Christmas is a crazy time in the House of Jack. We purchase Christmas gifts all year long, put up our Christmas tree sometime between the week of Thanksgiving, and it is an all-out affair once December arrives. We have tons of parties and events to attend. We can get plumb tuckered out around here. This year we skipped one party and the weather stomped on another. We purchased all of our gifts online, so it’s been pretty quiet except for finals week. (I’ll talk more about finals when I am finished on Thursday.)
The gift exchanges with the family start on Friday, the weekend before Christmas. We go to my brother-in-law’s home for Christmas with that side of the family. We just recently moved it from the parents-in-law home to his and it has been working out well for everyone. The adults don’t exchange gifts at that party anymore. We decided a few years ago to just buy for the kids and that is just fine with us. Sometimes I have my wife open a gift early because I just can’t wait for Christmas, but for the most part it centers around the kids. When the gifts are open the adults play with the kids.
After that party we head to the party with our friends from college, which is always a fun time. Two years ago we decided not to buy presents for one another, choosing instead to donate the money we would have spent to the Heifer Project. Last year we purchased several animals to be distributed nationally and internationally. We are doing the same thing this year.
On Christmas Eve, we head to Grandma’s house for Christmas with that side of my family. This is more of a dress up party with lots and lots of food, which I would prefer to do without. We exchange presents with Grandma. Then we head to Branson for Christmas with my family – my parents, my sister and her family, the grandmothers, and the multitude of cousins.
I get pretty excited about Christmas. That has always been the major holiday in my family. Birthdays and anniversaries are fine, but they are not the extravaganza, not even close. My family goes all out on Christmas. Many people buy their children toys throughout the year. Not so with us. My daughter gets presents on Christmas and her birthday. That’s pretty much it. We don’t buy her toys when we go to stores. The heap of presents on Christmas can be a bit overwhelming. It’s not about the money or the number of presents. It’s about the excitement, magic and fellowship of the time. It’s about the giving and the fun of watching someone open something exciting. We enjoy the time and it is something that everyone, children and adults, look forward to. I make no apologies for it.
Some family have traditions where they open gifts on Christmas Eve, and then send the kids to bed. That’s a fine way to do it I suppose, but that’s not our way. We put out cookies and milk, read some Christmas stories, and send the kids to bed. Then sometime thereafter Santa comes – some presents wrapped and some just sitting open under the tree. We have a habit of getting up early, the crack of God actually. As soon as the kids are up, usually between 5:30 and 6 a.m. then everyone gets up. That’s the rule in this family. We wake up any stragglers and then head downstairs for the magic and the rip-and-tear. We have two trees: one for the kids and one for the adults. Early morning is for the young ones. We just help them open their gifts, take pictures and make a big thing out of it.
After they have successfully opened their presents, we leave them to play with their new toys and the grown-ups go into the other room and we open ours. After the damage is done, then we start on breakfast, which is usually a feast in buffet-style. No big buffet this year, thankfully, but there is more about that over on FAT JACK – skinny whinny.
By mid-morning all of the cousins come over and we spend the day with one another – talking, laughing, and enjoying being home. It’s really a beautiful and exciting tradition and it makes Christmas last a long time.
A few years ago, the Ozarks was the victim of a long overdue snowy Christmas, yielding up to 14 inches in Branson. It took me four hours to drive from Springfield to my parents’ house. We got snowed in and my sister couldn’t come down from Oklahoma because of all the snow. While that year fell short because they weren’t there, it did have a silver lining. We actually had another family party on Christmas Eve that we had traveled to since before I was born. The year of this big snow, we were able to put the brakes on that long travel and spend more time at home. That year we added another tradition: a Christmas movie.
Come early evening, we pack into cars and head to the movie theatre. Who knew that movie theatres were open on Christmas? We just always assumed they were closed. Now every year we anticipate which movie we will all go to. This year I think it will be Night At The Museum. Anyone who is tired can stay back at the house and can rest, nap or read.
I am just beside myself with anticipation. I feel like a kid, a very big kid.
The gift exchanges with the family start on Friday, the weekend before Christmas. We go to my brother-in-law’s home for Christmas with that side of the family. We just recently moved it from the parents-in-law home to his and it has been working out well for everyone. The adults don’t exchange gifts at that party anymore. We decided a few years ago to just buy for the kids and that is just fine with us. Sometimes I have my wife open a gift early because I just can’t wait for Christmas, but for the most part it centers around the kids. When the gifts are open the adults play with the kids.
After that party we head to the party with our friends from college, which is always a fun time. Two years ago we decided not to buy presents for one another, choosing instead to donate the money we would have spent to the Heifer Project. Last year we purchased several animals to be distributed nationally and internationally. We are doing the same thing this year.
On Christmas Eve, we head to Grandma’s house for Christmas with that side of my family. This is more of a dress up party with lots and lots of food, which I would prefer to do without. We exchange presents with Grandma. Then we head to Branson for Christmas with my family – my parents, my sister and her family, the grandmothers, and the multitude of cousins.
I get pretty excited about Christmas. That has always been the major holiday in my family. Birthdays and anniversaries are fine, but they are not the extravaganza, not even close. My family goes all out on Christmas. Many people buy their children toys throughout the year. Not so with us. My daughter gets presents on Christmas and her birthday. That’s pretty much it. We don’t buy her toys when we go to stores. The heap of presents on Christmas can be a bit overwhelming. It’s not about the money or the number of presents. It’s about the excitement, magic and fellowship of the time. It’s about the giving and the fun of watching someone open something exciting. We enjoy the time and it is something that everyone, children and adults, look forward to. I make no apologies for it.
Some family have traditions where they open gifts on Christmas Eve, and then send the kids to bed. That’s a fine way to do it I suppose, but that’s not our way. We put out cookies and milk, read some Christmas stories, and send the kids to bed. Then sometime thereafter Santa comes – some presents wrapped and some just sitting open under the tree. We have a habit of getting up early, the crack of God actually. As soon as the kids are up, usually between 5:30 and 6 a.m. then everyone gets up. That’s the rule in this family. We wake up any stragglers and then head downstairs for the magic and the rip-and-tear. We have two trees: one for the kids and one for the adults. Early morning is for the young ones. We just help them open their gifts, take pictures and make a big thing out of it.
After they have successfully opened their presents, we leave them to play with their new toys and the grown-ups go into the other room and we open ours. After the damage is done, then we start on breakfast, which is usually a feast in buffet-style. No big buffet this year, thankfully, but there is more about that over on FAT JACK – skinny whinny.
By mid-morning all of the cousins come over and we spend the day with one another – talking, laughing, and enjoying being home. It’s really a beautiful and exciting tradition and it makes Christmas last a long time.
A few years ago, the Ozarks was the victim of a long overdue snowy Christmas, yielding up to 14 inches in Branson. It took me four hours to drive from Springfield to my parents’ house. We got snowed in and my sister couldn’t come down from Oklahoma because of all the snow. While that year fell short because they weren’t there, it did have a silver lining. We actually had another family party on Christmas Eve that we had traveled to since before I was born. The year of this big snow, we were able to put the brakes on that long travel and spend more time at home. That year we added another tradition: a Christmas movie.
Come early evening, we pack into cars and head to the movie theatre. Who knew that movie theatres were open on Christmas? We just always assumed they were closed. Now every year we anticipate which movie we will all go to. This year I think it will be Night At The Museum. Anyone who is tired can stay back at the house and can rest, nap or read.
I am just beside myself with anticipation. I feel like a kid, a very big kid.
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