Saturday, January 1, 2011

Coolest Christmas Gift

This is how it went down at Chez Organic. We told the kids that Santa had heard about my upcoming operation and decided to visit us early (you know since we'd all been extra good this year), but it shocked them. But then, the realization hit that Christmas would be tomorrow. So wahoo!

We had the traditional "you may open one present before bed, and funnily enough it always turn out to be new pajamas" thing. This is the first year in many that I didn't sew them myself, and guess what, nobody died! Note to self: store-bought is okay.


We have a lot of Christmas traditions, like eating by candlelight the month of December, or counting down the days with fun activities. But the most important is how Christmas Eve plays out. The kids all sleep together and haul mattresses for everyone down to the basement and then they fill up on popcorn, red vines and eggnog watching movies all night. They have a tradition of watching It's A Wonderful Life and Surf's Up! I do not see how surfing penguins ties into Christmas, but it just wouldn't be the same without it.

We let Ty sleep out by the Christmas Tree (mostly so he could tattle if anyone tried to sneak a peek, but also so he might have a gentler waking up). Under that quilt on which their stockings are laid out, is the family present. Santa is quite resourceful and loves to recycle (who knew?), so he found us a steal of a deal on a competition grade Foosball table. It has seen more action than, well...let's just say it gets played a lot.

At our house Santa leaves one present, unwrapped, under their stockings and he never leaves better gifts than mom and dad. Which, I think, is the proper order of things.

When it is time to open gifts, we line them up on the stairs for the traditional picture. Ty used to sit on my or Mr. O's lap, but now that's too painful for him (Ty). I think next year we will wheel his bed up next to the stairs and let the kids crowd around him.

Everyone received some little piece of their heart's desire. The rest of the morning went beautifully. It felt a little like we cheated by having Santa come early, but sometimes you just have to roll with it. There were so many fun gifts exchanged, but two of my favorites are the Ancestry Memory Cards.

One set contains pairs of ancestors, going way back on both my mother's and father's lines



And the other set contains photos from my immediate family, with photos of us as children and adults. See? I've always had these cheeks, no wonder the filipinos couldn't resist pinching them. :)

My mom made 6 sets of these (maybe even 7 so she could have one for herself), these are the types of gifts I love. I can't believe the time and love that went into making these. My mom rocks.

And tomorrow, if my strength holds up (you know, enough so that I can actually get to the point of putting on make-up), I'm going to post a photo of another from-the-heart gift I received. It is so stinkin' cute.
The best part of Christmas was getting to see both of my sisters who live on opposite sides of the continent, and it never feels like they stay long enough.

What was your best part of Christmas, or from-the-heart gift you received?