For the first time, all of our kids were able to come up to Montana for Christmas. What’s more, they were all able to take off a full week from work and other responsibilities, so we had a nice long time together. It was wonderful.
Rather than write a single monumental blog post about our Christmas adventures, I think I’ll break it up into chunks. This first chunk is entitled “The Gifts”. It’s really just about our Christmas Day together.
Well, technically I’ll start with Christmas Eve. In keeping with Kaitlyn’s family tradition– now a favorite tradition of ours as well– we had a “Bethlehem Dinner” of simple foods. Our table was adorned with chicken, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, unleavened bread, and some sparkling cider. We sat on pillows and used candles and the fireplace for light. Kaitlyn did the bulk of the preparation; here she shows off the meal.
It’s a nice way to leave behind our first-world foods and modern conveniences for a little while, and reflect on the food and setting of the time of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem.
Our tree– transported all the way from Utah by Kyra– illuminated the corner of the room and the piles of presents (about a third of which were for Ollie, I think).
We still have a dearth of tree ornaments, so as we did last year, we hung a single ornament on the tree: Sefton’s little hand-painted wooden egg.
Christmas Day dawned, and we gathered at about 9am to open gifts. Ollie isn’t quite old enough yet to insist that everyone be up by 7am (although he is anyway, every day), so we had a chance to sleep in a bit.
The unwrapping commenced. Ollie didn’t usually wait for his turn, but that was okay.
There was much happiness as people revealed things they’d asked for…
… like board games they’d had on their list for a while.
Zack was shocked at this one:
But it turned out to be a jacket he’d bought for himself. And wrapped for himself.
What he didn’t expect was the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Snuggie, a man-sized blanket you wear.
When the wrapping paper was gone and the boxes emptied, Ollie had a huge pile of toys to entertain him for the rest of the week.
Grandma helped him set up blocks and train tracks and marble slides. It seemed like she was having more fun than him!
Alex and Zack went to work on a Lego set that depicted a character in one of Alex’s favorite video games.
Pepper found a fun little child-sized backpack for Ollie, and we included a couple of half-size water bottles (vacuum lined, as all good water bottles are). He absolutely loved the pack, and wore it around all day. He’d take it off, stuff some toys into it, play for a while, then take it off again to exchange the toys. Eventually he insisted on going for a hike… after all, that’s what backpacks are for, right? We didn’t have much snow on the ground, but we sure have plenty of hiking land around our house!
Later in the day, the hot tub beckoned. Ollie insisted on bringing his new toy boat.
Although it’s always nice to receive a few things I’ve asked for, I think the most fun at any Christmas present-opening event is watching the surprise and joy of little kids as they unwrap things they don’t expect. Merry Christmas, Ollie!