I was feeling nostalgic this morning, realizing it had been far too long since I last read this cute holiday fic, and I've just barreled through it now.

It's just as sweet, and delightfully fun (especially the last chapter), as I remember it being!

I haven't enjoyed Supernatural since S11, and stopped watching it not long after the Scooby episode (and by that point, I was barely watching it anyway), but I do keep tabs on the show on Tumblr out of curiosity. And whenever I pop into the tags, I find myself missing how much I used to enjoy the show, and missing reading fun and creative the fics like this.

This has been a favorite of mine for years, and I'm glad it's still here for myself and others to enjoy!

Thank you for sharing this with us, it's a classic!
Merry Christmas!

I've been wanting to re read this for awhile now. You have the characters down. This has been one of my favorite fictions. It has everything, Thank you

Brought a smile to my face. Couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry when Dean opened Cas' present.

Supernatural Fanfiction Monthly Award Review:

A fun story - mostly because your characterization of Castiel was both funny and mirrored his cluelessness/earnestness/occasional flashes of insight/humor from the show. The first chapter, with him staying so far away from Dean gave the reader- and Dean - awareness that something was very wrong, clues that he had very much hurt his angel. I liked the use of the flashback to 5 weeks ago, and Sam's chastising Dean about his behavior towards Cas.

I find it interesting that you wrote this in present tense. In most cases, it did make the story feel more immediate, but it made the flashback scene in chapter 1 a bit awkward, since you went from present to past tense to present again. I'm wondering if you should have had that entire flashback scene in past tense - something to think about.

Dean's reformation was cute, his moments with Cas and Sam's teasing ... For a pre-slash Destiel, this was decent, and I could enjoy the bromance. The gift of Cas' replacement amulet, Dean's immediate dismissal of it, and then his decision not to induce another "thousand small cruelties" was sweet - as was Cas' gift of chestnuts (and the chestnut roasting scene a great example of Chekhov's law - the chestnuts introduced in chapter 1 must materialize by chapter 4 - as well as a great way to bring more humor into the story.)

All in all, a fun story. Thank you!

Supernatural Fan Fiction Monthly Awards review:
This is certainly an entertaining story. A little more shmoosh than the characters on the show (but I'm never one to find fault in That!), and a bit minor tense problems here & there, most notable in chapter 1, this is otherwise, and indeed, a Very Fine Piece! I can't even count the number of times where the dialog and clever witticisms Stood Out, and there were paragraphs here that were simply sublime:
"For the first time, Dean wonders what Castiel's quest must be like. He imagines the angel moving through crowds of beople who are begging for God's attention even as a manifestation of Heaven walks unnoticed in their midst. He pictures Cas windblown on snowy, jagged mountaintops, pacing restlessly through arid deserts, standing silent and watchful in old growth forests-vigilant, focused, and always, always alone."
I really enjoyed this story!

Supernatural Fan Fiction Monthly Awards Review:

Competently written, with some moments of excellent characterisation and interesting concepts explored. Bobby's characterisation was particularly good.

It's always a pleasure to read a story that helps Dean through his issues, although more depth to the impacts of the events does increase believability. There aren't many people able to process and discard a long-held belief after a couple of minutes conversation, even ultra-logical conversation. The nature of friendship here appeared to be leading elsewhere but never stepped over the mark; however the implications in the story did detract slightly from the overall story's impact since it was both unexpected and had an effect on Dean's characterisation.

This story was rec'd on LJ.

And it was wonderful! I am not a Destiel fan (or a fan of slash in general) and you may have just touched the edge but it can easily be handwaved (or not, depending on the reader). I cannot express how much I love you for that!

Everyone was so familiar to me it made reading your story a joy. I loved the banter between brothers, the compassionate lie Castiel told for Bobby, the exchanging of gifts and the chestnut fiasco. I laughed til tears were streaming.

But most of all, I absolutely LOVED how Castiel's gift to Dean was played out by all. From disappointment, to humor, to rejection, to sympathy, to acceptance and understanding and finally to heartfelt apology. And Dean's play-by-play of the 'Match of the Century' was priceless!

Thank You so much for a wonderful read this Christmas season, belated though it may be.

Cat

Yep. Still my favorite holiday SPN fic. Thanks for writing!

oh my, so adorable! and hilarious, espicially the mental image of those chestnuts flying around :D
Thanks for writing!

THIS WAS BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT AND YES

I loved your characterisation and i really loved the build up of the story. It was really all the little elements you put in that made the moments so special and fluffy and really made me go 'awww.'
This is a really good christmas fic - it's not overly, ooc-ly fluffy nor is it all angsty and sad.
It made me laugh a lot but it was still so believable.
thank you!
i wish you'd continued dean and cas' relationship tho - twas really cute. :)

Oh man that line of... the danger lies in the height difference and Cas's nose in Sam's armpit was freaking priceless! I must have laughed for like 2 minutes straight. Hysterical!

This was so good it physically hurts!

Aww this was just what I needed to get in the christmas spirit. Thank you, very well written!

Absolute brilliance. :) Especially Dean's interpretation of the Sam V. Cas "smack down", fail sport analogies included. Lol.

And of course the holiday bonding, dean and Cas' most of all.