It's early December, and the temperature outside is already somewhere below freezing, but inside the house this evening, the heat of six bodies is enough to keep things cosy.

They all gravitate to the TV, where Dean and Gabriel have talked Cas into watching Dr Sexy reruns with them, but the two of them wind up talking over the show constantly as explanations of the plot turn into arguments over the correct solution to the characters' relationship problems. The rest aren't paying much attention to the screen, but they have settled in the front room for the warmth and companionship – Sam's sat with his laptop, Jo with one of Sam's Discworld novels, and Anna is curled up around a battered second-hand Austen.

When the commercials come on, with the accompanying burst of volume, Anna glances up at the screen. Dean grumbles at hits mute, but the visual remains – a red-suited Santa, beaming rosy-cheeked out at the world from the window of some department store or another. It's not surprising; Thanksgiving has passed, and in the world of television advertising, that can only mean one thing.

"You know," Anna says. "We should do Christmas this year."

Gabriel snorts derisively. "How about no?"

"Why not?" Anna asks. "We're all here, and the world isn't ending. What's not to celebrate?"

"The cultural appropriation of centuries of pagan traditions in the name of rampant consumerism?"

Sam glances up at them from his armchair. "I'm never letting you on Tumblr again."

"I love Christmas," Jo announces, putting an arm around Anna's shoulder. "Tinsel, mistletoe... What's not to like?"

"Well, then let's do Christmas," Dean declares, smiling at the pair of them, and before any argument can be had, he turns the volume back up as the Dr Sexy theme tune begins to play.

Gabriel scowls at Anna from the other sofa, but she ignores him and turns back to Pride and Prejudice.

When they're all sat around the breakfast table the next morning, blinking into their cereal, Anna brings up the topic again.

"We need a tree," she says. "And decorations, and food. The last two we can get at the supermarket, but the only trees they have are plastic. If we want a real one, someone needs to drive out to the garden centre across town."

"Cas and I can handle the tree," Dean offers.

"I thought you might say that." Anna smiles. Dean's been coming up with increasingly creative excuses to avoid the holiday shopping crowds since before Halloween. "You'd better take Jo's truck, the Impala will be no good if it snows. We can walk to the store. Now, I wanted to handle decorations..."

"Me too!" Jo claims quickly. Gabe rolls his eyes.

"Which leaves Sam and Gabriel on food," Anna concludes. "Right, let's get going!"

As Anna is forcing them to bundle up in gloves and scarves, Gabriel asks why they can't just fly to the Supermarket.

"We're having a traditional Christmas," Anna says, with her most dangerous expression on.

"That means no mojo-ing anything!" Jo adds with a helpful smile.

Gabe looks from one to the other in disbelief, until Sam nudges him in the arm and mutters: "Go with it or we'll be murdered in our sleep."

"Pretty much!" Jo says.

"Ah," Gabe says as Anna tugs his scarf straight. "Traditional."

They arrive at the Supermarket a little before ten a.m., which of course means that it's already crawling with people. Anna and Jo take a basket and charge off towards the unsuspecting decorations aisle, while Gabriel and Sam head towards the food.

"What does 'Christmas food' mean exactly?" Sam asks. "I mean, we can't buy the turkey now, it won't last until Christmas..."

Gabriel is ignoring him in favour of poking some Brussels sprouts. "Why do they still sell these things anyway? I thought they were universally reviled."

"Tradition," Sam answers without turning around. "Gabe, what does 'Christmas food' mean to you?"

"Candy canes," Gabriel answers immediately. "Gingerbread men. Lebkuchen."

"Okay, yeah," Sam nods. "Sounds good. Where do you think they keep that stuff?"

Gabriel raises an eyebrow, and holds his hand up ready to click.

"No way," Sam says quickly. "Anna said no mojo, and I want to make it to New Years with my kidneys intact. Come on, I think there's eggnog this way."

"Hey, did you mention Lebkuchen earlier? They have these recipe cards..."

"No."

"Could you at least try for some holiday spirit?"

A sigh.

"Okay, fine. But we're making the icing too."

They meet up with Jo and Anna at the checkout, having pre-ordered a turkey and gathered a reasonable, if somewhat eclectic range of holiday-themed foodstuffs. For their part, the girls are carrying enough tinsel to create at least a dozen unusually festive mummies, and Gabriel, who had point-blank refused to carry any of Sam's bags, gets decked in a woodland grove's worth of mistletoe and holly for the duration of the walk back.

