matilda oneshots i had to get out of my head

matildamas day 12: christmas eve

hello everyone!! happy christmas eve to all of you who celebrate and welcome to the last chapter of the 12 days of matildamas! it's been an absolute delight seeing all of your reactions to these each day. thank you so much for all the kind words in your comments and every vote/kudos/like/reblog and all those wonderful things. they're definitely the best gift i'll get this christmas :))

tw for
discussion over the reality of santa
mentioned previous abuse
mentioned death

otherwise please enjoy the last day and merry christmas!!

—————

"Mummy?"

"Yes, lamb?" Jenny responds.

"Is Santa Claus real?" Matilda asks softly. Jenny pauses.

"What do you think?" she responds softly before she continues fiddling with the tinsel on the tree. Matilda ponders this.

"I don't think so. I wasn't always nice, but I don't think I ever warranted a spot on the naughty list, and I still never got anything from him. And it doesn't seem possible for a single person to be able to fly 'round the whole world in just a night, even if he is magic. And accounting for time zones," Matilda says. She frowns a bit and adds, "But I did have telekinesis."

Jenny laughs and sits on the couch, beckoning her over. Matilda sits next to her and leans into her side. Jenny gently rubs up and down Matilda's arm as she explains.

"You're right, he's not real in the way we usually think. There's no magical man in a red suit who flies around with reindeer. That's just an old tradition from a few different cultures that we keep going for fun, and to entertain children. But that doesn't necessarily mean he's not real."

"What do you mean?" Matilda asks, looking up at her.

"Well, what does Santa Claus do?" Jenny asks.

"He... delivers gifts to well-behaved children," Matilda explains. "And eats cookies."

"Exactly. I don't know about you, but I don't think you have to be magical and wear a silly costume to be able to do those things. Santa is all about the spirit of Christmas, and there's plenty of things you can do that make you the real, live Santa Claus. Giving gifts to friends, enjoying some special holiday treats, being kind to people you meet and spreading joy. Spending time with family. All that is what Santa is about. So whenever you do those things, you're sort of like Santa Claus, in a way."

"Oh," Matilda says with a soft smile. "I like that."

"I like it too," Jenny says with a grin. "Now, what do you say we channel our inner Santa and eat some of these cookies we made, hm?"

Matilda nods eagerly and goes rushing off to the kitchen to fetch the container. Jenny chuckles and follows her.

—————

Mrs. Phelps joins them for a lovely Christmas Eve dinner. Mrs. Phelps doesn't celebrate Christmas herself, and Matilda is delighted to learn all about the Diwali traditions she's recovering from preparing with her family last month. She invites them to join next year, and Jenny has to admit she's only slightly less excited than Matilda, who starts dancing in her chair and nearly falls.

"You're more than welcome to join us for Christmas dinner again next year as well," Jenny says, selfishly hoping she agrees.

"I'd be delighted," Mrs. Phelps replies. Jenny smiles sheepishly down at her ham and mashed potatoes, and gives a warning glare in response to Matilda's smirk across the table.

Once their bellies are all stuffed, Mrs. Phelps very kindly helps with the washing up and gives them their Christmas gifts. Matilda excitedly hands over hers (a very nice new lemonade pitcher) and Jenny's (some of her favorite books as donations to the library bus) as well.