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Old Trunks wonders today what the kids did after the packages are open and the gifts are collected in a box to look at later. Or do they dump the box and play in the box? Or, do you give them a box as a secret gift to allow their imagination to fly!?

When the Anderson children were young, did they take out the Wahoo board that Emil had made and play together with some sort of heavenly temperament? I almost said cease fire, but I was thinking about MY brother and our rag matches. :)

What happens to the roar of the house after Christmas? Did you go skating? Sledding? Ski behind the car? Sled behind the car? Go to a movie? When you were older, did you get together with your friends? SOOZI?, ever ride in a powder blue Chevy on Christmas Day?

Although the gifts are important, I really do think the mystery and the tearing of the paper is the most exciting part. Gives me shivers to think about the sound of the paper ripping! OOO.

And I am thinking about my sweet Grandmother, who FOLDED the paper BEFORE she looked at the gift. FOLDED. Ever do that? Me neither.

My other grandmother wrapped everything in white tissue paper and tied the packages with ribbon on which you curl the ends. NO TAPE. Tied with ribbon. Think about that. NO TAPE.

I am remembering my sixth Christmas. Daddy took an enormous sheet of tissue paper and wrapped my gift like it was a pork chop. I am six, and I tell him he did a poor job of wrapping. And he at thirty-six reminded me that it wasn't how it was wrapped that counted, it was what was inside.

Now, I will tell you my Dad walked on water; he had the right to is opinion and I to mine. I love to wrap. One day I never got dressed, I was lost in a world of paper and expression and designing. My youngest son is here now. We were upstairs making bows. He was telling me about one of his friends who wraps beautifully but does not crease the edges. Ryen is not finicky, he just learned to wrap by my side. It is a thing with us. For all of you pork chop wrappers, it is okay. For all of us who ooze with a wish to create a finished package, that is okay too.

Did your family go somewhere on Christmas? Did you take your gifts with you or did you beg to go home at 7P so you could open your gifts? My cousins did not take their gifts with them. They had the pleasure of their own home to wrap and squeal. Isn't squeal a Christmas word?

Although it is a time for sharing, I certainly did not want to share my brand new walking doll with my cousin Judy. Result: One of her arms got pulled off. Shame on us. And in front of Grandma, too. As an adult, I liked watching my kids be excited and squeal and rip while I took pictures of them. They could be totally themselves in their own surroundings. There aren't that many times in one's life time that you can really trip that switch, let it happen.

The standard was when my children were at the squeal stage:

Dinner
Dishes
7P
Bible Story & prayer
Gifts

Now we varied the dishes and we set the clock ahead BUT dinner and Bible story came before gifts. It was based on the BIG GIFT to all humanity is Christ. It was a tradition which came to our family from the Anderson's. The story was not started and stopped. The children knew that regardless of how excited they were inside, they were expected to be still.

When the prayer was finished, I wonder if they said, "Are we done?"

How did you pass out gifts? Was the youngest the elf? Where all the gifts delivered to each person and they were in their own world of paper and ribbon? Was there a general 'thanks, everyone'? Or did you go around the room and each open one?

On to and from tags, do you state from? Does that seem like an odd question to you? Think about it. You are getting the blessing while they get the gift regardless of a name, aren't you? The important thing is to be certain people are thanked. Where your children strongly encouraged to write thank you cards to family far away? Will you, as I did, find those thank yous in a box of treasures kept by a grandmother for decades?

Does your family all work to pick up the wrapping with covers the floor? Does it get picked up right away? What difference does it make if the floor is paper for a few hours. Isn't there something really neat about wading in it? We know that mother's are the ones that will get the cellophane tape out of the carpet at some point; does it matter if it waits until Easter?

How are you going to do it this year?

Reach in and find a little squeal.

Play with the box.

Play Santa.

Cry if the joy is too great to hold in, it won't hurt the paper.

Clean up your own paper.

Play.

Hug.

Marvel.


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