We had a visit last night from that jolly fellow who is thought to wear a red suit to cover his chubby belly. Did he come to visit you, too? The treekids were soooo excited that Branch was up peeking around at 6AM and had us all awake and up and at 'em by 6:30... too early for me. At that time of the morning, the sun is still SLEEPING and I preferred to be sleeping too! But, on this day, we were checking our stockings, having a nice big breakfast and making a right fine mess in our home with gift wrap strewn about!
This little guy thought he was a helper with his super cute hat, but I have to say that he was NOT a help this year... but, give him about 12 more years and he might be helpful at Christmas time! Well, maybe he helped us to smile just a bit broader this year - and that is a fair statement!
I think that the most fun part of our Christmas morning gift exchange was seeing the gifts that the treekids chose for each other and for Pops and I. You see, we take them to the Dollar Tree (where everything in the store costs... yes, you guessed it - One Dollar!) and give them free rein to choose one gift for each person on their list. They all get a basket to carry around and get lost in the rather small store searching for just the right thing to show their love for each other. It is so much fun to see what is chosen...
From Bud
To Pops - an 18-in-one screwdriver with a socket set
To Me - a Coca Cola glass
To Branch - a Princess Belle ribbon batton
To Blossom - a Tinkerbelle dart game that uses velcro balls for darts
To baby - a fish bath sponge
From Branch
To Pops - a tape type lint roller/remover
To Me - spa collection "Ocean Breeze" room and fabric freshener
To Bud - a Pirates of the Caribbean fuzzy coloring poster (Blackbeard!)
To Blossom - a princess (noise-making) wand with an "ariel" on it
To baby - a pair of cotton knit hats
From Blossom
To Pops - a bag of cheese popcorn
To Me - a santa hat
To Bud - funny disguise glasses with a mustache and blinking nose
To Branch - a horse figurine
To baby - a dinosaur onesie
It is pretty cool how thoughtful they all are of each other and what they can actually find in a store for just one dollar that they are sure to like!! It is a fun time and a great tradition for them to think of each other and what they would like - and not spending much money to do it.
... More Christmas pictures later!!
That picture of your tree is really beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAnd the gifts from the kids are always very cute.
My husband and I got lots of pottery (remember pottery class) and a few knitted pot holders. It's so cute!