No matter how many times I did what the tutorial said word for word, I could not get this Christmas bow quite right.

It was driving me nuts.

Why did things never end up looking like in the picture? I rolled my eyes and started over.

The doorbell rang, and I gave up.

My parents were out with Isabella while I finished up here, so I was the only one home.

I made my way to the front door.

It was Noah.

He gave me a small smile. “Can I come in?” he said.

“Hey,” I said. “Sure.”

He wasn’t supposed to show up until tonight. Maybe he was here to help after all? “I thought you were going to spend time with Emma before the party?”

“I was. I am,” he said. “But I realized something.”

I blinked back at him, wondering what he was talking about.

“Well, Emma helped me realized something,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“What’s that?” I asked, really curious now.

He took a step toward me and gave me that look that still made me weak at the knees. “We promised we’d hang out with Emma and Isabella and do some Christmas stuff together, and we totally haven’t done that.”

I thought about it. “Yeah, we have. We—” I began, but I was coming up blank. “Didn’t we…Surely, we…”

“You’ve been so busy with this party and gift shopping, and all of that’s great, but you’re forgetting one thing, Tor,” he said.

“What?” I asked. I was pretty sure I had shopped for everybody on my list. Was I forgetting something obvious?

That was the last thing I needed right now.

Noah wrapped his arms around me and brushed my lips with his. “All of this is cool, but it’s not what Christmas is about.”

Huh?

He went on. “It’s about spending time together. We’ve hardly done anything together lately, much less with Emma and Isabella. And Emma reminds me about that every day.”

“Oh,” I said, the sinking feeling in my stomach telling me he was right. Isabella had been asking me endlessly too when we’d all hang out together, but I kept saying no. Not until all of this was perfect. The party. Christmas gifts.

“You know this party is going to be great regardless,” he said, looking around at all my decorations. “Because we’re going to be together, not because the balloons are just the right shade of green.” A smile played on his lips.

I relaxed, knowing he was onto something.

“And the girls don’t care what kind of presents they get. I think they’re most excited about all the things they want to do. Like build gingerbread houses and bake cookies and all that,” Noah said.

“Oh my gosh,” I said. I’d totally forgotten about the holiday experiences. “We haven’t done any of that! I’m the worst sister ever.”

How had I not made time for all of that?

For making memories with Isabella, Noah, and Emma?

I took Noah’s hands. “I can’t believe I let this party take up all my time.”

He smiled and rested his hand on my cheek. “Just for the record. You’re not the worst sister ever.” He checked his phone. “And it’s only noon. We still have plenty of time to do some cool things before this party starts.”

We could totally do a ton of fun stuff with our sisters before tonight. But… “We don’t have any supplies. We’ll have to go by the store and—”

Noah smiled. “All taken care of. I already went by the store. Emma’s grabbing everything from the car as we speak.”

As if on cue, Emma came through the front door with tons of bags in her hands. I could see bags of candy and baking ingredients. “Tori!” she said.

We went over and gave her a hand.

Then my parents and Isabella walked through the front door, and Isabella ran straight to Emma.

My mom walked over to me. “What’s this?” she said.

I took Noah’s hand. “Is it okay if we use the kitchen for a few hours?”

“We’re gonna build gingerbread houses and make cookies for Santa,” Noah finished.

My mom nodded, clearly approving. “That sounds like a great idea. Your father and I will be in the den watching a movie. You guys have fun.”

My mom left, and Noah turned to me. “So you think Emma and Isabella still believe in Santa?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think Isabella’s gotten to that age where she’s doubting the whole Santa thing, but she also doesn’t want to give up the magic.”

“Emma too,” Noah said. “But it’ll be fun all the same.”

We went into the kitchen and found the girls setting up Isabella’s phone and new tripod so they could record the afternoon’s Christmas adventures for their YouTube channel.

Noah was on cameraman duty, zooming in as needed and double-checking their sound. Meanwhile, I set out all their ingredients in pretty bowls.

“Let’s start with gingerbread houses,” Isabella said.

Emma squealed. “This is my favorite! Mostly because I get to eat it. That’s always my favorite part.”

Both girls giggled, and Noah met my gaze and chuckled.

I walked over to him and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Thank you,” I said.

“For what?” he said, giving me a quick kiss on the lips.

“For this,” I said. “For making me step back and remember what Christmas is really about.”