Oh I forgot another tradition!

Katie started this one years ago.....I had an awful wall hanging that I thought was just gorgeous years ago...... I had it on my walls for years...until one day I really looked at it and thought what is this thing doing on my wall....took it off and threw it away...Katie secretly absconded it...wrapped it up and gave it to me as a Christmas present........much laughter.......but that started an idea for me....... and since then we have wrapped it up many different ways, and have placed it in a pile of presents....let me explain.
It's a game we play...every person from 12 and up buys a $20 present something that they really want for themselves...wraps it and puts it in the middle of the room......we each get a number and according to that number you can pick up any present you want unwrap it to ahhhs or... oh no!!!!...then the numbers are handed out again and this time you can pick a opened present from ANYONE......it's great if you have the last number because then after seeing all the presents you have a choice of about 17 presents if we are all here......well Katie picked up this beautifully wrapped present ....feeling that she had really got a bargain...well it was the old wall hanging.....we rolled around in laughter and of course when the second numbers were given out NOBODY wanted hers...so she was stuck with it.......Jazmin was one with one of the highest number and thought now Grandma is always cheeky and the presents had to be worth $20 and this is not...... so unbelievably she took the present form her Mum  thinking that there had to be more then this....and guess what she was right, behind all the chairs I had hidden another present...the value of this one was far beyond the $20 limit....... it's such a fun tradition and there is always a present or two that you really don't want or for that matter do want......sometimes your lucky.... sometimes your not...but we all have such a good laugh. Next year as like the many previous years the old wall hanging will appear in some form again as a surprise.
Another little surprise we did this year...we do try to give a little something to our oldies ...last year I gave them each a Christmas Angel...from my own collection I went through my Angels and picked out the ones I thought suited each Family...things were a little tight money wise...but even if it wasn't...I did love the idea....as usual...I always try to do something out of the norm each year..the year before last I hid...a snowman and tinkerbell and Santa and other things amongst my Nativities and the little ones had to come in and find what was different...the year before we did the the whole of December where the children came in and found a clue which would lead them to somewhere in the house or just outside to a lolly or lollies....it was hard to find 24 clues that went with a hiding place. eg. In the olden days this was used to warm up beds...I have a old warming pan, hanging on the wall and if they lifted the lid there were the lollies....Not many knew this one without the help of their parents.....
Anyway this year we had a Christmas card for each of the 7 kids no 6 as Naomi and Luke are in America, I told them to pick out there own but not to open until I said..which was together...I told them that in one of the cards there was DOUBLE THE MONEY !!!!! Katie and Court got it...it's all about creating the memories that bind for us...things that will bring warmth and love to their hearts..things that keep them close to each other and us.