When Sam starts unpacking the flour and sugar, Anna's face lights up. "You're going to bake something?" She beams at him.

"You're going to bake something?" Jo repeats, somewhat more sceptically. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm not about to burn the house down," Sam insists. "Besides, Gabe will help."

"I will?"

"You're getting involved," Anna tells him, and the 'whether you want to or not' hangs heavy in the air. "Either you decorate, or you cook."

"I will!" Gabe agrees. "Right, Lebkuchen. What could possibly go wrong?"

"I thought you said you knew how to make these," Sam objects.

"I do," Gabe says flatly. "My usual way is faster. And less likely to cause massive fire damage."

Sam forces a smile. "Right. Perfect."

Dean pulls Jo's truck up outside the garden supplies store on the outskirts of town. Eleven months of the year, it's the kind of place he'd never set foot in, full of ornamental carp and trellises for people with far too much time to spend on their little stretch of lawn. But when December rolls around, they stock the best Christmas trees in town, and plenty of them.

"Let me know if you spot a good one," he tells Cas, as they wonder up and down the rows of pines and firs.

"What are the criteria for a good Christmas tree?" Cas asks, inspecting one nearby. Dean dismisses it immediately – it's barely taller than he is, Sam would dwarf it.

"Taller than that," Dean tells him. "But not so small it won't fit in the front room. Thick branches, even shape... I don't know, generally healthy. Like, say, that one."

He points out a reasonable contender a short distance away, but Castiel shakes his head.

"That tree is not healthy. It has been left without water too long. It will begin to shed needles soon."

Dean smiles. "See, you're getting the hang of it already."

Anna is just fetching the stepladder from the cupboard when a string of tinsel catches her around the neck. She turns to find Jo grinning at her, stepping in close.

"So, Little Miss Christmas Spirit," Jo says. "What are you hoping Santa will leave under the tree?"

"Hmm, I have a few ideas... but you'll have to wait until I've written my letter to find out," Anna teases. "What about you?"

"Oh, I think I might just get coal in my stocking," Jo laughs, and leans forward for a kiss.

Anna stops her with a finger to her lips. "We couldn't have that, now could we?"

Jo frowns for a second, then spins around as Gabriel taps her on the shoulder.

"Well, this doesn't look like decorating," he teases.

"Shouldn't you be in the kitchen?" Jo shoots back.

"Does anyone know where we keep the sieve?" Sam calls from the open doorway.

Anna ducks out from under the tinsel and heads in there to help, leaving Jo and Gabriel to glare at each other for a moment before heading back to work.

Gabriel's idea of helping with the cooking seems to be sitting at the table watching Sam work, and occasionally sneaking one hand into the glacé ginger.

"Would you stop eating the ingredients?" Sam snaps at him. "I've weighed those out already."

Gabe smirks, and pops another bite in his mouth.

"Here," Sam thrusts a bowl into his hands. "Combine this."

"With what? My bare hands?"

"With whatever comes to hand," Sam says in a low voice. Gabe rolls his eyes, and digs in the draw for a spoon.

"Really, Sasquatch," he says. "It was an honest question! You don't have to be so melodramatic."

By the time Dean and Castiel get back, the front room is already half-decorated.

"Who let off the tinsel bomb?" Dean asks as he walks in.

"Nothing to do with me!" Gabriel calls from the kitchen, and Dean looks inside.

"You baking cookies, Sammy?" he says with a grin.

"Bite me," Sam answers calmly.

Castiel frowns slightly, and glances at Jo. "Are we certain that this dwelling has adequate protection against fires?"

Jo stifles a laugh against the back of her hand.

"You're back?" Anna's halfway up the stepladder, fixing mistletoe over the doorway. "Did you get the tree?"

"We got the tree," Castiel confirms. "Dean assures me it is a fine specimen."

"It's in the truck," Dean says. "Do you want us to bring it in?"

Anna frowns. "Jo, where's the tree holder?"

"Just a second!" Jo drops remainder the line of tinsel she's pinning up onto the sofa, and rummages inside the bags in the middle of the room. After a moment, she emerges victorious.

"Got it! Bring her in!"

Sam checks the oven temperature three times and the timer twice before he'll leave the cookies to bake.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Gabriel asks.

Sam smiles, and hands him a bag of icing sugar.

"Really, Winchester?"

