( OH CHRISTMAS TREE )

      Dean opens the door. Santa is sitting on the couch, holding a bong and a bottle of whiskey. He stands up as Dean, Elena and Sam quickly hide their guns. "What the hell are you doing here?" Santa asks.

      Dean looks around and realizes Santa's only watching TV. "I'm really not interested, okay?" A Man says on the screen.

      "Mistle my toe. Roast my chestnut." The Woman says on TV.

      Dean looks at Sam, who shrugs. "Ah, w-" Sam starts.

      "Jingle my bells?"

      Dean starts to sing-badly. "S-silent night...Holy..." He looks at Sam and Elena, who follows him.

      "...night." They all sing and Santa smiles and sits down. "All is well..."

      Santa also sings along. "...all is dry." He sings.

      "Bright..." Elena sings.

      "Round and round..." They try to sing although they don't remember the lyrics.

      "The table..." Sam starts and puts a hand on Dean's shoulder to pull him away.

LARGE HOUSE
[ ☾]

      Silent Night plays as a boy walks down the staircase to a room in which there is a large Christmas tree. Ashes fall into the fireplace from the chimney. The boy stands in front of the fireplace.

      "Santa, you're early." He says.

      The boy jumps back as the fireplace grill falls in front of him. He stares in shock as a heavy-breathing, human-shaped creature walks through the living room, goes upstairs and enters the parents' room.

      A woman screams and a man makes muffled sounds. The creature drags a bag containing the struggling man downstairs. There is a loud thump and the sound of flesh tearing as the creature kills the man in front of the boy.

      The creature stares down at the boy, then grabs a cookie from a plate and eats it while he drags the bag away from the boy.

      "So, that's how your son described the attack? "Santa took daddy up the chimney"?" Dean asks.

      "That's what he says, yes." The Mom says.

      "And where were you?" Elena asks.

       "I was asleep and all of a sudden...I was being dragged out of bed, screaming."

      "Did you see the attacker?" Sam asks.

     The Woman shakes her head. "It was dark, and he hit me. He knocked me out." She says.

      Dean nods. "I'm sorry. I know this is hard." He says.

      "Yeah... um, Mrs. Caldwell, where did you get that wreath above the fireplace?" Sam asks as Dean looks around at the wreath.

      "Excuse me?" The Woman asks. Dean looks at Sam, waiting for an answer.

      "Just curious, you know."

      As they leave, Dean turns to Sam. "Wreaths, huh? Sure you didn't want to ask her about her shoes? I saw some nice handbags in the foyer." He jokes.

      "We've seen that wreath before, Dean." Sam says.

      "Where?"

      "The Walshes'. Yesterday." Sam says.

      "I know. I was just testing you." Dean says and they drive away in the Impala.

MOTEL ROOM
[ ☼ ]

      Sam is on the phone. "Yeah, all right. Well, keep looking, would you? Thanks, Bobby." He hangs up. "Well... we're not dealing with the anti-Claus."

      "What did Bobby say?" Elena asks.

      "Uh, that we're morons. He also said that it was probably meadowsweet in those wreaths." Sam says as he looks at his laptop.

      "Wow! Amazing." Dean says. "What the hell is meadowsweet?"

      "It's pretty rare and it's probably the most powerful plant in pagan lore." Sam says.

      "Pagan lore?"

      "Yeah. See, they used meadowsweet for human sacrifices. It was kind of like a...Chum for their gods." Sam says. "Gods were drawn to it and they'd stop by and snack on whatever was the nearest human."

      "Why would somebody be using that for Christmas wreaths?" Elena asks.

      "It's not as crazy as it sounds.I mean, pretty much every Christmas tradition is pagan." Sam says.

       "Christmas is Jesus' birthday." Dean says.

      "No, Jesus' birthday was probably in the fall. It was actually the winter solstice festival that was co-opted by the church and renamed "Christmas". But I mean, the Yule log, the tree, even Santa's red suit-that's all remnants of pagan worship." Sam says.

      "Well that's another Christmas ruined." Elena mumbles.

      "How do you know that? What are you gonna tell me next? Easter bunny's Jewish?" Dean asks and Sam says nothing. "So you think we're gonna dealing with a pagan God?"

      "Yeah, probably Hold Nickar, God of the winter solstice." Sam says.

      "And all these Martha Stewart wannabes, buying these fancy wreaths..."

      "Yeah, it's pretty much like putting a neon sign on your front door saying "Come kill us"." Sam says.

      "Great."

      Sam reads an article on the laptop. "Huh...When you sacrifice to Hold Nickar, guess what he gives you in return." He says.

      "Lap dances, hopefully." Dean says.

      "Mild weather."

       Dean looks out the window. "Like no snow in the middle of December in the middle of Michigan." He says.

      "For instance." Sam says.

      "Do we know how to kill it yet?" Elena asks.

      "No, Bobby's working on that right now. We got to figure out where they're selling those wreaths."

