that, shouldn't I?" She put William down and strode to the front door, looking out. "Matthew!" she called. "They really should come in now."

She could barely see anything through the blustery snow, but Matthew approached the front door and put his arm around her waist. "Yes, we'll call them in in a minute. But isn't this lovely?"

"It's a little much, frankly," Mary said.

"Oh, but doesn't it remind you of the night we got engaged? When you made me kneel in the snow?"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Well, I had too many proposals that were a simple proposition and not really all that romantic. I wanted the real thing done right."

Matthew turned toward her, putting his hands on her hips. "And I did it right, didn't I?"

"Of course you did."

To her surprise, he picked her up and spun her around, just as they had done years earlier, ebulliently full of joy.

When he put her down, she was breathless but grinning. "It really was quite romantic," she admitted.

"It was perfect."

"And this is slightly less romantic snow, and the children need to come in and take hot baths before dinner starts," Mary said, snapping out of her dreamy eyed state.

Matthew laughed. "Of course they do. But that can wait another minute, because I need to do this."

He took her face in his hands and kissed her.

We All Will Be Together

1936

It was an odd feeling for Christmas, to say the least. Something- or someone- was definitely lacking, and the joy that had permeated Christmases past. Robert had passed away that October, a death which was very hard on everyone, but Mary especially had felt it. While she loved her husband and couldn't have been more proud of how he had adjusted to his new role, it felt odd to see him doing what her father used to do, and some days her heart simply ached for the loss of her dear father.

The Christmas season, especially, had been difficult. She looked toward her father's usual chair, espying to see him laugh as they played 'the game', but her heart ached to see him gone. The children had been upset at his passing, of course, but they still managed to find joy on Christmas Day. Mary, however, struggled.

That night, as she prepared herself for bed, she found herself fighting unexpected tears. Anna had left, and she was alone, sitting at the vanity, crying more than she had the night that he passed.

Matthew didn't bother to knock when he came in; he had given that up long ago. So Mary was entirely unprepared when he entered the room and found her, red eyed and weeping. "Mary," he whispered, rushing over to her. "What's wrong?"

Mary sniffled and looked up to him. "I don't know, I think it just… hit me tonight that Papa is gone. He was just always so happy at this time of year, he brought so much joy to the season and …I just especially noticed the loss today."

Matthew rubbed her back softly. "It's alright to feel that way. I remember the first Christmas after my father died, I barely wanted to come out of my room. I couldn't stand the idea of him not being there, because he would always wake us up by singing Christmas carols throughout the house and… I didn't want to wake up on Christmas morning any other way. That first year was very hard. And sometimes, you'll still acutely feel that loss. The pain won't ever completely go away, but it'll dull, and you can take comfort in knowing that he was so loved and he loved you so much."

Mary took a deep breath and nodded. "I suppose it's not the happiest of Christmases."

"No, and no one expected it to be. But there is joy to be found."

As We Dream By The Fire

1938

The evening was beginning to wind down; after rounds of charades and other games (all very competitive) and the singing of carol upon carol, Mary put William to bed and came back downstairs to the library, expecting that everyone else would have gone up to get ready for bed.

To her surprise, everyone was seated in the library, gathered around a roaring fire. Lily was spread out on the run between the sofas, engrossed in a book she had received as a present, while Beth was reading her own new book nestled in a corner of a sofa next to Matthew. George and Violet were playing a card game together, their quiet laughter occasionally breaking through the silence.

"You all look cozy," Mary said as she made herself known, taking a seat next to Matthew.

"It's been such a lovely day," Matthew said.

"It really has," Beth said, looking up from her book.

Lily rolled over onto her back, folding her arms behind her head. "You know, the worst thing about Christmas evening is that it means we have to wait an entire year for next Christmas."

"Well, it wouldn't be so special if it came more than once a year," Violet said.

"Yeah, but this time is just so perfect, you know? After today, everything goes back to normal. We'll all go back to school, back to being busy, back to barely spending any time together… sometimes I just wish we could live like this forever."

Matthew smiled. "I agree Lily, we should appreciate all this. Especially this year, since it's our last before George heads off to university. We've got a big year ahead."

"Can we go do something tomorrow?" Lily asked.

Violet rolled her eyes. "Have you not had enough excitement today?"

"No, I just want to continue this feeling," Lily said. "I think we should take a drive somewhere tomorrow, all of us."

Mary and Matthew looked at each other. "That sounds like a lovely idea," Mary said.

"Thanks for making Christmas so wonderful," Beth said softly from her corner. "I think it's my favorite holiday."

Violet gave an uncharacteristic smile. "I think so too."

"I'm glad you do, because it's my favorite holiday by far," Matthew said.

"He used to be ridiculous about it," Mary said. "He's calmed down now… a little bit."

Matthew laughed. "Well, when I only get to do it once a year, isn't it reasonable to be a little excited?"

"Now you have to wait until next year!" George said.

"I can't wait!" Lily said.

"Well, let's focus on this and make it a happy Christmas." Mary wrapped her hand in Matthew's, resting their entwined fingers on his knee.

"A very happy Christmas to us all."

Christmas Eve Will Find Me

1939

Their next Christmas was far from what they had expected.

That September, war had begun. George had immediately joined up, to no one's surprise and everyone's both pride and disappointment. Matthew was recruited by the army to do diplomatic work in the War Office in London because of his legal training and position. The togetherness they had so craved was now in far more jeopardy than it had ever been, and this year, they weren't all together for Christmas.

