First of all, I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get around to reading this! I will try and do better in future.

First of all, I LOVE the concept of Anna and John making their own advent calendar for Jack and filling it with little gifts for him. That's so awesome! I want one, LOL! And of course John slipping in some racy notes for Anna was something I heartily approve of. Let's hope they go right over Jack's young head!

You painted a lovely scene of domesticity with John coming home and taking in all the sights and smells (and yes, I can totally see Anna as the kind of person who would want a real Christmas tree!). It was totally completed by that moment shared in the kitchen. My heart was swelling with complete happiness. I loved the sheer marriedness of the moment. And Jack sounds like such a little card! I loved the image of him trying to sneak biscuits behind Anna's back and having cheeks like a chipmunk's whenever she looked at him. And of course the reminiscing over their first Christmas in that little flat was a very perfect one! ;)

Yay for a snapshot of father/son bonding time! :D I loved the fact that John had clearly reached a point in his life where he cared less about his limitations by using 'Bum Leg' in their game, and the 'Smelly Jack' story was just too funny!

The two of them teasing Jack about having nothing to do tonight was so precious. At least they didn't keep him hanging for long! And of course I loved Anna's thoughts about John being such a good father. You just know he would be. Jack's present would definitely be appreciated. It'll serve a great purpose when he gets to play pirates with John again. :D And Anna's message was very cryptic and intriguing. I loved how John's mind immediately went to the gutter, and Anna's no-nonsense raised eyebrow that stopped him in his tracks when he wanted to question her further.

The treasure hunt for the real present was one of my favourite things ever. All of the clues were so much fun and so creative! I had a lot of fun trying to work out where Anna might have put the next clues too. On the inside of the bottle of detergent was particularly resourceful, and the image of John initially picking through the dirty laundry was very amusing. His musings in the bathroom were wonderful. I loved his thought that it was the hub of family life, and each of his memories of the place was perfect. I laughed out loud at the image of Anna checking for serial killers behind the shower curtain, and of course thinking of Jack's bath times as a baby was bittersweet. And I have no doubt that Anna and John certainly made the raciest of memories in there! ;)

Anna's moment of concern that John might not find the news good felt very real to me. After all, they have had six years of it just being the three of them, and while we know that they would both love a houseful of children, sometimes people become content with the way things are (and I always love the nod to canon when Anna plays with her wedding ring when she is anxious about something). But of course John loved it! He would never do anything else! And you portray the aching longing for more in the flashback scene so well. Anna and John deserve all the children they want, and I'm glad that their family is expanding! That Halloween party sounds like a very good time indeed! No wonder it ended up with baby number two on the way (and the idea of them roleplaying nurse and patient is rather hot, LOL!). I also enjoyed the echoes to canon with Anna worrying that something might go wrong. After wanting it for so long, it's only natural to feel that way. At least John could reassure her that everything would be okay.

The final scene was absolutely hilarious. John awkwardly thinking that Jack might believe that Santa put the baby in Anna's stomach was too much for me to handle. Brilliant. My reaction was pretty much like Anna's. And I loved their playful bantering about Anna thinking that John "wasn't completely wrong" and him stating that it meant that she thought he was right. At least it was a step forward from him always being wrong! :D The final image of them curling up together on the sofa with the snow fluttering outside and the presents under the tree and the fireplace hissing was such a peaceful, beautiful one, and a perfect ending for the fic.

Yeah, I really freaking loved this.

Loved this story so much. Loved the pirate names and the scavenger hunt!

Oh my gosh! First of all, I was very happy to see you were my Secret Santa writer as I have loved your previous stories. And then I read the story and was absolutely overwhelmed (in a very good way) by fluff! Christmas family fluff is the best kind of fluff there is :D

I can just imagine Anna being so resourceful and finding fun ways to keep her little boy occupied. I love thinking of them as a family who have fun together, in whatever era, and you summed that up perfectly here. It's like how you mention it when John gets home: it's what they've both always longed for, being a family (ahhh, the feels!) And I love how you capture so vividly Anna and John as such involved parents. Jack must adore them both for being so hands-on with him. I loved the pirate fun and games :)

Then you incorporate the Mummy and Daddy 'alone-time' so well, I love how John pays so much attention to Anna too (that he knows just the way she is biting her lip). Very much enjoyed their reminiscing of their first Christmas together, as well as Anna echoing her warning to Jack back to John as well that Father Christmas was watching, hee hee.

I love the idea of the homemade advent calendar and that all three of them are involved in the gifts inside. I did giggle at all of John's thoughts during the 'treasure hunt' that Anna put him on, but especially when he thought it must have been something racy if Jack had to be asleep. I did start to wonder if the blue and pink things were a clue, and oh my...! I experienced an avalanche of feels, especially given how John had been remembering Jack as a baby just beforehand. Oh, I do love the idea of a bigger Bates family and they're all going to be so happy! Just so long as everyone's clear that John is the daddy, and not Father Christmas ;) :D

Thank you *so* much for this wonderful story, so funny and super fluffy - exactly the kind of thing I love! It's an amazing gift :)

Aaah such a lovely response to that prompt! So wonderful :D

That was sweet, love me some little family Bates! and Jack is a little force to be reckoned with at times, in a good way. Never tire of Banna being parents, I have to admit I burst out laughing at John not wanting to tell Jack at Christmas ...and his reason why... so cute

Banna are blissfully happy with their lives. Little Jack sounds like a handful and both his parents love him more for it! Anna sounds like she goes all in for Christmas. Father Christmas has a lot to watch in Bates household :) Jack woke his mum up with his feet? What a lad he is! I love how John is teasing Jack about there being nothing special going on Christmas Eve. He is going to pay for that one day :) Follow Anna’s instructions to the letter and you may be rewarded John ;) What a wonderful surprise at the end of John’s search. John loves being a father, and especially Anna’s husband. Love the Star Wars shout out! You would think John would be used to Anna always being right :) Poor John doesn’t want to take a back seat to Father Christmas being the father of his child? Think of the magical powers the little one would have. Fitting in chimneys, passing out presents to everyone all over the world in one night, being able to eat all those biscuits and drink all that brandy laced milk. The list goes on and on! That was a perfect use of the prompt too! Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us!

I loved Anna being all crafty and loving -so maternal. Stories like this make me sad we never got to see Bates and Anna in canon as parents. They would have been so doting. I love that John was so attentive to his son. And the surprise Baby Bates! So sweet! I hope you write more -you have a lot of talent!