It contains the following stories:
- "Don't Sit on the Gronk": A boy receives a Kooshball-shaped creature as a Christmas present.
- "Nutcracker Nightmare": A young girl and her parents are invited by her former babysitter to see The Nutcracker when strange things happen.
- "The Ice Vampire": Two kids meet an ice vampire that wants their warmth.
- "A Holly Jolly Holiday": A girl gets annoyed with the video of a holiday special that causes her family to act strange.
- "Why I Hate Jack Frost": A boy spending Christmas in Arizona has a recurring dream about Jack Frost.
- "Marshmallow Surprise": After three kids accidentally break a bitter old woman's mailbox, she uncharacteristically invites them into her home for a cup of hot chocolate.
- "Monster on the Ice": A boy receives "Monster Skates" that suddenly make him faster and more aggressive.
- "The Double-Dip Horror": Twin sisters arrive at the Ice Cream Cone Ski Lodge where they have problems with one of the skiing students.
- "Santa's Helpers": A boy and his sister are mistaken for Santa Claus' missing Christmas Elves due to the way they are dressed.
- "Attack of the Christmas Present": Two brothers receive gifts from their uncle where one of them gains a "Robot Tag" that starts to pursue him.
Tropes for this include:
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Don't Sit on the Gronk
- Adults Are Useless: Brad's parents think nothing of him taking in a living, breathing Kooshball as long as he promises to be a responsible pet owner.
- Argument of Contradictions: When criticizing Brad for listening to his Walkman with his headphones wrong, Kelly calls him a total moron. He snaps back that he is not a moron, leading to her saying "Yes, you are!", with him replying, "No, I'm not!" Their mother has to break up the argument.
- Big Sister Instinct: Kelly tries to save Brad from the Gronk by reading the instructions. It doesn't work, but A for effort.
- Epic Fail: Brad is very put out to learn that his new Walkman wasn't working because he put his headphones into the wrong jack. His sister asks him why he never reads instructions.
- Now You Tell Me: Brad has this reaction when his little sister reads the instructions for the Gronk. He already broke all three rules: don't take it outside, don't bounce the Gronk, and don't sit on it. By then, it's too late before the giant Gronk sits on him in turn.
- Shout-Out: The story has a kid getting a creature for Christmas that turns against him when he disobeys certain rules.
- Sickening "Crunch!": The story ends with Brad cornered by the Gronk, about to sit on him, and then SPLAT.
Nutcracker Nightmare
- Asshole Victim: Sam. She mocks her old babysitter Mrs. Boren, who punishes her by making her viewing of the Nutcracker ballet go very slowly, and having everyone there age rapidly as well.
- Cruel Twist Ending: The ballet goes on for a long time, so long that Samantha grows out of her dress and her mother has grey hair. But then it ends! Not so fast, however; Ms. Boren, who cast the spell to slow down time, cheerfully reminds her it's a two-act ballet.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Mrs. Boren magically ages everyone in the audience at a performance of The Nutcracker (with the implication that at least some of them will die of old age) all because Sam complained of being bored.
- Full-Name Ultimatum: Downplayed. When Sam complains throughout the story about the ballet she and her family are attending, her annoyed mother calls her "Samantha" whilst scolding her. Sam notes that she hates it when she calls her by her full name.
- Hope Spot: Sam in cries in relief on seeing the curtain come down on the ballet. She thinks it means the ordeal is over. Ms. Boren smugly reminds her the ballet has two acts, and she can't leave during intermission.
- Rapid Aging: Happens to the audience during the ballet.
The Ice Vampire
- Big Brother Instinct: Inverted. Sam finds out the ice vampire is attacking his older sister, Emily. He pulls her inside and bars the door while making sure she's not frostbitten.
- Diabolus ex Nihilo: It's never revealed what caused the ice sculptures to come to life.
- Here We Go Again!: They defeat the vampire but their ice cobra comes to life. And their hairdrier ran out of power.
- Our Vampires Are Different: This story has one that is actually a living ice statue that feeds off warmth rather than blood.
- Shout-Out: The creator of the titular sculpture is named Bram Stokman.
