Step 1: Take two men, madly in love 

Carols were playing softly in the background while Kurt and Blaine decorated their apartment for Christmas. Blaine loved the holiday season so much that normally he would start decorating their home as soon as Thanksgiving was over. This year, however, both he and Kurt had been struck down with the seasonal flu, and they had had to navigate the move to their new apartment on top of everything.

With so much to do and so little time, it was no wonder that they were exhausting themselves.. They had finished painting all the main rooms the previous weekend, and whilst there were still more boxes left to be unpacked than either of them were happy with, Blaine put his foot down on Christmas Eve morning. Their family would arrive later that night to spend the holiday with them, and it was time to decorate. 

They had strung up softly twinkling warm white lights around the windows, and draped silk flower garlands over the bookcases and piano. The tree had been bought earlier in the week and had been sitting in the corner, bare branched. At Kurt’s urging it was a real six foot Fraser Fir, but it still had its roots in a big pot to satisfy Blaine’s eco-warrior sensibilities. In the past they had used the same small fake tree they’d gotten their first year in college, but with the Hudson-Hummels coming to celebrate the holidays with them, a little luxury was not remiss. 

Burt and Carole’s flight would land around eight pm, and Rachel and Finn would be arriving with them. They had been celebrating Hanukkah in Ohio with Rachel’s dads and had decided to stay a few days extra so they could attend some holiday parties thrown by old friends and classmates. 

Everyone would all be staying over at the new apartment so Kurt and Blaine had to do a bit of puzzling to make everything fit. They had stacked boxes against the wall in the guest room to make room for the bed where Burt and Carole would sleep. They would sleep on a blow up mattress in the soon to be nursery, whilst Finn and Rachel would take their bed.  

Originally, Finn and Rachel were planning to stay in their own apartment in Queens and come over in the morning. A call from their landlord had put a wrench in those plans however. The recent frost had caused a pipe to burst in the building and as of a result the heating had been unreliable at best. 

When Blaine heard the story, he did not hesitate to offer them his and Kurt’s bed. It would be a tight fit and far from ideal, but it would only be for two nights. Everyone agreed that the most important thing was to spend the holidays with the people they loved, and so long as they gave each other space when needed, they would all come out with their sanity relatively intact. 

***

Blaine had just hung the last of their ornaments on the tree, and all that was left was to place the star on top. Kurt had won the coin toss this year, so he grabbed the ladder and positioned it carefully, not wanting to put it too close and risk breaking one of their delicate hand spun glass ornaments, but also not wanting to be too far away and not able to reach the top. 

Kurt climbed to the top of the ladder and accepted the star that Blaine had gently unwrapped from its bubble wrap packaging. Carefully, he placed the star on top of the tree and fixed it in place. 

“How does it look?”

“Gorgeous.” Blaine said, not looking at the tree.

“Not me, you doofus. Go turn the lights on and tell me if everything is straight.” Kurt grinned as he looked down at his husband. 

Blaine did as he was asked and looked critically at the tree. “There’s nothing straight about it, but I think this may be our prettiest tree ever.”

“What am I going to do with you?” Kurt laughed softly, eyes twinkling as he readjusted a bauble here and there. 

“Love me and never leave me.” Blaine shot back with a smirk.

“Yes, well, that was kind of implied in the whole ‘as long as we both shall live’, smart ass–” He got out before he was startled when the apartment door suddenly flew open behind him. 

“Surprise!”

Step 2: Stir in some well meaning family 

“I am so sorry, Kurt. I just wanted to surprise you guys and I wasn’t thinking, and oh god, I didn’t know you were just behind the door. Carole, please tell me he is going to be alright?” Rachel babbled as she fluttered around Kurt, hands reaching out as if she could physically will him to be okay. 

“It’s just a mild sprain, Rachel. He is going to be just fine, as long as he stays off of it for the next few days.” Carole reassured her as she wrapped a compression bandage around Kurt’s ankle and put an ice pack on top. 

“Rach, relax. You know too much stress isn’t good for the baby.” Kurt said, patting the couch next to him. “Just sit down for a minute, okay? I didn’t fall from high and I’ll be up and at it before you know it. What are you guys doing here so early anyway? I thought your flight wasn’t leaving for another few hours?”

