Christmas Presents: How does your family handle them? Do you draw names? Do you buy gifts for everyone one? Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Has that changed from when you were a kid to an adult? Do you open them all at once or do you wait and watch everyone open them one at a time?
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I LOVE GIVING GIFTS!!!!
Seriously, when I moved, I found 4 boxes and 1 tub of things I had bought randomly for different people or different occasions. Its a problem I’m learning to overcome. But, I buy Christmas gifts all year long. I’ll admit I’m a huge bargain shopper. I keep a list on my phone of gifts I’ve already purchased for different people or a list of upcoming events that I need to buy gifts for. Looking for gifts is like a treasure hunt at all times.
So, you can imagine that I’ve been done with shopping for a week and everything has been wrapped and already taken to my mom’s house!!!!
We celebrate Christmas Eve with my mom’s side of the family. When we were little, we would get to open one present on Christmas Eve. (It usually ended up being the one item that needed batteries and that’s when the adults realized they forgot to get an extra set from the ones in our stockings. I can remember many a Christmas eve digging through every drawer in my Papa’s house trying to find a random C battery!) And, then off to bed early for Santa after putting out the reindeer food on the front sidewalk. Christmas morning was Santa and then the pile of presents that overtook my grandparents living room were divulged into after lunch.
I remember the anticipation and angst that waited in my bones on Christmas. I loved seeing what on my list was discovered and what goodies waited for me under that tree. I remember that my grandparents would give my mom money and in the month’s leading up to Christmas we would pick out what was from Papa and mom would wrap it. Once we opened his gift, we would run over and say “this is what you bought me for Christmas”. It tickles me now to think about running across his living room in my Christmas night gown trying to explain to him why I wanted some ridiculous sweater or animated doll. He was always kind enough to say “ok” and kiss me on my cheek.
Now, that same angst waits, but its watching every one’s reaction as they open presents. I can hardly wait for my family to open their presents. Sometimes I ask my mom if I can pick one for everyone to open early. She just laughs. I love the anticipation.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, this year we are doing gifts for my cousin’s kids and then the adults are picking charities to exchange. We always let the kids open presents first so they aren’t so antsy as we look at ours.
On Christmas Day, the 4 of us stay home and exchange presents. We draw it out as long as possible. We rotate opening presents and watch as they are opened one at a time. Yes, it takes a long time but what else are we going to do?!?! My mom is great about making sure everyone has the same number of presents. She event wraps matching presents for my sister and I. (like all of them) They may have the same paper or bow, but its such a creative way to handle gifts. Since dad’s are hard to buy for, he also gets to open the gifts for the dog.
So, that’s how we roll on Christmas. What about you?