      "You think they're selling them on purpose? Feeding the victims to this thing?" Dean asks.

      Sam exhales. "Let's find out." He says.

CHRISTMAS SHOP
[ ☼ ]

      Sam, Elena and Dean enter. "Help you, guys?" The shopkeeper asks as they walk in. Elena walks around as the boys talk to the man.

      "Uh, hope so. Uh, we were playing Jenga over at the Walshes' the other night, and, uh... well, he hasn't shut up since about this Christmas wreath, and..." Dean turns to Sam. "I don't know, you tell him."

      Sam gives Dean a look. "Sure. It was yummy." He says lamely.

      "I sell a lot of wreaths, guys."

      "Right, right, but – but you see, this one would have been really special. It had, uh, it had, uh, green leaves, um, white buds on it. It might have been made of, uh...meadowsweet?" Sam asks.

      "Well, aren't you a fussy one?" The shopkeeper asks.

      Dean smiles. "He is..." He laughs and Sam looks at him, annoyed.

      "Anyway, I know the one you're talking about. I'm all out."

      "Huh. Seems like this meadowsweet stuff's pretty rare and expensive. Why make wreaths out of it?" Dean asks.

      "Beats me. I didn't make them."

      "Who did?" Dean asks.

      "Madge Carrigan, a local lady. She said the wreaths were so special, she gave them to me for free."

      "She didn't charge you?" Sam asks.

      "Nope."

      "Did you sell them for free?" Dean asks.

      "Hell no. It's Christmas. People pay a buttload for this crap."

      "That's the spirit." Dean says sarcastically.

MOTEL ROOM
[ ☾]

      Dean opens the door and turns on the light. Sam and Elena follow him in. "How much do you think a meadowsweet wreath would cost?" Elena asks.

      "A couple hundred dollars, at least." Sam answers.

      "This lady's giving them away for free? What do you think about that?" Dean asks.

      "Well, sounds pretty suspicious." Sam says.

      Dean and Sam take off their jackets and sit on the edge of their beds. "Remember that wreath Dad brought home that one year?" Dean asks.

      "You mean the one he stole from, like, a liquor store?" Sam asks.

      "Yeah, it was a bunch of empty beer cans. That thing was great. I bet if I looked around hard enough, I could probably find one just like it." Dean says.

      "All right. Dude...What's going on with you?" Sam asks.

      "What?" Dean asks.

      "I'm gonna go freshen up." Elena says realizing that the boys had to be left alone.

      "I mean, since when are you Bill Cosby all of a sudden? Why do you want Christmas so bad?" Sam asks.

      "Why are you so against it? I mean, were your childhood memories that traumatic?"

      "No, that has nothing to do with it." Sam says.

      "Then what?" Dean asks.

      "I-I mean, I-I just... I don't get it. You haven't talked about Christmas in years."

      "Well, yeah. This is my last year." Dean points out.

      "I know... That's why I can't."

      "What do you mean?" Asks Dean.

      "I mean I can't just sit around, drinking eggnog, pretending everything's okay, when I know next Christmas you'll be dead." Sam says and Dean nods. "I just can't." Dean nods, realizing the sadness in Sam's voice. Both of them are silent.

FLASHBACK
1991

MOTEL ROOM
[ ☾]

      Sam is on the couch reading a comic book. Dean walks inside the room, holding a bag of groceries. "Thought you went out." Sam says.

      "Yeah, to get you dinner." Dean tosses Sam packaged food. "Don't forget your vegetables." He also tosses him another bag of snack food.

      Dean takes off his jacket, sits down on his bed and opens a drink can. Sam sits on the other bed. "I know why you keep a gun under your pillow." Sam says.

      Dean lifts his pillow and sees his gun. "No, you don't. Stay out of my stuff." He says.

      "And I know why we lay salt down everywhere we go."

      "No, you don't. Shut up." Dean says and Sam turns around and grabs something under his bed. It's John's diary. Sam tosses it onto the nightstand between the beds. "Where'd you get that? That's Dad's! He's gonna kick your ass for reading that."

      "Are monsters real?" Sam asks.

      "What? You're crazy."

      "Tell me." Sam says.

      Dean looks away, hesitating. "I swear, if you ever tell Dad I told you any of this, I will end you." He says.

      "Promise."

      Dean sits and looks at John's diary. "Well, the first thing you have to know is we have the coolest dad in the world. He's a superhero." He says.

      "He is?" Sam asks.

      "Yeah. Monsters are real. Dad fights them. He's fighting them right now."

      "But Dad said the monsters under my bed weren't real." Sam says.

      "That's 'cause he had already checked under there. But yeah, they're real. Almost everything's real."

      "Is Santa real?" Sam asks.

      Dean shakes his head. "No." He says.

      "If monsters are real, then they could get us. They could get me."

      "Dad's not gonna let them get you." Dean says.

      "But what if they get him?"