“Oh that was all your father. He saw on the weather report that there was going to be a snowstorm later tonight and he didn’t want to risk being stranded at the airport, so he got us on an earlier flight, and here we are.” 

“And a good thing I did too, there are already reports coming in of cancelled flights out of Ohio. I wasn’t going to miss a family Christmas if I could help it.” Burt huffed out, sitting in his favourite chair and accepting the drink Blaine offered him. 

“Anything we can do to help, seeing as we interrupted your plans?”

“If someone could give me a hand moving some things in the nursery, that’d be great. We’ve been using it as extra storage space during the move and we’ll need to move them aside to make room for our bed for tonight.”

“Oh don’t be ridiculous, you’ll sleep in your own bed and Finn and I will take the air mattress. Kurt would have a lot more trouble getting out of bed in the morning than I do.”

“Are you sure? I really don’t mind sleeping on the floor. It’s only for two nights.” Kurt said, not feeling entirely comfortable with the switch. Rachel was giving them a priceless gift with her surrogacy, and the least he felt he could do was sleep on the floor for a night or two, ankle be damned. 

“Of course I am. It’s a big mattress and I’m only nineteen weeks pregnant, not an invalid. Like you said, it’s only for two nights anyway.” Rachel stated, giving him a look as if daring him to argue with her. 

After more than ten years of friendship, Kurt knew better than to try and change her mind when she got in one of those moods, so he reluctantly agreed and turned to his brother, “Finn, can you help Blaine move those things in the nursery? We’ll need all hands on deck today if I can’t properly stand because I still have a lot of prep to do for tomorrow, as you can see by the pile of groceries on the counter.” 

Step 3: Let it simmer for three hours

Everyone except Kurt stood up and went about their assigned tasks, with Rachel and Carole taking over the kitchen to finish making the pies for which Kurt had already made the dough. Burt grabbed the bags of carrots, potatoes and parsnips, along with a couple of knives, cutting boards and pots, bringing everything over to the living room and sitting down next to Kurt. 

“We’ll just get to peeling then, huh? Just like old times.” Burt said as he handed Kurt one of everything, including an apron to protect his clothes. 

“It has been a while, yeah. That’s one of my first Christmas memories actually, sitting with you peeling vegetables while mom made her special Christmas pies.”

“God, those were some damn good pies.” Burt chuckled, getting started on his own pile of potatoes. 

“How have you been doing, with the whole move and designing the nursery? Have you driven Blaine crazy yet trying to find the exactly right shade of white paint?” 

“Ha. No, actually. We’re both very much on the same page when it comes to decorating. It’s the actual buying of things like strollers and furniture where he is driving me crazy. He insists on researching the safety and quality ratings of every single item and comparing them all in his spreadsheets. I love him for it, I really do, but I wish he would just narrow it down already so we can pick a cohesive set and start ordering things.”

Burt had to laugh at that, “That actually doesn’t sound all that unfamiliar son. Oh, I must have driven your mother insane while she was pregnant with you. I had seen so many totaled cars in the shop that I went a little bit nuts trying to find the best car seat money could buy. And lemme tell ya, that was a good deal harder back then, when we didn’t have fancy computers and the internet doing half our work for us.

But your mom and I worked it out and I made sure you were the safest kid in all of Ohio. Just give him some time to work out his anxieties and he’ll be fine.” 

“Yeah, you’re right. Blaine is going to be the best dad ever, I just know it.”

“He won’t be the only one, kid. You’re pretty special too, if I do say so myself.” Burt said, nudging Kurt with his shoulder, seeing his son’s cheeks redden slightly. 

“Thanks dad, I learned from the best.”

***

It took a few hours, but the pile of groceries was slowly dwindling down as everybody chipped in where they could. Blaine and Finn had to duck out at one point to make the inevitable last minute run to the corner market for extra potatoes and some ingredients Blaine was missing for his Mulled Wine recipe. A Dutch exchange student had given it to him his senior year in college, and he and Kurt liked it so much they made it a few times every winter since. 

Despite the apartment being larger than average for Manhattan standards, having six people moving about in it made it feel cramped all too quickly. Rachel was stressing over her tofurkey being prepped properly and Kurt was already a bit grumpy from the pain, which was not helped by his inability to move around unassisted. Blaine and Finn tried to keep the peace, but even their patience was being tested by their snippy spouses. 