- Vampire Episode: One of the few in the franchise, which specifically has an ice sculpture of a vampire coming to life.
A Holly Jolly Holiday
- Adults Are Useless: Not for a lack of trying. Beth convinces her dad that something weird is going on while showing off her changed red hair, and he enters the living room where his wife and other daughter are watching a videotape to investigate. He ends up not being able to do anything because the tape catches him in its thrall as well.
- Ambiguously Evil: Susie Snowflake on the videocassette. While she does brainwash the family and compel them to watch her holiday special on loop, they don't actually do anything evil. Part of the humor of the story is that Beth finds her parents and sister calling each other "dearie" to be more horrifying than anything else. That said, she's still overwriting their personalities and robbing them of their free will.
- Cool Big Sis: Despite the fact that Beth and Jody are extremely different in terms of personality, they have this relationship with each other. Jody gifts Beth with wrestler-themed Christmas presents, from magazine subscriptions to videos of The Krusher. Beth admits that while their tastes are widely varying, Jodi is nice to have as a sister.
- Faux Horrific: Beth finds the Susie Snowflake antics, along with her family starting to talk like her, to be terrifyingly unbearable. However, considering that her family is starting to transform into Susie Snowflake, the horror is quite understandable.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: When demanding to her brainwashed family to get the Susie Snowflake videocassette out of the VCR and destroy it, Beth's family says they will if she can tell them what the magic words are, and Beth struggles to remember what it isnote . After a few failed attempts with wrong answers, Beth tries to curse, but only can say, "Oh, sugar cookies!" The text lampshades that she didn't intend to utter it.
- Got Me Doing It: Beth is not pleased to find that the enchanted Holly Jolly Holiday videotape is affecting her as well; when she resists her father's sugar cookies, she says, "Oh, dearie me!" She then gasps as she realized what she had said, sounding just like Susie Snowflake, and then sees herself in the mirror to realize that she's changing as well.
- Here We Go Again!: Beth gets a tape of The Krusher that Jodie says is the only copy from the Christmas Shoppe, implying the family will turn into wrestlers.
- House Husband: Beth and Jody's dad is implied to be one. He's stated to do all the cooking in the house and he's shown to be rather handy when Beth mentions their dad is making a jewelry box as a gift for Jody.
- Jaw Drop: Beth has this reaction when she notices that her mother's hair had turned light red, which was the same color as Susie Snowflake's.
- Lethal Chef: Beth laughs when her mother says she baked cookies; she says that her mother once nearly set the house on fire when trying to make toast using a toaster. She then goes Oh, Crap! when her mother is quite serious about having baked the cookies, and her hair has changed color while watching the videotape with Jodi.
- Let Us Never Speak of This Again: After Beth destroys the Holly Jolly Holiday videotape, the family doesn't want to talk about the time they became brainwashed, cheery Christmas elves.
- Mind Rape: What the video tape does to people who watch it. Prolonged exposure not only physically transforms living creatures to make them resemble Susie Snowflake as close as possible, it gradually brainwashes them into becoming sugary sweet drones that only want to watch "A Holly Jolly Holiday" over and over again.
- Only One Finds It Fun: Jody's the one person in their family who actually likes watching "A Holly Jolly Holiday." That their mom would join Jody in watching the movie is an indicator something weird is going on.
- Show Within a Show: "A Holly Jolly Holiday" is described by Beth as the most nauseating Christmas special ever created. Her sister Jody loves it unironically. All we can gather from what Beth says is the movie is about Susie Snowflake, a redheaded woman and mother who goes around spewing Christmas cheer out of every orifice. She sings, dances, bake cookies, warms the heart of a grouchy neighbor, and has at least one song and dance routine with Santa.
- Stylistic Suck: It's implied "A Holly Jolly Holiday" is just as tooth rooting and saccharine as Beth claims it to be if Susie Snowflake's catchphrase, "Pretty bitty please with Christmas trees," is anything to go by.
- Verbal Backspace: When Beth's trying to get to the tape before it's too late, she pushes her sister aside and says, "Out of my way, dearie. Uh, I mean Jodie."