      "They aren't gonna get Dad. Dad's, like, the best." Dean says.

      "I read in Dad's book that they got Mom." Says Sam.

      Dean exhales. "It's complicated, Sam." He says.

      "If they got Mom, they can get Dad and if they can get Dad, they can get us." Sam says.

      "It's not like that." Dean moves and sits next to Sam. "Okay? Dad's fine. We're fine. Trust me." Sam looks sad and worried. "You okay?"

      "Yeah." Sam says and looks away.

      "Hey, Dad's gonna be here for Christmas. Just like he always is." Dean says.

      Sam holds back tears. "I just want to go to sleep, okay?" He says.

      "Yeah, okay." Dean says as Sam lies down on the bed and cries quietly. Dean stays sitting on the edge of the bed. "It'll all be better when you wake up. You'll see. Promise."

HOUSE
[ ☼ ]

      Sam, Elena and Dean walk up to a big white house with Christmas decoration on the lawn. "This is where Mrs. Wreath lives, huh? Can't you just feel the evil pagan vibe?" Dean knocks on the door and Madge greets them.

      "Yes?" She says.

      "Please tell me you're the Madge Carrigan who makes the meadowsweet wreaths." Dean says.

      "Why, yes I am."

      "Ha! Bingo." Dean says to Sam.

      "Yeah? Uh, well, we were just admiring your wreaths in Mr. Sylar's place the other day." Elena says.

      "You were? Well, isn't that meadowsweet just the finest-smelling thing you ever smelled?" Madge asks.

      "It is, it sure is. But the problem is, is that all you wreaths had sold out before we got the chance to buy one." Sam says.

      "Oh, fudge!"

      "You wouldn't have another one that we could buy from you, would you?" Dean asks.

      "Oh, no, I'm afraid those were the only ones I had for this season." Madge says.

      "Aww..." Sam starts.

      "Tell me something, why did you decide to make them out of meadowsweet?" Dean asks as Mr Carrigan comes down the staircase inside the house.

      "Why, the smell, of course! I don't think I've ever smelled anything finer."

      "Yeah... um, you mentioned that." Sam says.

      "What's going on, honey?" Mr Carrigan asks.

      "Well, just some nice girl and boys asking about my wreaths, dear."

      "Oh, the wreaths are fine. Fine wreaths. Oh, care for some peanut brittle?" Mr Carrigan offers them peanut brittle. Dean reaches out to take some, but Sam slaps Dean's arm away.

      "We're okay." Sam says.

MOTEL ROOM
[ ☾]

      Dean is sharpening a wooden stake, while Sam uses the laptop. Five other wooden stakes are on the bed and floor near Dean. Sam claps his hands. "I knew it. Something was way off with those two." He says.

      "What'd you find?" Elena asks.

      "The Carrigans lived in Seattle, last year, where two abductions took place right around Christmas. They moved here in January. All that Christmas crap in their house-that wasn't boughs of holly. It was vervain and mint." Sam says.

      "Pagan stuff?" Dean asks.

      "Serious pagan stuff."

      "So what, Ozzie and Harriet are keeping a pagan god hidden underneath their plastic-covered couch?" Dean asks.

      "I don't know. All I know we're gotta check them out." Sam says. "So, what about Bobby? He's sure evergreen stakes will kill this thing, right?"

      Dean looks at the stake. "Yeah, he's sure." He says.

CARRIGAN HOUSE
[ ☾]

      Sam, Elena and Dean walk toward the house. Dean picks the lock. They each hold a wooden stake. Dean looks at the couch that still covered with plastic. "See? Plastic." He says.

      Dean goes into the living room and looks at all the Christmas ornaments, while Sam and Elena go to the hall, which is also decorated with ornaments and snow globes.

      Sam goes into the kitchen and sees plates of cookies and cakes. He shines his flashlight on the lock of a door. "Hey, Dean." He says.

      Dean and Sam walk downstairs to the basement, while Elena keeps watch upstairs. Dean points his flashlight and finds bones covered with blood in a large bowl.

      They check the room and realize the whole basement looks like a butchery room rather than a storage room. Sam finds a leather bag covered with blood. He looks disgust and moves to another spot.

      Sam pokes a bag that is hanging from the wall and the bag moves – someone inside is struggling. Madge grabs Sam's neck from behind and lifts him off the ground.

      "Sam!"

      She pushes Sam against a wall and holds him by the throat. Dean runs to him and tries to stake Madge, but Mr Carrigan grabs his arm and knocks his head against a wall. Dean falls to the ground, unconscious.

      Madge looks at her husband, who smiles and nods and looks back at Sam, who is struggling to breathe. "Gosh, I wish you boys hadn't come down here." She says.

      Sam moves his flashlight to the Carrigans' faces, which appear monster-like when in the beam of the flashlight but turn back to normal out of the light. Madge shoves Sam hard against the wall and Sam falls to the ground.