"What kind of store doesn't have Christmas ornaments?"
A rare one. I've seen Christmas stuff up in early October.

"Sorry sir, we are completely sold out of ornaments."
I feel the same way Sam does when I go out and hear they're *still* having trouble keeping .22LR in stock. I'm fixing to just start buying online exclusively - y'know goshdarn well Nicky loves his plinking!

"Forgetting the whole Christmas thing is sounding awfully appealing."
I mostly do. One gift for everyone, within a certain price range, ordered online. The rest of my non-work efforts that time of year are spent do-gooding. It's nice to volunteer at shelters and spend other money on gifts to go to kids who don't get any. Too many people get forgotten that time of year, I try to make up for that by helping as many as I can. I can give some acquaintance a gift he won't care about, or I can put together a care packet to help a homeless guy stay warm and clean.

"...eyes hitting Sam..."
I've heard it said that Sam's the better hunter, and it may or may not be true in tracking monsters, but Dean is one hell of an investigator when it comes to Sam. He's got a really good knack for putting pieces together about his brother.
And come to think of it, Sam is like that with Dean.
That's what makes it so frustrating about their bad habit of keeping secrets from each other - it never works, and it always puts a wedge between them. I've never been Team Sam or Team Dean, I root for Team Kickass Brothers As A Team, but they make it so hard.

I don't do Wincest, but damnit that silent treatment feels like an old married couple to me. And the following not-quite-argument. "Sorry for caring!" Ah yes, the old standby.

"...but Dean can take on a mysterious mark..."
That's exactly what I'm talking about. It's ok when one does it, but not when the other does it. I can put my life on the line, you can't. I'll die for you, but you don't get to die for me. They seriously need to get this straightened out between them. (It's also why I don't understand Dean being pissed off about Sam not looking for him when he was in Purgatory. I'm not sure Sam had any way of knowing, for one, and for two, while were it me I would want at least some sort of effort, Dean made it sound like Sam should have spent every waking moment trying to get him back. So, do you or do you not risk your life so your brother can live a long and happy life after you are gone? You both keep acting like you do, but being pissed off he wasn't miserable without you makes me wonder.
Also, Dean does kind of have a thing that bugs me. Kevin is the example I immediately remember of this, although it's there with others, too - he had a tendency, especially with the tablet stuff, to treat Kevin far more as a tool than a person.
This is all just my opinion, of course. I am expecting not to have to go to war over this, please.

"Sure you don't mean controlling?"
The problem with arguments that are culminations of things larger than them is the more worked up we get, the more we start shooting from the hip. I say often that words won't kill you, so don't pay them any heed. The flip side of that coin is that they are like bullets - you can't take them back. And from someone we care about, we can't help but pay heed to their words. We so often forget to put the safety on right at the times it *needs* to be on.

Good of Sam to look at the bright side and be productive.

"Not exactly your typical Christmas look..."
Some of the best stuff of Christmas is being cheap and letting necessity dictate. When companies used to send those annoying free CDs, I used to superglue the label sides together, shiny undersides facing out. Minus the cost of the glue, it was a free ornament.
Also nice is to take scrap metal and polish it to a shine. There's always small scraps around the shop you can pocket, and they look really pretty when you're done.
All kinds of neat stuff to do on the cheap, and it makes it more unique than the store-bought stuff.

"...and he really hopes it's not expired turkey again."
HA HA! I have encountered that problem.

I'm thinking it's one of those amulets. One ought not mess with stuff like that. Or even just cans - you might think, oh free half-can of soda, it's mine now. Only to discover the hard way somebody was using it as a tobacco spit cup.

"Might've worked better if you hadn't used the cursed one."
Indeed. And to think, Sam could have learned this lesson just as well by paying attention while watching Warehouse 13.

Considering Cas has to drive now, he is indeed lucky. Can't count on instant angel (just add water) anymore, guys.

"...Sam trying not to walk like his bones belong to an eighty-year-old man."
There are some mornings I kind of feel like that.

Instead of buying a real tree, I recommend they buy one of those fake ones with the prefixed lights. When you're done, you fold it up and put it back in the box until next year. Zero shedding, zero light tangles, all ornamentation just because you really want to and not because otherwise it's just a pile of green.

"Merry Christmas, Johnboy!" "Merry Christmas, Mary Ann!" "Merry Christmas, Becky!" "Merry Christmas, Ike" "Merry Christmas..." Enough! Merry Christmas to all, and to all shut the hell up, the KISS Christmas Special is starting!

Hey, great story! I really suffered with Sam, poor guy. I look forward to your next story:)

I love this, such a wonderful holiday story! (Also, I feel for Sam and his Walmart attempts, ugh - that is truly the mark of a good friend)

Good S9 fics that address their relationship issues without being completely depressing are so hard to find, and you added Cas in without making him the focus of the fic, an even rarer find - definitely going to be one of my favorites. I love the detail you put into this, from Cas randomly tearing a tree out of the forest (?) to Dean then tearing it up to find the cursed amulet - great job!

You fixed their fight!Well, they're still never perfect, but the huge fights are so painful to watch, or read in your fic, so I'm really happy about the ending! Merry Christmas!

This worked really well and the tension between the brothers was just right for the time period it was set in. The not talking and petty arguments was very reflective of season nine. This was a lovely Christmas piece and the ending was very sweet too.