Christmasings

Christmas was wild. Crazy. Just the way I like it. We had Santa, we had eggnog, we had present debates, we had dogs sitting back just waiting to tear after the leftover wrapping paper on the floor. It was just what I have always imagined Christmas morning to be like in my own home.

We went to church on Christmas Eve, before heading out to the bonfires. That was the smartest thing we've done in a long time. My mom likes us to go as a family. Which is fine. Not a problem at all for me. UNLESS IT'S AT 9:00 AM ON CHRISTMAS MORNING. So I put my foot down this year (I seem to be doing more of that, but that's another post all together) and insisted that if she wanted us and her grandkids to be at church at the same time then we had to go on Christmas Eve. There's nothing worse than waking up on Christmas morning hungover from the night before, cursing Santa for bringing the loudest most obnoxious toys he could find (haha), and having to tell the kids to put down the gifts because it's time to get ready for church. This year, they blissfully played with all the gifts and Santa was a HUGE hit.

Which brings me to the Santa debate. I wrapped all the Santa presents on Christmas Eve. Keith and I discussed why I was wrapping the presents. Well, because it extends the surprise. And the thrill of being able to tear open into beautifully wrapped presents is part of the whole Christmas event. He said that Santa should unbox, unwrap and assemble every gift there is and put them under the tree. Now, we've never had the Santa debate. We both grew up with Santa, we both found out that he wasn't "real", but neither of us came away from that experience any worse off or liking our parents any less. Now, the Tooth Fairy...well, that was a different story for me :) So we play Santa. And we pretend that he's a real person. And we elaborately answer the questions of how a fat man can come down the chimney and why the fire doesn't burn him, and how can he make it all over the world in one night. And how come they never get to see him? To me, it's like Harry Potter and that whole magical world. Even as an adult, I know that's not real but it's fun. It's fun to believe that really happens and it's fun to be taken away into that magical world. For a kid, it's fun to believe that there really is such a thing as Santa, and Rudolph, and Frosty the Snowman. And when you find out that he's not "real", it becomes fun to help lay out the presents, and even as an adult I still get that tingling when I wake up, wondering what Santa put under the tree for me.

Anyway, so we wrapped the presents and tortuously made the kids go around the room opening one gift at a time. Nic thought that he was always the next person in line though. So he was done considerably sooner than Bren and Des.

And the best gift of the day? The hand thingys that stick to the wall when you throw them. $1 for a pack of 2 at the Dollar Store. Who knew?