"You're the one who wanted them to have icing."

Gabriel shoots him a disapproving look, but sets the cleanest remaining bowl on the scales.

"How much?"

Sam consults the recipe card. "Ten ounces. And then we'll need three ounces of –"

He cuts off spluttering as Gabe tips the icing sugar upside down, sending up a choking mushroom cloud of powder which clogs Sam's lungs with sweetness. After a few moments, the sugar settles, and Sam can breathe again, but he's coated in a fine layer of the dust.

Gabriel is spotless. And grinning.

"You've got a little something..." He wipes a finger along Sam's cheek, then licks it clean with a leer.

"Could I be of some assistance?"

"Cas!" Sam only starts a little. "I thought you were helping with the tree?"

"Dean and Anna have the situation under control," Castiel explains, and Sam is suddenly painfully aware of how not under control this scene probably looks. There are dirty bowls everywhere, flour and butter are smeared across half of the counter, and even before the sugar bomb Sam's pretty sure he had egg in his hair.

Gabriel smirks mischievously, and thrusts the bowl at Cas. Before Sam can stop him, he's pouring out more icing sugar –

Castiel's hand snaps out faster than Sam's eyes can follow, and the puff of sugar dust erupts in Gabe's face.

Gabriel lets out an indignant squawk, which dissolves into a hacking cough. Sam bursts out laughing, and doesn't stop until his stomach hurts.

"Weighing out powdered sugar is a delicate business, Gabriel," Castiel says calmly. "Perhaps you would be better suited to washing up."

"Are you sure that it's going to fit through the door?" Anna asks.

Dean rolls his eyes and doesn't give the question the dignity of being answered.

"Stand back," he says, "we're coming through."

They make it as far as the hall without incident, but when the turn into the front room comes, Dean encounters a small problem.

"Son of a bitch."

The tinsel Anna hung along the banister has tangled around one of the tree branches. He could pull it loose without too much problem, but if he does, the entire thing might come down.

"Don't you dare," Anna says, watching helplessly from her position on the other side of the doorway. "Dean..."

"You got a better suggestion?" he asks.

"How about," Jo's voice in his ear makes him jump, and he nearly drops the tree. "You admit you need help."

"What are you planning on...?"

Jo drops to the ground and rolls under the tree, popping back to her feet to unwraps the tinsel with ease.

"What were you were saying about being able to handle this one on your own?"

Dean ignores her smirk, and manhandles the tree into its holder. "I said I could lift it, not navigate through you two's booby traps."

He heads to the kitchen to get some water for the base, but Gabriel is leaning in the doorway. When he sees Dean approaching, he grins, and his eyes flick upwards.

There's a sprig of mistletoe over the doorway.

"Pucker up, Dean-o."

"I thought you didn't buy into any of this crap," Dean protests.

"Some traditions are more convincing than others."

Dean shuts his eyes and leans in to brush a quick kiss on Gabriel's lips, only for Gabriel to grab him by the shoulders and dip him. Taking this as the dare it is – and determined not to be the first to back down – Dean kisses back.

It's a good thirty seconds before Gabriel rights Dean again, and steps aside to let him pass into the kitchen...

Where Castiel and Sam are stood together over a mixing bowl. Cas's expression is inscrutable as ever, but Sam screws his face up in the universal scowl of offended dignity.

"You have egg in your hair," Dean tells him in response, and runs a glass under the tap. The sink is piled high with bowls and spoons plastered in various constituencies of goo.

He heads back to the front room and tips the water under the tree carefully, then smiles to himself. His part in this is done.

"Paper chains." Anna points to a make them yourself kit on the table without even turning around. "Everyone is on decorating duty until further notice."

He opens his mouth to protest, than has a better idea.

"Sammy?" he calls into the kitchen. "Want to lend a hand putting the lights up on the roof?"

"Definitely," the answer comes, and Anna's pointed look can't do anything to change that.

"We should have music," Jo says as she strings up the last of the holly.

They've never bothered to buy a radio, but it doesn't take her five minutes to open Sam's laptop and find a Christmas playlist online. Soon, the room is filled, somewhat tinnily, with the sound of bells tinkling.

"Sleighbells ring, are you listening?"

Jo hums along as she surveys Anna's progress with the baubles on the tree, then turns to the gradually dwindling pile of decorations on the table.

"Popcorn!" she catches sight of it and grins. "I loved making these when I was a kid..."

