midday
Susan and Betsey fussed with mince-meat and frosted cookies ; Susan accomplished remarkably good , if rather fragile , pumpkin pies . The four decorated the down-stairs rooms with ropes of fragrant green . The expressman came and came and came again ; Jimmy returned twice a day laden from the Post Office ; everyone remembered the Carrolls this year . Anna and Philip and Billy came home together , at midday , on Christmas Eve . Betsey took immediate charge of the packages they brought ; she would not let so much as a postal card be read too soon . Billy had spent many a Christmas Eve with the Carrolls ; he at once began to run errands and carry up logs as a matter of course . A conference was held over the turkey , lying limp in the center of the kitchen table .