Santa surprise

A little bit of Christmas.  It really hasn’t felt much like Christmas since we are not together as a whole family.  Jay had suggested yesterday that we have our Christmas after church – easy for him to say since he is in ND and I had to prep everything.  Christmas is NOT my thing!  Jay loves wrapping the gifts, placing them under the tree, and setting everything up – me I just take care of buying and I watch him work. 

It was suggested that maybe Jay didn’t want to get up at 4:30 a.m. to be a part of Christmas morn.  You see, we do have a rule about Christmas morning . . . the kids are not allowed to wake us up before 5:30 a.m.  Well, this year that was a little tricky considering the kids & I are in the Eastern time zone and Jay is in the Central time zone.  So, to wake me at 5:30 meant he would be getting a wake up call at 4:30.

Anyway, somehow it happened.  Santa made a stop at our home while we were gone to church.  We had the pleasure of going to church in Adamsville – an hour drive, but well worth it - and seeing many of our friends.  When we arrived home, I made homemade hot chocolate and the next thing I know Mackenzie came up from the basement to inform me that SANTA had come. WHAT?!  How’s that?  So, of course the kids began to hunt the house looking for their dad, thinking some how the best gift of all was here.

Well . . . NO dad and NO definite explanation of how those presents got under there, other than there really is a SANTA.  And with that we spent time as a family celebrating.

Love how it looks like there is way more under that tiny little tree than there really was!!  It did look quite bare until we started putting gifts from the grandparents from afar and for the cousins under it, and since it sits on a table/desk the presents look like they’re overflowing from underneath when they’re really not.  BUT it looked pretty. 

We Skyped Dad in and he gathered the gifts we had sent him.  While I sorted presents, he opened his first gift from Mackenzie.

Kassi with her dad & her Santa stash.

If you notice, the kids’ gifts are wrapped in their own paper.  One of our family traditions is going out with the kids and letting them pick out a roll of wrapping paper for their Santa gifts.  That roll is then placed under the tree on Christmas Eve for Santa to use.  We placed those rolls there early yesterday morning & they were still there when we left for church.

Mackenzie was excited to get started.  This year we started with her and she got to open all her gifts instead of one at a time. 

She was excited about this ornament because she LOVEs ‘A Nightmare Before Christmas’ movie.

Littlest Pet shop . . . need I say more?

Zack’s favorite thing – lighthouses . . .

and anything Bengals!!!

Kassi was so excited to get her new kicks!!

And what girl wouldn’t love to have this?  I’m not really sure what it is!

Jay’s turn – he opened his gift from Zack.  The kids were set up in a circle in our living area and we put my laptop on top of one of my cake turners. Then we would turn Jay to watch whomever was opening presents and then after that person opened their gifts, Jay would open his gift from them.  He got simple things – a Shawn the Sheep DVD from Mackenzie, an OSU gnome from Kassi, a Mickey Mouse tie from Zack, and a Dallas Cowboys pie server from me, sorry I couldn’t send a pie. 

Jay even sent a gift to me.

What a lovely Jim Shore figurine – LOOK, it’s a snowman MICKEY MOUSE my favorite.  I love Jim Shore!  I also got a long flannel nightgown and a homemade gift from the baby.

Traditionally on Christmas Eve, the kids open their presents from Grandma Linda & Grandpa Tom and then the two from us.  Well, as I said, Santa came early and buried those gifts.  So, we started with the Santa gifts and then found the gifts from us. 

More shoes for the teenage girl!

More lighthouses for the teenage boy!

And another ornament for Mackenzie from her second favorite movie ‘The Corpse Bride.’  Another tradition of ours is they kids get an ornament from us each year.  Between the ones they’ve accumulated from us & my mom, they will definitely have enough to hang on their own trees when they are on their own.

 

A little disclaimer . . .

All in all, it was a nice evening and the game plan was to sleep in.  However, I am drafting this bright and early on Christmas morning.  Unfortunately, Zack woke me over an hour ago because he doesn’t feel well.  Go figure, sick on Christmas running a 103.3 temperature.