"Do you want to do the honours, then?" Anna asks.

Jo makes it as far as the kitchen door before she encounters Gabriel. She takes in the mistletoe he's waiting underneath, and frowns.

"Uh huh?" she asks incredulously, but he doesn't move. In fact, he smiles wider.

She steps in close, and delivers the iciest kiss Gabe has ever had the terror of receiving. It's made all the more worrying when she follows it with a bright smile.

"Gabriel is abusing holiday customs for his own amusement," Castiel observes from the sink where he's washing up.

"Amusement isn't the problem," Jo says, a little too cheerfully as she puts the popcorn in the microwave. "Tis the season to be jolly. I'm sure I can think of plenty of fun ways to get rid of that leftover holly."

"Bring it," Gabriel scoffs.

"Jo, where did you put the –" Anna appears in the doorway, almost stepping into Gabriel. Her eyes narrow, and turn to the mistletoe.

"Gabe," she says slowly. "Mistletoe is part of the holiday spirit. You cannot use it as a toll booth."

"Kisses are incredibly Christmassy –" he begins.

"Enough." Anna puts a hand on his arm. "Castiel doesn't need your help to ice the biscuits. You can come and help with the tree."

Jo catches Castiel's eye, and mouths 'busted.'

"Someone needs to make some paper chains," Anna continues. "And someone else had better not dawdle with the popcorn, Jo Harvelle."

"Wouldn't dream of it," she says sharply, firing off a fake salute. Anna doesn't look amused, but Gabriel winks at Jo before he lets Anna lead him away.

"What about now?"

"Higher than that."

"This high?"

"I said higher, Sammy, not keep it the same. Keep going... Okay, there."

"It can't possibly be that high."

"That's where it is on the other side."

"I just put it on the other side, Dean, and it definitely wasn't this high."

"I'm telling you, that's where it needs to go."

"Fine! But I'm not the one climbing back up here when you realise it's crooked."

"Nor am I, because it's going to look awesome if you just do what I tell you and stop complaining."

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

Anna, Jo and Gabe are sat around the tree making decorations to the strains of 'Baby It's Cold Outside' when the oven timer goes off in the kitchen.

"You know," Gabriel says to no-one in particular. "There is a good reason that paper chains are normally only created by five year olds."

"I've nearly used all of my paper," Anna informs him. "Jo, do you need a hand with the popcorn strings?"

"We're going to have plenty left over either way," Jo says.

"Brilliant." Gabe grabs a fistful and puts it in his mouth, dodging when Jo tries to smack his hands away. He's chews a couple of times before a despairing expression creeps over his face. "Plain? You're killing me here. What have you got against a little sugar?"

"Nothing." Jo rolls her eyes. "Sugar's great if you want cockroaches all over our tree. How do the cookies look, Cas?"

She raises her voice, and the other two fall silent until they hear Castiel's response.

"Edible."

Gabriel sighs. "Well, that sounds promising."

"Cheer up," Anna tells him. "Look, I'm all done. Got a spare needle there for me, Jo?"

Jo hands her one, and Anna sets about attacking the bowl of popcorn.

"Ow!" Anna hisses and jerks her hand back.

"Yeah, if you're not used to it you tend to jab your thumb a lot," Jo tells her. "A thimble might help while you're starting out."

Anna raises an eyebrow. "We didn't buy a thimble."

"And we sure don't have one lying around." Gabriel raises his eyes to the ceiling. "How could we possibly get a hold of something like a thimble completely out of thin air?"

Anna's eyebrows arch, and she goes on threading popcorn in silence, wincing on every other kernel.

Jo notices Gabriel tapping his hand slightly against the floor. Three fingers, two, one...

"Okay, fine. Gabriel, could you summon me a thimble? Please?"

"Well, that really depends..." He leans back against the side of the sofa, looking expectant.

Anna looks down slightly, then forces herself to meet Gabriel's eye. "I'm sorry. About today... everything. I just – I thought it would be fun?"

Gabe smiles and snaps his fingers, and a thimble appears.

"Just screwing with you, Annie," he says. "Today's been a blast."

Anna looks shocked, but before she has a chance to respond, the front door opens.

"They're up," Sam calls from outside. "Everyone get out here!"

They don't bother with scarves and gloves for this brief excursion, so they stand in a line on the sidewalk shivering as they wait for Dean to flip the switch. Sam has his hands tucked deep into his pockets, but Jo is hopping up and down to keep warm, and when the lights finally flicker on, she's the first to let out a cheer.