- Would Rather Suffer: When Jodie offers her sister a chance to stay and watch the Susie Snowflake movie with her, Beth replies that she would rather eat a reindeer. However, since she had nothing better to do, she reluctantly stayed. This turned out to be a big mistake.
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: When checking on her father, whom she sent into the den to try and snap her mother and sister out of their trance, Beth hears him say, "In hear, dearie." Upon hearing him call him "dearie", which is what Susie and her brainwashed family called each other, Beth immediately realizes that he's been changed by the movie as well.
Why I Hate Jack Frost
- All Just a Dream: It's revealed that Jared's life in Arizona was just a dream, and his dreams about living with Jack Frost are what his life is really like.
- Bait the Dog: Zigzagged with Jack Frost. On the one hand, he does start with harmless snow fun with Jared, and always lets him return to the cabin to rest if he needs it. Then the games become more dangerous, with Jack trying to bury Jared alive in the snow and sledding off steep cliffs. Jack reveals at the end of the story that this is just normal with him and Jared, and says pityingly that their new ornament must have given him bad dreams to make him forget.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Jared wishes it was colder this Christmas and he gets it after having dreams about Jack Frost, but it gets too cold to bear.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Jack Frost doesn't seem to care that he's freezing Jared up with their incessant playtime in the snow. Then again, every time Jared returns to Jack Frost's realm he doesn't seem to be the worse for wear.
- Cut-and-Paste Suburb: Jared notes that his house as well as all the others in his new neighborhood in Arizona have flat roofs, are painted pale pink, and look like ugly shoe boxes. He thinks that this looks wrong.
- Ghostwriter: "Why I Hate Jack Frost" has been confirmed to be ghostwritten by Kathryn Lance who also wrote for the Ghosts of Fear Street series. (The blog in question
is written with Plausible Deniability but enough hints to indicate the "anthology" that she mentions. She confirms it in the comments) - Grass is Greener: Jared resents that his new house in Arizona has no snow, and there will be no white Christmas. When he learns that he is actually Jack Frost's roommate, and that he's doomed to playing in the snow eternally with him, he shouts that he lives in Arizona and this isn't real. Jared is less-than-pleased to learn about the reality.
- Hope Spot: Jared thinks that his nightmares with Jack Frost will end once he tosses the Christmas ornament in the trash and Jack in his dream lets him sleep. He finds out that his dreams of Arizona weren't real, and he is actually Jack's roommate.
- Mind Screw: It is revealed that Jared wasn't a boy in Arizona dreaming about Jack Frost; Jack reveals that Jared is his roommate and was dreaming about Arizona. The ornament in his tree showed the house in Arizona where Jared dreamed about moving.
Marshmallow Surprise
- Bait-and-Switch Sentiment: The kids tell Mrs. Spooner they have to leave the house before dark. It seems they have a curfew. When Mrs. Spooner refuses to let them go, they seem to get increasingly frantic, especially as she reveals the hot chocolate she served them will melt their bones. Then it gets dark, and the full moon comes up. The kids face her, and reveal they wanted to leave before transforming into werewolves. Since they're trapped and mad at her for trying to poison them, you can guess what happens next.
- Bait the Dog: Played straight with Mrs. Spooner when she invites Marsha, Ricky and Ronnie to have some hot chocolate after Marsha accidentally knocks over her mailbox. She reveals the hot chocolate recipe will turn them into marshmallows, melting their bones, and that she considers it apt punishment for all the pranks they've pulled on her. It turns out the chocolate is a No-Sell on the kids because they are werewolves.
- Bullying a Dragon: Mrs. Spooner thought that she was the one with the dark secret, she discovers too late just how wrong she really is.
- Foreshadowing: The kids are concerned about getting home before the moon comes out. Because they are werewolves.
- The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: Marsha and her brothers Ricky and Ronnie reveal to Mrs. Spooner that there is a reason for their rambunctious nature. Even so, they were willing to let her go in peace until she poisoned the hot chocolate that she had served to them, to turn them into marshmallows. They reveal they are werewolves, and were trying to leave to beat the full moon, but they are angry that Mrs. Spooner tried to kill them. Oh, and they're still hungry. The kids in wolf form pounce on her and make short work of Mrs. Spooner.
