Everyone's Christmas Gifts

"Oh! Scented hand cream, I love it! Thank you, Janet, that's so thoughtful of you." Most of the gifts Mrs. Hudson received were health supplements and skin care products, all things she needed right now. She hugged them to her chest and giggled happily.

Since Janet was a teacher, most of the gifts people gave her were office supplies and books. Watson, however, knew what he was doing and used his savings to buy her a pair of sparkling green gemstone studs.

The two little studs were small enough for her to wear to work, inconspicuous yet beautiful. Janet was utterly won over and gave him a kiss.

"Don't tell me this is from you. Your taste is truly atrocious. My eyes have been assaulted." Sherlock held up a dark red tie with a gaudy pattern between two fingers, his disgust plain to see. "I will never wear it."

"Oh, you don't like it? I thought this kind of quietly flamboyant style would be right up your alley," Watson explained to Sherlock with feigned apology, though he was grinning from ear to ear.

"All right, I actually saw the tie when I was buying the gemstone studs. I really thought it suited you, so I bought it too. All right, all right, stop looking at me like that, would you? I picked it out especially for you. It really wasn't a freebie..."

Since Sitangna hadn't said Mycroft was coming, nobody had prepared a gift for him. Luckily, Sherlock had a sliver of conscience left and fetched the one he'd been planning to send from his room.

"I knew it. You're always so boring." Mycroft weighed the box in his hand and listened to the sound inside. He didn't have to guess what it was.

"The voice recorder you swiped from my desk, and now you've given it back to me. You really are a genius." Mycroft flicked the switch, and a pleasant solo violin rendition of "God Save the Queen" began to play. It seemed his clever younger brother had known all along who he was working for.

"I played it myself. You're incredibly lucky." Sherlock haughtily unwrapped Mycroft's gift to him. It was a thin, flat item, and even the bow tied around it was bigger than the gift itself. The wrapping tore open in a single pull.

"Whoa, a black card!" The two paupers, Watson and Sitangna, stared with shining eyes, both waiting for Sherlock to toss the card aside indifferently so they could pick it up.

"Thanks, dear brother." Sherlock pursed his lips and calmly slipped the card into his suit jacket pocket.

He actually accepted it!? Mycroft and Watson exchanged a look. It seemed Sherlock really was possessed tonight.

Sherlock: Don't worry, brother. Whatever happens, I'll definitely rescue you from danger. Never mind where the danger comes from.

Everyone continued opening their gifts. Sitangna had prepared ceramic clay gifts for everyone, molding a chibi figurine of each person. Designing their appearances alone had taken her ages.

After painting the figurines, she had secretly gotten up in the middle of the night to dry them in the oven, then made a special trip to a craft shop to have them glazed so they would last longer.

"It's my first time making these, so the craftsmanship is a little rough. I hope you don't mind." It was Sitangna's first time working with clay, and she was a complete beginner at everything from shaping to painting. Fortunately, she had good taste, and the finished products were adorable.

"You're so thoughtful, Nana. I'm going to put this on my bedside table so I can see it when I go to sleep and as soon as I open my eyes in the morning." Mrs. Hudson held the ceramic figurine in her hands, unable to put it down. Sitangna had tucked a flower behind its ear: her favorite red camellia.

"It's so cute, and this little heart attaches with a magnet! Aaaaaah, I have to give you a kiss too!" Emily decided she was going to cling to Sitangna like a female ghost tonight.

"Mine too, and this book even opens. Oh, John, look, my heart is melting." Janet showed everyone the tiny book that could be opened in her figurine's hands. She couldn't resist either. The two women surrounded Sitangna and kissed her on the cheeks.

People in Britain had high standards for gift wrapping. If a gift wasn't wrapped with care, the recipient would probably be upset, but they didn't care about the value of the gift itself. Here, it really was the thought that counted.

Even if you gave someone just a pencil, everyone would be happy as long as the recipient found it useful.

Every gift Emily brought was more exquisitely wrapped than the last. Everyone exclaimed in amazement as they opened them: cashmere scarves, cashmere hats, all warm and cozy to wear.

Between everyone in the room, they had a complete set of cashmere products. Their styles were all a little different, and it was clear Emily had chosen them with care.

"An encrypted mystery game? Did you make it yourself? Not bad, I like it." Sherlock had given Watson a custom game cartridge. They had a game console and occasionally played together for a while.

"The games on it can improve your thinking. I hope they're useful to you, though improving it later in life will be rather slow." Sherlock smiled without mirth. Sometimes it was hard to tell whether he was being snide or just speaking normally.

"Hand-knitted wool socks. God, these purple polka dots are ugly as hell." Sherlock's gift was handmade by Mrs. Hudson. She had been knitting nonstop for half a month and had finally finished the gifts in time for the holiday.

"I chose the colors and yarn myself. There's only one pair like it in the whole world." Mrs. Hudson, on the other hand, thought there was something wrong with Sherlock's taste. "They're so pretty."

The wool socks she had knitted for Watson were brown, with two little yellow bears sewn onto the cuffs. They were so cute they hardly looked like something a grown man could wear.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hudson. I'll take good care of them and wear them tomorrow morning!" Watson had no problem with cute things like these. How cool was it for a grown man to have a touch of cuteness now and then?

"My turn, my turn!" The gift box Mrs. Hudson had given Sitangna was the biggest. She opened it excitedly and found a bright red crew-neck sweater inside. She happily took off the one she was wearing and put on her new clothes.

"It looks lovely. That color gives your complexion such a rosy glow. Mrs. Hudson, you're so skilled." Emily enviously stroked the soft hand-knitted sweater she was wearing.

"Good girl, I'll knit one for you in a couple of days too. What color would you like?" Mrs. Hudson was delighted that someone appreciated her handiwork. Besides, she still had plenty of yarn in stock.

"Nana's is red, so I'll have blue. Any shade of blue is fine. You choose for me." Emily affectionately linked arms with the old lady. She certainly knew how to act sweet.

"Wow, a Swiss Army knife! Thank you, John. I'll practice hard!" Watson had given Sitangna a mini Hero Swiss Army knife with a full range of tools. This special gadget was small but useful, and even if she didn't use it for self-defense, it would come in handy for opening packages.

At last, it was time to open Sherlock's gift. She swore she hadn't deliberately saved his for last.

"Let me see. What would the great detective give me? Huh, is this perfume?"

Beneath the purple wrapping paper was a purple gift box. Fortunately, the perfume bottle was a translucent pink, nestled in black velvet. Not only was her name laser-engraved on the bottle, but a silver chain with blue diamonds was wrapped around it.