Dean emerges triumphantly from the garage, craning his neck to get a good look.

"What did I tell you?" he asks as he gets close. "Awesome."

"You know I moved it down when you weren't looking?" Sam tells him with a laugh.

"Of course you did." Dean rolls his eyes. "Let's get back inside, I'm freezing my butt off out here."

"I believe the biscuits will be ready to eat now," Castiel adds. "They will be more enjoyable fresh."

They huddle back through the doorway and into the front room, where six steaming hot mugs of chocolate are mysteriously waiting on the table.

Sam glances in Anna's direction, but she shrugs unconcernedly as she settles back next to the bowl of popcorn. "He remembered the mini marshmallows."

Dean collapses heavily onto the sofa, then has the laptop shoved into his hands so Sam can fall across the other half. He glances at the screen.

"Hey – is that -?" Dean groans. "Christmas songs, guys? Really?"

"You got a problem with chestnuts roasting on an open fire?" Jo challenges.

"Well," Dean says diplomatically. "They probably taste better than Sam's cooking."

Castiel, returning from the kitchen with a plate full of lebkuchen, shoots Dean a somewhat reproachful look. "If you doubt their quality, I'm sure someone else could consume your share."

"Pass them here," Dean insists, shoving one in his mouth. "Hmm... you know, these aren't that bad."

Sam glares at him for that, but he takes the biscuit gingerly, and seems surprised that it doesn't taste poisonous. "They came out okay!"

"Hand them over," Gabriel demands, scooting the slow-growing tangles of his paper chain towards the sofa until he bumps into Dean's legs. He chews slowly and thoughtfully, then pronounces the judgement of the self-proclaimed ultimate arbiter of sweet things: "Not perfect, but a solid first attempt. See, guys, I told you this was a good idea!"

Sam rolls his eyes over his chocolate, and exchanges a tired look with Castiel, who's perched on the arm of the sofa next to him, but neither of them says a word.

"All done!" Jo declares, holding the empty popcorn bowl aloft like a trophy. Anna jumps to her feet immediately, and starts arranging their completed strings over the tree.

"So the rest of you are just going to sit here and watch me work?" Gabriel asks.

"Fair's fair," Jo declares. "Enough paper chains for one day."

"Thanks a bundle," Gabe says darkly, but he gets to his feet and starts draping his own creation among the baubles and candy canes – while occasionally attempting to remove a couple of the latter.

"Stop that!" Anna tells him. "Okay, that looks fine."

All three of them step back, surveying their handiwork.

"Now we just need an angel for the top," Gabriel suggests. "Dibs not me."

"Anna has been particularly eager to encourage holiday spirit," Castiel observes.

There is a moment's silent reflection on this.

Then Jo and Gabriel grin in unison.

"You know," Jo says. "Angels on the tree are traditional."

Anna backs away. "You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't we?" Gabe asks.

Anna turns and breaks it into a run, but she only just makes it to the door before Jo tackles her to the ground and starts tickling mercilessly as Gabriel holds Anna's legs. They don't get far before Anna flips over, managing to pin Gabriel to the ground as she wiggles out of Jo's reach.

Dean, Sam and Cas watch from the sofa, Dean and Sam blinking sleepily from their time out in the cold. After a minute or two, Castiel picks up the paper star from the table, and begins folding it into shape.

When he finishes, Dean looks over at the giggling heap halfway out into the hall and calls: "You guys want some mistletoe over there?"

Jo gets to her feet with a dignified look, and strides back over to the table to retrieve her hot chocolate. Then she sits herself on Dean's knee.

"Better?" she asks, teasingly.

"Much," Dean replies, and pays for the cheek with a bat on the arm from Jo.

Anna and Gabriel take a little longer to disentangle themselves, and though Anna tries to keep a straight face, they're still poking at each other as they take their places on the other settee to watch Castiel place the star carefully on top of the tree.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Anna says.

"Only eleven more days to get through," Gabriel snaps back.

Then Castiel starts silently inspecting the laptop playlist over Dean's shoulder, and Sam asks, "how long do you think it'll take to find a channel showing 'It's A Wonderful Life'?" causing Jo to lunge for the remote as Gabriel threatens to curse him with an eternity of 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer' while Anna protests that she likes that movie...

And outside, the first flakes of snow begin to fall.