- Ironic Echo: Mrs. Spooner shows the children her recipe of Marshmallow Surprise, saying that they would find it delicious after they ate it, but then revealed that it would kill them. It doesn't actually work, but they do transform into werewolves, to which they then ate her. Marsha declares their meal to be Marshmallow Surprise, to which her brothers find it delicious.
- No-Sell: It turns out that the enchanted hot chocolate does nothing to the kids. They reveal that they're werewolves and their chemistries negated the effects. With that said, they're still hungry and angry with Mrs. Spooner.
- Not What It Looks Like: Marsha damaged Mrs. Spooner's mailbox by accident. She is all prepared to knock on the front door, apologize to Mrs. Spooner, and pay for the damage. Her brothers grab her and say they're leaving, only for Mrs. Spooner to come out. It looks as if they're trying to run away and have broken the mailbox on purpose. Indeed, when Mrs. Spooner lists the terrible things they did, she believes that Marsha's intentions were malicious.
- Only Sane Woman: Marsha is genuinely sorry about damaging Mrs. Spooner's mailbox. She plans to go to the front door, apologize, and pay for the damage. Ronnie and Ricky grab her and say that trying to do so is no good and try to get her out of the yard. They also laugh about ring-and-running Mrs. Spooner's door. Marsha points out that's probably why the woman hates them.
- Tomato Surprise: The kids are all werewolves.
Monster on the Ice
- Door Slam of Rage: Max goes out to ice skate, and Jessica wants to come as well, causing him to whine to his mother. When she agrees with Max that she can't come with him, Jessica responds by running to her room and slamming the door shut.
- Easily Forgiven: Played With. While under the influence of the skates that turned him into a monster, Max gets very physically violent with his friend Steve during a game. Max slams him hard to the ground and shakes him while on the ground, which angers and upsets Steve. After he managed to leave the rink and take the skates off, turning him back to normal, Max goes back to Steve to apologize. Even though Steve accepts it and offers to skate with him more later, he still seems quite taken aback from him, and Max seriously wonders if he had just lost his best friend forever.
- Hope Spot: Upon returning home and hearing Jessica in his room, Max wonders if she found the monster skates in his closet. He opens the door to find her in his room, and he asks her if she tried the skates on. Jessica replies no, causing Max to breath a sigh of relief, but then she goes on by saying that she put them on Stinker instead, which is their dog. Cue an enormous, growling creature leaping at Max from the closet.
The Double Dip Horror
- 13 Is Unlucky: The hotel room where Wynona and Rachel stay in at the ski resort is room 313. This indicates that they are about to encounter something unpleasant, and one of them is very likely to end up dead.
- Big Sister Instinct: Twin sister instinct. Wynona has this reaction when the camp director tells her that Bobby Judd murders would-be skiers, and says that they need to save her "friend" on the slope, her twin sister Rachel whom she's impersonating. The camp director doesn't help by saying that Bobby Judd only goes after identical twins.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Rachel and Wynona are identical twins whom have been hired as skiing instructors. They decide to lie that Wynona was sick and couldn't make it, so they can alternate teaching the kids as the other twin gets to ski for free rather than the two of them getting a free skiing day just once. It backfires when someone starts playing pranks on them, and they suspect an obnoxious camper named Bobby Judd. It turns out Bobby is a ghost who lures identical twins into dangerous, usually fatal skiing races.
- Cruel Twist Ending: The protagonist has just left her identical twin sister alone on a ski slope with a ghost that murders identical twins. All she can do is hope that Rachel isn't baited into racing with Bobby Judd.
- Kick the Dog: Bobby Judd runs on this. He spends most of the skiing class harassing Rachel and Wynonna, and nearly getting them killed with his stunts. The camp director reveals he's a ghost who tries to murder twins, due to the fact that he spent his last moments racing his twin brother Ricky.
