Back when the kids were little, they were up bright and early and ready to start sorting the packages so they could see how many each one had gotten, piling them up in front of themselves like little forts. It's good to see that they've outgrown all that silliness.
Almost.
They certainly don't get up bright and early anymore, having adopted a night-owl lifestyle. But they still like to sort through the packages and create little piles in front of each other.
After breakfast.
Our tradition has evolved over time so that we have a big breakfast on Christmas morning - knowing that we're going to have a big Christmas dinner sometime in the later afternoon - which is something we never do on any other day of the year. We just aren't that much into big breakfasts, generally because everyone is getting up early for school and then heading off to catch the bus at different times. And Adam is on his own up at college.
So it was kinda nice to have everyone sitting around the table with pancakes and bacon and eggs and all those other traditional breakfasty foods, then get everything all cleaned up, then head over to the living room in front of the Christmas tree to see what Santa had brought us.
We always take turns opening gifts. That's why it helps to have all the gifts sorted in stacks before we begin, so then we can go from one person to the next more easily. The only problem comes when one or two people run out of gifts before everyone else. Typically the parents run out first, but that's OK. We're generally the ones who purchase things for ourselves when we need them anyway. So the kids get an extra round or two of opening gifts.
This year went well. Everyone seemed pleased with their gifts. No one felt short-changed. But then I expect that they're way past the stage where the getting is the important thing anymore. They're maturing quickly these days.
Almost.
They certainly don't get up bright and early anymore, having adopted a night-owl lifestyle. But they still like to sort through the packages and create little piles in front of each other.
After breakfast.
Our tradition has evolved over time so that we have a big breakfast on Christmas morning - knowing that we're going to have a big Christmas dinner sometime in the later afternoon - which is something we never do on any other day of the year. We just aren't that much into big breakfasts, generally because everyone is getting up early for school and then heading off to catch the bus at different times. And Adam is on his own up at college.
So it was kinda nice to have everyone sitting around the table with pancakes and bacon and eggs and all those other traditional breakfasty foods, then get everything all cleaned up, then head over to the living room in front of the Christmas tree to see what Santa had brought us.
We always take turns opening gifts. That's why it helps to have all the gifts sorted in stacks before we begin, so then we can go from one person to the next more easily. The only problem comes when one or two people run out of gifts before everyone else. Typically the parents run out first, but that's OK. We're generally the ones who purchase things for ourselves when we need them anyway. So the kids get an extra round or two of opening gifts.
This year went well. Everyone seemed pleased with their gifts. No one felt short-changed. But then I expect that they're way past the stage where the getting is the important thing anymore. They're maturing quickly these days.
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