Wisconsin Forums

[keith]

I miss Christmas morning with little ones. Well, real little ones. The youngest is 14 now, and we do the family / Santa thing on Christmas morning.

I miss the up-half-the-night putting stuff together days. We did mornings when I was a kid, too.

Christmas Eve has been my extended family, my Dad's family, at one of our homes. The kids get gifts. The adults each bring one. Everyone gets a card, deuce through Ace. First card opens a gift. Next card can take that gift or open another. Sometimes on the last card, they'll take another gift, that person will take another from someone, until the last person just opens the final gift.

My sister's made a tradition of reading a book for Christmas, usually a children's Christmas book. We all take a turn reading a page. She makes ornaments for each family that match the theme of the book to commemorate that Christmas. The young kids search for a pickle hung inside the branches of the tree; the finder gets a prize.

Christmas night the wife's extended family is here. Great food and drink, presents for the little ones and a few family gifts, family to family.

By Christmas afternoon we start on one of the presents. A jigsaw puzzle to complete over the holidays is another of our traditions. Great for a spare table where one can sit down and talk and work on the puzzle for ten minutes or (in my case) ten hours. I have a few of those up at the office; they've been wiped with glue that dries transparent and gives a nice matte finish to the picture.

I'm sure there are others, just hear supper calling...

Regards,
Keith