- Now You Tell Me: Wynonna has this reaction when the camp director hears the name Bobby Judd, goes Oh, Crap!, and proceeds to explain that he is a murdering ghost. The story ends with Wynonna finding out that Bobby Judd specifically targets identical twins to murder.
- Punny Name: Each of the slopes in the Ice Cream Cone Ski Lodge is named for a type of ice-cream dessert. Banana Split is said to be the easiest, while the Double-Dip is said to be a black diamond level course.
- Twin Switch: The twin protagonists pretend to be each other while they are ski instructors, so one can have fun on their own. This ends up going sour since they deal with a ghost who only goes after twins.
- Verbal Backpedaling: Upon learning that Double Dip is a sinister skiing ride with a murderous ghost, and her sister Rachel is racing on it, Wynona frantically tells the camp director, "But my sis - I mean my... my friend is up on Double-Dip right now!"
- Watch Out for That Tree!: Wynona (while posing as her twin) is racing down a slope, and Bobby sticks out one of his skis to try and trip her, which she narrowly misses. But in her doing so, she slid down a steeper slope, and crashed hard into a tree. Luckily, she wasn't seriously hurt. However, it turns out that Bobby himself many years ago ran into this trope by racing his twin down the slope, and ran straight into a tree. That time, he was killed instantly.
Santa's Helpers
- Adaptational Dumbass: Generally speaking, Santa is usually portrayed as a man with hundreds of years of wisdom and experience, and is quite intelligent. Most portrayals probably wouldn't be Incompetent enough to mistake two children for elves and not do a proper check to make sure.
- Asshole Victim: Spenser and Beth. They're mean to their little sister, even though as Spenser admits, it's a mean thing to do. Thanks to the pair staying out late in the matching snowsuits their mother bought them, Santa's elves catch them and mistake them for runaways. When the elves give the twins a chance to prove their identity, they ask Diana. Diana calmly points out they always said she wasn't their sister, and that they also told her Santa wasn't real. Cue the twins being dragged back to the North Pole for eternal labor.
- Bad Santa: Santa Claus is no jolly man that is Nice to the Waiter. He sentences the kids, mistaking them for runaway elves, to eighteen-hour shifts for five years as punishment, and then maybe they'll have a measly two day vacation only if they work hard enough. Beth and Spenser have to point out that they are real kids and they have a home with loving parents for him to even consider that they might be telling the truth. Even then, Santa tells the elves holding Beth and Spenser captive that the kids get one chance to prove their real identity but if they're lying? It's back to the North Pole, for life. This is what happens.
- The Dog Bites Back: Beth and Spenser have been teasing their little sister by saying she's not related to them and that there is no Santa Claus. They also make her pull a sled up a high hill with them sitting on it, before taking off without her. Quite fittingly, thanks to them wearing red and green snowsuits and staying out too late, they're kidnapped by Santa's elves who mistake them for runaway workers. They try to prove who they really are to avoid eighteen-hour shifts for two years and lead the elves to their house. Diana answers the door, sees that Santa is real and her siblings are at his elves' mercy. She then calmly answers that they've always said that she's not their sister and they also said Santa Claus doesn't exist. Cue the elves dragging the two "liar" twins back to the North Pole and Diana asking them to tell Santa she was good this year.
- Don't Tell Mama: Diana goes to tell their mother about Spenser and Beth bullying her again when she comes to take Diana home in the evening. The twins hightail it out of there because they know their mother will probably confiscate the sled, read them the riot act, and ground them forever if she hears about the twins bullying their little sister again. It would have been a lighter punishment than what Santa gives to runaway elves since he and the real elves mistake the twins as lazy workers.
- Exact Words: A pair of older siblings enjoy telling their little sister she isn't related to them because she doesn't resemble them or their parents. When the siblings are mistaken for a pair of Santa's elves (they're short, have red hair, and were wearing red-and-green clothes that could easily let someone mistake them for elves) and taken to the North Pole, they try to get their sister to vouch for them. And she says "but you always told me I wasn't really your sister. You always said I wasn't related to you at all." The siblings are dragged away as their sister asks for them to make sure Santa doesn't forget her.
