Christmas Ornaments

Every year there is at least one ornament that I order for the kids that doesn't come in a timely manner. Because of that, we have to delay our "Christmas Eve" gift exchange. We all open one present on Christmas Eve that hopefully remains secret to the person receiving and everyone else. The Christmas Eve gift isn't a big deal and is best if handmade or personal to the receiver.

Our tradition is to give the children a new ornament and then exchange names. Each year though, there is one or two ornaments that take forever to arrive. Well, this year, I was shopping on Thanksgiving weekend and in one store, I found an ornament for each child in one place. I opted for saving a little money and not going for the personalized waiting game online. As a result, I had them wrapped and under the tree by the end of the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Waiting for someone to notice or ask about when we would be having our Christmas Eve gift exchange, I was surprised that no one commented on the gifts under the tree or the exchange for a week! I finally announced that we would be doing the exchange and everyone was surprised that we were barely into December. Everyone would have plenty of time to think about their gift and make it special.

They opened their ornaments packages first. Matthew got Captain America. Mainly in my thinking because I didn't want to get him Pokemon as everyone in the house is boycotting getting Matthew anything Pokemon because it is annoying to everyone in the house but him. I saw Captain America and realized he has never had him on an ornament but yet he is one of Matt's favorite.

Zachary is not hard at all, Garfield or Peanuts and so this year it is Snoopy on his decorated dog house. It was definitely a hit with Zach! When we were putting up the tree, Ryan made a comment about his Star Wars ornaments because for awhile he got Star Wars for years in a row. So, when I saw BB-8 in an ornament I thought it is perfect for this year when the next set of Star Wars movies began.

Dawn was a little bit of a stretch because I found this adorable Ariel ornament and like Matthew, I realized that Dawn had never had an ornament of princess Ariel. And this year, she has been the keeper of all things aquatic in our house. The tiny goldfish that was put into her 70 gallon tank has thrived and grown to fit his surroundings, and is a whopping 9 inches long. She has learned that if she doesn't keep him fed, he will eat his smaller companions. The whimsical Ariel ornament was perfect and she loved it. Stacey of course got a basketball ornament because that is what makes her happy every year.

After ornaments were opened and put on the tree, we did our secret exchange drawing. I of course can not tell you how that turned out because it is a secret and besides, I only know who I chose from the treasure box. I can tell you that I am working on a gift for them and can't wait til Christmas eve to give it. I was pretty proud of myself for having ornaments this year before anyone asked about the Christmas drawing.