At last, all the prep had been done and everyone sat down to an easy dinner of Chinese take out. 

“Does anybody want to play a game later? We went to a flea market last month and Blaine brought back stacks of board games and puzzles.” Kurt said as he dished up his food and passed the cartons over to Carole. 

“Oh I would love that!” She said with a grin, stealing the last egg roll from under Finn’s nose. “Don’t whine darling, you already have two.” 

“Do you have Monopoly? I used to play it all the time with my dads but it's been ages since I last played it.” Rachel said with a sigh, eyes losing focus as she got lost in childhood memories.

Finn snorted, “Ha. Good luck with that. You obviously haven’t played it with certain people in this room…”

Step 4: But be careful not to let it boil  

What Rachel hadn’t counted on when it came to Monopoly, was Carole. All her money had been on Mr. Competitive himself, Kurt Hummel, and not the mild mannered matriarch of the Hudson-Hummel family

“What do you mean I owe you $1200 in rent? I don’t have that kind of money!” Rachel screeched as she landed on one of Carole’s properties. 

“I didn’t make the rules, sweetie. I’m just enforcing them. Now either pay up, or give up.” Carole said, smiling smugly as she shuffled her property cards to make space for the ones that Rachel inevitably would have to sell to cover her rent. 

“I… can you maybe go easy on me? Maybe let me pay it in instalments? I’d have to auction off or mortgage almost everything I own and then I’d have nothing left for my next turn with how far away I am from home.”

“You should have budgeted more carefully before you landed on one of my spaces then. That’s the luck of the dice, hon.”

“This is ridiculous! Can’t Finn lend me some money? I mean, we’re married, so it’s technically communal property, right?”

Finn let out a snort, “Yeah no. You’re on your own with this one babe. Mom is a shark and I’m not getting in the middle of that. I tried to warn you, remember?”

“I thought you were talking about Kurt!”

“Yeah, he’s pretty vicious too, but at least he can be distracted if you want to slip past his notice. I mean, look at him, he’s not even paying attention right now.”

Cuddled up on the sofa with Blaine, Kurt was indeed not paying attention to the game. He had safely tucked away his stacks of money and property cards, and was whispering back and forth with Blaine as one hand playing with his loose curls, while the other ran his fingers up and down the arm Blaine had slung across his stomach. 

Blaine was even worse at Monopoly than Rachel, and he had bowed out much sooner when it became clear there was no way he would survive Carole’s slumlord attack. 

Instead, he had made hot chocolate for everyone, leaving out the whipped cream and marshmallows in Burt’s mug, much to his father-in-law's disappointment. He occasionally got up to move Kurt’s Top Hat for him, but then quickly sat down to tuck his head back under Kurt’s chin. 

With Rachel admitting defeat after a lot of protesting, the game progressed quickly until only Kurt and Carole remained. They both had a sizable stack of property cards. Carole had a little more, but she owned all of the cheaper properties up to Free Parking plus a few more, while Kurt had sets of all of the more expensive ones. 

The two had been battling for a while now, constantly switching money back and forth while steadily increasing the number of hotels and houses they had built on their properties. 

After their fifth turn around the board only to end up in the same place they began, Burt had enough. “Can’t we just call it a tie after this round? It’s late and I want to go to bed.”

Both Kurt and Carole protested the tie, but they did agree to end the game after the last person had passed Go again. They carefully counted all their money and property values, and after Burt had recounted them as an impartial judge, Carole was declared the winner by a margin of only $200. 

Kurt grumbled a little, but he did not mind too much. The hectic pace of the past weeks had caught up to him and he let out a big yawn as Blaine pulled him up to his feet. 

“Good night everyone, I’ll see you all in the morning. And Finn? If you value your life, you will NOT wake me up before 8am at the earliest.” 

They all said their goodnights and shuffled off to their respective bedrooms as Blaine turned off all the lights and checked the locks before getting ready for bed himself.

Step 5: Let the flavours blend overnight 

“How is your ankle doing?” Blaine asked as he grabbed his Santa suit inspired pyjama bottoms from the dresser and put them on, “Do you need anything?” 