- Homemade Sweater from Hell: Storebought variant. The mother of the protagonists of "Santa's Helpers" buys discounted ugly green and red snowsuits for them. This ends up getting them mistaken for elves.
- Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Generally, one should not let your older siblings be taken into unsafe and unfair working conditions where you will never see them again. However, Spenser and Beth have spent the whole story bullying Diana and making her miserable. They also found out Santa Claus was real, even though they told her he wasn't. Diana finds them with Santa's elves, with the elf asking if she's their sister. Diana parrots their words that the twins have always said she's not their sister, and doesn't even need a Death Glare to sell it. To top it all off, she cheerfully tells the elves to mention to Santa she was good this year. Isn't karma a bitch?
- Karmic Twist Ending: Spenser and Beth have spent the whole story mocking their little sister Diana for looking different and believing in Santa. Surprise, surprise, it turns out that Santa is real and mistakes the twins for being runaway workers. They end up relying on Diana to identify them, and she points out they've always said she was never their sister. The twins are seen as liars and dragged back to the North Pole for eternal labor.
- Kick the Dog: Spenser admits he and Beth shouldn't tease their little sister Diana, but it's so much fun because of her reactions. They not only say she's not really their sister, but refuse to let her ride in their new sleigh after making her pull it (with them on it) up a hill, and tell her Santa Claus isn't real. When their mother comes to take Diana home since it's getting dark, the twins quickly start sledding because they know they're in trouble and need to get out of dodge. Getting punished at home would have been lighter than being mistaken for runaway elves.
- Parents as People: The kids' mom repeatedly tells them off for bullying Diana and does what she can to protect her youngest daughter. Even so, it's not enough to dissuade Beth and Spenser from mocking their little sister.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: The kids should eventually grow tall enough over the years for Santa and the elves to realize they are humans. Assuming they can survive the workload until that happens.
- Right Behind Me: When telling Spenser and Beth about how they look like elves, their friend Ted points out that their red-and-green boots make them look the part. Beth replied bitterly that their mother found them on sale, and they really hate them. That's when their mother comes trudging up the hill, asking, "You really hate what?" Beth hastily replies that she meant nothing, then quickly asked her what she was doing here.
- Santa's Existence Clause: Spenser and Beth tell Diana that Santa Clause isn't real, so they're still getting presents for Christmas no matter how they behave. They find out to their chagrin that Santa is not only real but also a capitalist jolly man that enslaves elves with 18-hour shifts and vacations after two years. He also mistakes them for elves and wants to punish them for "running away" during the holiday rush.
- Santa's Sweatshop: The working conditions of Santa's workshop are bad enough that some elves try to run away. When Santa mistakes the kids for the escapees, he sentences them to 18 hour shifts for five years, with a mere two day vacation afterward.
- What You Are in the Dark: Diana finds out that Santa's elves are real and holding her older siblings hostage, having mistaken them for runaway workers. She comes to answer the door, and Beth and Spenser tell her that they are family. The elves ask Diana if the kids are her sisters. Diana takes a moment. Then she calmly points out that they always said she was not their sister, and they also said Santa wasn't real. Cue the elves dragging her siblings back to the North Pole, and Diana cheerfully asks them to tell Santa she was good this year. Yeah, Diana failed this, but you can see why since the twins are monsters.
Attack of the Christmas Present
- Cool Uncle: Uncle Billy who travels around the world and always gets Jack and his brother cool presents for Christmas.
- Dripping Disturbance: Jack is sleeping at night when he hears a "TAP,TAP" noise. It continues on and on, getting on Jack's nerves when he's trying to get back to sleep. It doesn't take him long before he realizes that it's coming from his new gift, Robot Tag.
- My New Gift Is Lame: Jack opens his presents on Christmas, and finds that his mother gave him three sweaters, some socks, and some underwear. He immediately thinks, BORING. He gets a mask from his Uncle Billy, which he initially thinks is this trope, and trades it with his older brother Doug with Robot Tag, who apparently thought the same of his toy with this trope. As he started to get scared of Robot Tag, Jack changes his mind and tries it trade back with Doug, who refuses.