Matthew had managed to come home, which was a blessing in itself as he wasn't sure that he could get off of work to come home. He hated being away from his family, but he would not let them come up to London as he feared it was a target for Germans.

But he was home for Christmas, and trying to be as spirited as usual, although to see another war so similar to the one he had fought in was difficult. And it couldn't be the same, not with George so far away fighting in France. George had been there almost every Christmas of his and Mary's married lives, and not having him there felt empty. The other children felt the absence too; they had literally never known a Christmas without their older brother.

That Christmas Eve was relatively dreary; they had a nice meal together, but everyone danced around the topic of the war and the empty seat at the table that was so conspicuous. Nobody felt much like participating in any normal traditions; they played a few cards games but spirits were low.

"Nothing feels right," Lily moaned, throwing down her cards after another round was finished. "Without George to beat mercilessly, it's much less fun."

Matthew frowned. "I know, it's strange. But hopefully the war will be over soon."

"Over by Christmas?" Mary mutter bitterly.

Matthew pressed his lips together, looking down. "Yes, that's what they said about the last one. And that one went on for far too long. And I wish this didn't have to happen, but there is a greater evil we're fighting here and…"

"Can we not…" Beth interjected. "Could we please not talk about the war?"

"I agree, it's consumed everything far too much," Mary said. She paused for a second suddenly, as if she was listening intently.

"Mama?" Violet asked.

Mary stood up. "I think someone is at the door."

Matthew followed her out of the library and into the hall. "Who would be coming here at this time of night?"

Mary shrugged and reached to open the door. When she did, she stood speechless.

Time seemed to stand still.

"My God," she whispered finally, upon seeing the bright face in front of her.

Matthew, too, was hardly registering it, his mouth agape at the surprise in front of him.

The children came running in behind them, confused as to what was going on, when they saw who was there.

"George!" shouted William, immediately running toward his big brother to give him a hug. "You're home!"

"But… how?" Mary asked, taking him into her arms, still in total shock.

"They told me a couple days ago they were giving me Christmas leave, and that was hardly enough time to get a message home so I figured I'd give you a little surprise. I hope it was pleasant?"

Matthew stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his son. "The most wonderful surprise."

The Weary World Rejoices

1943

For the first time in years, Downton Abbey was a full house for Christmas.

George was home for this Christmas— perhaps not for the happiest of reasons as he was recovering from a gunshot wound to his shoulder— but at least he was home. All the doctors said he would make a full recovery eventually and for that his parents were very thankful; glad he would recover but also glad to have him home for a time, for the months that he would be out of danger.

Matthew too had managed to get Christmas off, and he eagerly traveled home from London. He had grown very tired of London, of the fear in the streets and the warlike atmosphere the city itself had taken on. Coming home to the country was an escape, a much needed one.

Violet was lucky enough to get off of her job as an ambulance driver in London for Christmas as well— it may have helped that she was the daughter of an earl and that she generally refused her paltry salary— but in any case, she was grateful, and she and Matthew took the same train home, together.

When the train pulled into the station, both of them were asleep, exhausted from the work they had been doing. They only were woken up by the shouts of familiar voices outside the train car. Matthew woke up and glanced outside to see his wife and his four other children on the platform, yelling and pointing at the train car. "Violet, we're here," he said, trying to wake her softly but sounding rather frantic at the same time. "And we've got quite the reception committee!"

As they stepped down onto the platform, it was almost as if they were mobbed by family, so excited was everyone to be reunited. It had been so long since they all had been together, and everyone was so tired of the war, but so glad to have family.

"We missed you," Mary whispered into Matthew's ear as she embraced him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. But today we have reason for joy."

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

1946

Lily had set up her record player and was playing Christmas music, and the tones flowed through the house making everything cheerful. It was certainly much more cheerful than the last few Christmases had been; the war was over and new faces showed up in the Christmas celebrations. Violet was married to Andrew, a doctor she had met while she was driving ambulances during the war, and they seemed very happy. And George had brought home his girlfriend, Amelia, and they seemed very serious about their relationship. The celebration was much less formal than it had been in years past; music played as everyone gathered in the hall, drinking and full of merriment.

Matthew got up and stood in front of the Christmas tree, a glass of champagne in hand. "It's been quite a year, hasn't it? A year of peace for all of us. And I'd just like to say how delighted I am that everyone is here, that we're spending Christmas together. I love Christmas, as my children tease me about often, and it thrills me to celebrate it with them. I'm so proud of all of them. Violet, my dear girl, not entirely mine anymore, but I suppose you never were. You've grown into an incredible woman and it makes me so glad to see you so happy. William, you've excelled so much in your education, and it makes me very glad to see that. Beth, you as well. If you had told me twenty years ago that my daughter would be studying at Oxford, I would have been pleasantly surprised, but now it is not such a surprise at all, because of how incredibly clever you are. Lily, your mother and I will miss you as you go to travel the world next month, but I know it will be an incredible experience, and we're so proud of you for taking this leap. And George, what can I say? I'm so glad you made it through the hell that war is and came out a better man for it. And I…"

"Before you say anything, Papa," George interrupted, "I have an announcement that may affect what you say about me in your speech. I proposed to Amelia last night, and she accepted me."

The hall burst out into cheers and congratulations, and George and Amelia stood close to each other, blushing (George probably more than Amelia).

"Congratulations, my dear boy," Matthew said. "I'm so grateful for all the joy we've experienced through the years, and what a lovely Christmas announcement to make."

George grinned. "I'd like to propose a toast. To many more happy Christmases!"

"To many more happy Christmases!" rang out the reply.