“No, I’m good. I just took some more painkillers so it’s not too bad right now. Remind me to ice it some more in the morning though. The sooner this swelling goes down, the better.”

“Will do,” Blaine reassured him as he climbed into the bed and cuddled up to Kurt resting his head on his husband’s chest. “I know this was not how you expected today to go. Did you have fun at least?” 

Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine’s bare torso and kissed his wild curls, “I did. I could really have done without pirouetting off of a ladder, but as long as my ankle heals quickly, then no harm is done. It’s been so long since we had time to just sit back and relax with our family around us. I’m especially glad that dad had the foresight to change their flights. I don’t know what I’d have done if we had to spend another holiday apart after missing Thanksgiving this year.”

“Cry, probably.”

Kurt pinched Blaine’s side, “Oh, hush you. I don't cry that much. And you’re not as funny as you think you are.”

Blaine leaned up with a mischievous glint in his eyes, “Oh? I’m not, huh? Would you still say that if I did this…?” he asked before mercilessly tickling Kurt’s sides till he was breathless with laughter and begging for mercy. 

“Uncle! Uncle!” he gasped out, tears streaming down his eyes. “I never should have told you my ticklish spots.” 

Blaine, mercifully, stopped his torment and leaned down to brush his mouth against Kurt’s, “I would have found out one way or another. I know your body as well as my own.”

“You do, do you?”

“Yes, I do. For example, I know that if I do this,” he said, running his nose up the column of Kurt’s neck, and leaving tiny little kisses as he went, “You’ll turn to putty in my hands.”

Kurt let out a gasp and tightened his hands on Blaine’s arms, pulling him fully on top of himself. “What else do you know?”

“I know you like it when I nibble right here,” Blaine nipped Kurt’s jawline to that sensitive little spot just under his ear. 

“But I also know you hate it when I do this,” he said, breathing heavily in his ear while making chomping sounds, “Omnomnomm gonna bite ya!” 

“Oh my god, you dork! Get off of me! You’ve clearly spent too much time with Elliot lately,” Kurt managed to get out in between peals of laughter. “I can’t believe I actually married you, you weirdo.”

Blaine laid back down with a smug grin, “Well, you did. And you’re stuck with me now, sweetheart.”

“For better or worse,” Kurt whispered with a smile.

“For as long as we both shall live.”

They laid there in silence for a while, and just when Kurt was starting to nod off, he heard Blaine whisper.

“Hey Kurt?”

“Hmm?”

“This time next year, we’ll be parents.” 

“Yes we will,” Kurt said as he snuggled down a bit to rest his forehead against Blaine’s. “Are you nervous?”

“Terrified. I’m so happy and excited, and I’m really looking forward to it. But I’m worried too. What do I know about being a good parent? It’s not like I had such a great example myself. I don’t want to screw up our child.”

Kissing him gently, Kurt stopped Blaine’s rant before he could work himself up in a spiral of doubt and insecurities. 

“I have faith in you, darling. I have faith in us. Yes, we will make mistakes occasionally. That’s inevitable. But we will learn from them and love that baby with everything we have, and that is what matters the most.”

“I guess you’re right. I’m sorry for freaking out a little.”

“Don’t be sorry. Your freak outs will always be safe with me. You are going to be the best father New York has ever seen, Blaine. I just know it. And I am so incredibly happy I get to share this experience with you.”

“Aw, thank you, Kurt. You are going to be the best dad, too, and I love you so much.”

 “I love you too, darling,” Kurt whispered against his lips, “Merry almost Christmas.”

“Merry almost Christmas, sweetheart.”

Step 6: Stir until all ingredients are well mixed

The next morning, Christmas dawned bright and early, with Finn banging on their door as soon as the clock turned to 8am. 

“Wake up! It’s Christmas!” The door shook in its frame from Finn’s assault, “Kurt, if you’re not up in ten minutes I’m going to start in on your presents!”

Contrary to his brother’s wishes, Kurt rolled on his side to pull his husband into his arms and threw his injured leg over him while re-covering them with the blanket they had kicked down some time in the night. 

“Good morning sweetheart,” he said in a gravelly voice. 

“Morning, love. Did you sleep alright?”

“Hmm, better than I expected, but I’ll definitely need to ice my ankle again today. You?”

