Well, you requested some crits, you got one from an old angry lizard ^.=.^

First of all - I'm straight so I thought that I would have some problems with it and decided to give it a try. And guess what? I didn't have any problem at all.

At first - it is nice, typical heartwarming Christmas story - I feel quite strange reading this now, at late Spring but well... To the point - it was really fun to read despite me being straight - good thing that it was clean and concentrated more on feelings than physical aspect - it makes it more understandable for audience like me thats not really into homosexuality.
Atmosphere is good, really Christmas like, characters seem to be nice but they would really make use of little more development if it's a stand-alone story - it would make it easier to relate to them but it is already achieved quite nicely considering how short it is.
Yeah, it could be longer, more build-up would do it really good, especially some more descriptions of characters and their environment, you know, more detailed info about decoration, weather, maybe some minor event to show it. There is really no need to hurry up to the final point of the story - being in a hurry is your enemy, it makes atmosphere less significant ;)
Overall, it is really nice piece but a little to short and lacking in terms of descriptions but only a little - also, take into consideration the fact that I LOVE details, the more, the better, so, you know. It's not overdone and thats also a good thing.
I must say I was very surprised (and it was a good kind of surprise!) that it was not disturbing for me and that means something.

I don't have the same problem as the last guy, I'm pansexual leaning gay dating a transgender boy in a girl's body, so we'll see how this crit goes. X3

First of all, I have to be honest and tell you that I loved the story. Anything that reminds me I have a heart is a very good thing, and the "proposal" scene was heartwarming to the max. Predictable, but for this story it worked. I would, however, like to echo his concerns with character development. As a short fluff story, it performs; but I kept getting the feeling that I was intruding on someone else's Christmas rather than feeling natural inside it. If I could change one thing, it would be to make one or the other of the characters the "main" or at least the "point of view" character, not so far as to change the entire story to first person but just to make it so we have someone to identify better with. Your descriptions of the different scenes were beautiful, though, and I feel like reading it again and again just for those. You really know how to set a mood, and I commend you for that. I may not feel quite comfortable in their living room, but you made that living room absolutely vibrate with love and... Christmassy...ness... yeah. Better than it sounds. And this even though it's early June! Very, very well done there.

One small criticism I have, bordering on nitpicking, is that jewelers don't use knives to engrave things. The technical name for the tool is a graver. Like I said, it's nitpicking, so don't sweat it. Also, if it were more from one character's view than from an omniscient narrator, this would be a complete non-issue. After all, most people don't have much understanding of jewelrymaking, and you're representing the character's lack thereof. I also personally got confused as to the size of the bangle, and the measurement for the opal you mentioned was a bit unusual. Again, perspective from a character would have quickly remedied both of those; in fact, I would consider every problem I see with your writing to be able to be fixed by simply selecting one of the characters and shifting our identification over to him.

Overall, like I said, I enjoyed the story, and the romance was cute and very, well, romantic. Your atmosphere building simply cannot be flawed, it was gorgeous, and you made me feel like a kid on Christmas morning nearly six months after the fact. A very good story and, like I said, the only thing I'd change given the chance is to see things more from one side or the other.

First off great heartwarming story. I am in committed gay relationship with my mate  Kojiroookami and have been for over five years now, so this really hits close to home. I like how you introduced both protagonist of your story and really didn’t delay in describing their species. I personally think that’s an important objective to accomplish, especially in the furry fandom. I love your use of dialogue, it seemed very natural and it wasn’t too descriptive. The use of words in the story really strengthens the overall feeling of the setting.

There are a few minor points I would like to add. First off the story has no plot. There is no conflict that pushes the story along and no conflict for the character to react to, which in turn adds to their character development. Now a previous post stated that the story could have benefited from some insight to the characters and went on to explore the possibility of changing the story into a first person perspective, which I both agree and disagree. While it would have help in character development in general it does nothing to engage the reader. The proposal felt more like a confession of Nate’s feeling instead of a planed proposal.

Miles bit his lip, having a long sigh through is nose. “So…you’re proposing to me?”
Nate Shrugged. “if you want to think of it like that, yeah, I guess so. Though I intended it to be more of a promise than anything else.”

First person, second or third, in either case the story would work. What we needed was conflict, a problem, or some sort of unknown situation. If Nate was planning on a proposing on Christmas day, then we could have gotten into his head and figured out what he was thinking. “Will he say yes, will he say no? I want this to be perfect”. Which would have added the necessary what if that would have captured the reader attention and propelled them to move forward?

As a sweet, I love you story, it was great and you’ve accomplished that well, and if that was all it was mean to be than my observations are pointless. Overall it gave you a great feeling and it was emotional. I would love to see more of these characters.