Christmas Vacation - Christmas Morning - Entry #10

We even had to have a plan for Christmas morning.  We knew that Mike and Sarah and their families wouldn't be there, and we knew that Matt's family would want to have Christmas in their own apartment and join us later.  Even at that, there were still 18 of us at the house including eight young children who would have a visit from Santa.  We couldn't imagine all the bedlam and chaos of enjoying and opening what Santa brought and then opening dozens of gifts from each other, grandparents, parents, siblings, in-laws, etc.  So we decided that we would put out all the stockings in the downstairs family room and hope that Santa would figure out where to leave his things. 

We didn't put things under the trees all week---for obvious reasons.  We didn't think that it was worth trying to keep seven kids age four and under from trying to open them all week!!  We didn't want things lost, or with tags torn off, or mixed in with someone else's gifts.  So...each family kept their gifts in their respective bedrooms.  That really helped with the order of things on Christmas morning.  So this was the plan:

1. Take our traditional picture on the stairs.
2. See what Santa brought and give the kids some play time in the family room downstairs.
3. Leave all that downstairs, move upstairs, have each family set up in a designated part of the gameroom, and open all other gifts.
4. Open the gifts one at a time---our kids were adamant about keeping up the family tradition so everybody could take part in the joy!
5. Eat Christmas breakfast/brunch lovingly cooked by Grampy, who gets credit for the whole thing even though he's just in charge of the bacon and eggs, and Grammy, who does the hashbrowns and the waffles and does not get any of the credit---can you tell I have issues?

So to keep up the tradition that we started in 1995 when we first moved to Sugar Land,we took the traditional picture on the stairs:

That being done, we let the kids enjoy the bounty left by Santa:

After awhile, it was time to move upstairs and each family claimed their territory:

Then they opened their presents from Grammy and Grampy first.  It was a scooter year (five of them here and Cade at his house) and the little boys got their riding fire engines.  William, too big for a fire engine and too little for a scooter, got a vehicle of a different sort---an electronic car dashbord complete with steering wheel, gear shift, blinkers, and the like.  Round two (a second gift from us) included a gears board for Isaac, kiddie computers for Conner and a more advanced one for Hunter, a scrapbook and supplies for Anna: Webkins for Morgan and Becca, an electronic caterpillar that teaches the alphabet for William, and a Little People Fairy Treehouse for Colee.  Oh, and then there were the games that Abby had found on sale.  Each family got at least one and some more depending on the price.  The grandkids were so excited, and it brought pure joy just watching them in their delight!  The kids were so generous with DJ and I.  It was sweet to see how they had thought things out or made arrangements in advance so that we could feel their love.  On the other hand, at the end of all this, I looked at the abundance and felt a bit guilty (okay, a lot guilty)---knowing that there were so many others that were lacking, even the necessities of life.  Time to share with others even more.

It was such fun to watch the Dailey kids open their gifts from their parents; well-thought out, meaningful, and long-lasting gifts to help them develop talents and pursue their interests.  For example, Becca got a new cello and Morgan got a beautiful art set in a wooden case with an easel.  It was even more interesting to watch their kids as they opened their gifts from each other.  I couldn't figure out who was the most excited, the giver or the receiver!  Isn't that how it should be?

I am always amazed at what Dave and Marinda do with their Christmas money from us and their Christms budget for one another.  Dave surprised Marinda with a Kindle!  She loves to read and so she was super excited.  With our money, he had shopped Black Friday Sales and had purchased a new Blu Ray player, the DVD Salt, two pairs of boots for Marinda, a set of pots and pans, and a larger crockpot!  We don't give them that much money.  They enjoyed opening their gifts from the Kearsleys as well.  The Daileys celebrated Christmas with Russ' parents the next day, and the Butterfields were going to celebrate with Mark's family in Washington later after his brother, Eric, got home from his mission to the Philippines.

Abby had been carefully helping me with my shopping for them as she watched sales, clipped coupons, and sought for ideas of things Steven could want or use.  A large part of what we gave Steven was a collection of DVDs---Broadway musicals.  Steven loves to sing and has perfromed in several musicals.  I think Abby was more excited about his gift than he was.  She had even found movie candy on sale; so we put a movie basket together with the DVD's, popcorn, and candy.  She also found some new bedding on sale for them, and some make-up items that she was super excited to have (she has turned into such a frugal shopper that she doesn't do such things for herself).

We got the Butterfields gift cards---boring but helpful when everything needs to fit in suitcases to go back.  Mark got a new hard drive for their computer from Liz--something very welcomed and needed, but it was funny as we took turns going around the room opening things because there weren't as many packages for them, and Mark would say, "I got a new hard drive for our computer!"  Such good, hard-working kids who really watched their budget and the space in their suitcases!

Before we knew it, (seriously, I was shocked at how quickly we made it through the piles with as many of us as there was), it was time for a late breakfast.  While Grampy and I fixed it, it was fun to listen to the excited chatter of the family as the kids enjoyed their gifts.  Unfortunately (or maybe luckily for anyone who's reading this), I didn't get pictures of us fixing or eating our traditional fare.

The Daileys were first to head out after a mega-packing job and loading the new car topper/carrier that Russ and Rachel bought for this trip.  They were going to go to Beaumont to spend time with Russ' family, but enroute they found out there were cousins there with strept throat---they returned to our house, and we got them a little longer.

Matt's family came over for a visit, Butterfields starting their packing job, and I started fixing two big pots of our favorite soups---Cheese Soup from the old Print Shop Restaurant in SLC and the Olive Garden's Fagioli.  Dave and Marinda started loading their car in anticipation of a 4:00 a.m. departure the next morning.

We said good-bye to our cute Hunter and William (and their parents, too) as DJ took them to the airport, Matt's family went home to play with their new Wii,  and we only had 14 for dinner!  The rest of the night was very relaxed as we enjoyed our time together.  By church time the next morning (11:00), Dave's family was 7 hours into their trip, and the Daileys had gone to Katy to go to church with Russ' brother and his family, and there were only four of us---DJ and I, and Steven and Abby.  The quiet was nice in a way, but things were starting to feel, oh so lonely.