Blaine shivered, “I had a dream that Rachel had given birth but instead of one, there were three babies and they all looked exactly like Coach Sue, right down to the miniature tracksuits and bullhorns.” he said, frowning as he tried to recall more of his dream. 

Kurt laughed, “That would definitely be an accomplishment, considering we used your sperm and Quinn's egg. We’d have to have another stern conversation with Sue about boundaries. Can’t have our kid trying to shoot people from cannons or lock them in elevators… But seriously, if that baby comes out looking anything less than completely adorable, we’ll still love it just the same, bullhorn and all.”

“Yeah, you’re right, of course. I wish I could show you what they looked like, you’d be horrified,” Blaine laughed as he snuggled further into his husband’s embrace. 

Unfortunately for Kurt and Blaine, Finn really did mean the ten minute warning, and he was soon banging on their door again. 

“Guys, come on! I’m really hungry and Mom says I gotta wait till everyone is up, but she made French toast and it smells so good.” 

“We’ll be out in a minute!” Kurt called back. He rolled onto his back and threw off the covers, “C’mon, love. Up and at ‘em. I’m gonna need you to help me stand up and walk to the bathroom.”

Blaine got up and walked around the bed to support Kurt as he hobbled to their ensuite. “Well that certainly has swelled up overnight,” he said, worriedly eyeing Kurt’s ankle. 

“Yeah, I know. But it looks worse than it feels, honestly.”

“Nevertheless, you’re just gonna have to park your butt on a chair all day and let us wait on you, okay?”

“I can still help with dinner, Blaine. I promise you I will not put any unnecessary weight on it, but I will not leave you to do everything by yourself. Now, let’s get to the living room, because I can hear Finn’s whining from here.”

Together, they made their way down the hall to find Carole and Rachel sitting at the table drinking  cups of tea, while Finn sulked on the sofa next to Burt who was reading the newspaper on his tablet. Finn looked up at their entrance, and got up excited. “They’re finally up, mom! Can we eat now?” 

“As soon as you set the table, yes. Good morning, boys. Do either of you want a cup of coffee or tea?” Carole said, getting up from her chair and ushering Kurt to sit down. “I’ve just made a pot of rooibos tea and there’s plenty left if you want some.”

“I’d love some, Carole, thanks.” Blaine said, grabbing one of their ice packs from the freezer and wrapping it around Kurt’s ankle, before pouring him a cup of coffee from the half full pot and fixing it how Kurt liked it. 

Setting the table was an easy task since Christmas breakfast was a lot more informal than dinner would be, so Finn was done before Blaine sat down with his own cup of tea. 

Once everyone was sitting around the table, Kurt glanced around at his family. Some were dressed in just their pyjamas like him and Finn, and others had added bathrobes like Blaine and Carole, but everyone looked cosy and happy. They may be a chaotic bunch and lord knows they could get under his skin like no one else, but they were his family, and he loved them dearly. This, Kurt knew, would be their best Christmas so far. 

Step 7: Garnish with a slice of orange and serve warm

Over the years, Finn had matured a lot. It had taken some trial and error, but he had really found his calling in teaching. He had gone from a bumbling and gangly teen, to a responsible and steady man. He would never belong in the big city, which had created a lot of trouble for him and Rachel in their on and off again relationship. 

Thankfully, for everyone around them, true love won out in the end. It had taken a few years, until they had both finished college, but they had struck a compromise. They found an apartment in Queens which was close enough to Manhattan for Rachel to have a reasonable commute to Broadway, but that was also in a smaller community where Finn took a job at a local high school. He never would have expected it as a teen, but teaching gave him a sense of purpose and joy unlike any other. 

He and Rachel had discussed having children of their own, but mutually decided to put that off for a few years. Rachel was happy to be a surrogate for Kurt and Blaine, but the time and effort it took to not only grow a tiny human but also raise it properly was not something that they felt they could do right then. 

Of course, that did not mean Finn did not have a lot of fun messing with his colleagues after Rachel had come to visit him at lunch time the other day. She was just starting to show a little and especially on such a tiny frame as hers, it was obvious she was not just having a food baby. 

