Zola and Bailey are young enough to still believe in Santa Claus, and you and Derek will keep that belief alive for as long as you can. You can’t imagine being the reason they don’t have that joy anymore.

You want them to believe that Santa brings them their gifts, and that he eats the cookies that they leave out as a small treat for him. Even the carrots that they leave for the reindeer go missing, which leads to them believing Santa did take them for his animals.

Because of this, you’ve been making Derek dress up as Santa every year so that if the kids aren’t sleeping when they should be, they’ll see Santa instead of mommy and daddy laying out the presents.

You do not want them to know that you’re the ones getting their presents. Not yet, anyway. Plus, the voice Derek puts on for Santa is actually pretty good.

After placing their gifts around the tree, Derek was trying to convince you of how good-looking he is even dressed as Santa.

“I mean, I never thought I’d like a big beard like this, but I look pretty good, don’t I?” Leave it to him to be a bit self-absorbed. He wouldn’t be the husband you know and love otherwise.

He managed to get you under the mistletoe, and knew you wouldn’t be able to not follow the rule as old as time. “Looks like you owe me something…” He pulls you in and presses his lips to yours, savoring the feeling, like he always does.

Maybe you got a bit distracted, but the shock that coursed through your body when you heard Zola and Bailey’s shrieks was adrenaline-inducing.

You didn’t even realize why they had screamed, until they ran off yelling “Daddy, daddy! Mommy is kissing Santa!”

He pulled down his fake beard and smiled at you. “Well, looks like we may never hear the end of this. You shouldn’t have been kissing Santa.”

Oh he’s got a lot of nerve, trying to claim that it’s your fault you got caught kissing “Santa.” You’d been telling him to take off the stupid costume as soon as he’d laid the gifts out, yet he insisted on keeping it on for just a little longer.