Finn had had multiple co-workers come up to him after she had left to congratulate them on their new addition, and, despite his new maturity, he still had a lot of fun telling them, “Thanks, but the baby isn’t mine. My brother knocked up my wife.”

Rachel had been less amused when he told her the story when he came home after work, but he found a more appreciative audience in Blaine and Burt when he retold it as they were all sitting around the tree with a cup of hot chocolate after they had unwrapped their presents. 

Kurt and Blaine had decided to keep things simple this year with their presents to each other. Kurt had managed to score tickets to see a highly popular musical that was closing soon to surprise Blaine with, which he definitely appreciated if the squeal he let out upon opening the envelope was anything to go by. 

Blaine in return had managed to slip away while they were at the flea market and bought an antique brooch that Kurt had been eyeing but decided was too expensive for him to splurge on. 

They had decided on a beautiful set of silver and sapphire drop earrings for Carole that she had immediately put on, disregarding that they clashed horribly with her brown flannel reindeer pyjamas, and Burt got the power drill he had been eyeing for a while. Rachel and Finn were a bit more of a challenge. They knew they wanted to do something nice for them considering the gift they were being given, and after a long search settled on a voucher for a nice getaway to a destination of their choice for after the baby had been born. In return, their family had all chipped in to get them a bunch of gift certificates to baby boutiques in New York. 

With the presents all unwrapped and the mess of paper and ribbon cleared away, they all sat around the living room, relaxing and spending time with each other before the stress of cooking Christmas dinner began. 

Both the turkey and the mulled wine had to cook for a few hours, so it was just after they had a light lunch that Carole lifted the turkey into the oven and Blaine started opening bottles of red wine and pouring them into a big soup pot. All of the vegetable prep had been done the day before, thanks to everyone helping out, so all that was left for those was to cook them when the time came. 

Soon, the entire apartment started to smell of a delicious mix of wine, citrus and hints of cooking turkey that were beginning to waft from the oven. Kurt had put on his and Blaine’s favourite Christmas playlist and they all randomly broke into song whenever they felt like it. 

Kurt had planted himself at their small kitchen table when a few hours had passed, determined to stay in control of his own kitchen, even if he could not physically do it all himself. Blaine was a good cook, but planning and executing big meals like Christmas and Thanksgiving had always been Kurt’s forte.

“Okay, the turkey needs another hour, and the tofurkey is going in now. The potatoes and vegetables will go in when the turkey comes out and Carole’s pies are all ready to go into the oven as soon as we sit down to dinner.” Blaine said as he ran a hand through his dishevelled hair, “The gravy will only take a few minutes and the sauce is all ready to go. But I’m forgetting something. What am I forgetting, Kurt?”

“Just the mulled wine, but that’s nearly done now. You just need to add in the sugar in an hour and take the fruit and spices out. Now, come here, darling,” Kurt said as he grabbed Blaine’s arm when he walked past and pulled him into a reassuring hug. “Take a second and just breathe. We’ve got this.”

“You’re right. It’s just that nothing went as planned and while I know I’m a good cook, I just get so nervous when I’m under time pressure and I just want everything to be perfect.”

“I know, love, it’s fine. I wish I could be more of a help, but I have complete faith in you. Now let’s sit down, have a glass of wine and just relax for a bit. There’s nothing you can do right this minute anyway.”

***

Despite Blaine’s worrying, everything went off without a hitch. Nothing was burned and even the tofurkey came out looking appetising. Before they knew it the dining table was fully laden with platters of delicious looking food. The dark blue table cloth contrasted prettily with the silver of the serving dishes and white porcelain, though not much of it could be seen except for around the edges of the table. 

Kurt had found a nice set of low ball glasses at the flea market, and they now made an appearance as Blaine served everyone a glass of mulled wine garnished with a slice of freshly cut orange and a cinnamon stick, except for Rachel, who got a glass of her favourite juice instead. 

They had all dressed up for the occasion on Kurt’s insistence, and while Burt insisted right back that he would not dress in a monkey suit just for Christmas dinner, he did agree to put on a nice shirt and leave the ball cap behind for a change. 

With the final glass poured, Blaine sat down next to Kurt and put his own hand over his, linking their fingers where they lay on the table. “Dinner is served. Happy Holidays, everyone!” 

“Merry Christmas!”