Christmas morning we heard children thundering out of their beds at 7 am. Yawning, we rolled out of bed ourselves and headed for the coffee pot. Then began the free-for-all. We pushed one couch toward the dining room table to have more space in the living room, and the kids soon had all the presents under the tree portioned out onto piles. A gift for my hubby that I’d lost turned out to have been one of the first gifts I’d wrapped back in November. Then forgot I wrapped. And spent 20 minutes scouring the house for. (If I’m this bad at 39, how air-headed am I going to be when I’m 60 ?)
Everyone was delighted with their loot. Favorites included:
18 yr old–that Insignia 2 gig mp3 player I was telling you about last week. Eldest says it is super easy to load up– she got 192 songs into it very quickly, and it’s not full yet. The picture quality and sound quality are both great!
16 yr old–Pirates of the Carribbean piano music.
15 yr old–Trip to Seattle to tour Microsoft and hang out with Uncle J (gift from Uncle J). He gets to fly there with J and fly home on his own!
12 yr old— Nerf Dart tag (we got 3 pairs of these guns–the boys have been running around like nuts having a blast!)
8-1/2 yr old— Galactic Battlegrounds, a computer game, rated ‘T for teen’ which he wanted desperately and I’m hoping won’t scar him for life. He was sure he wasn’t getting it. And that we decided he is OLD ENOUGH for such a grown-up game–oh, my! I played it with him this afternoon and got trounced in 10 minutes. I was relieved to discover it’s not any more violent than Age of Empires…no blood. Just lots of droids and light sabers…
8 yr old–Gameboy Micro from Grandma-finally he doesn’t have to borrow big brother’s Gameboy!
4 yr old–dishes set (a tea set and baking set complete with a rolling pin–cute!) The little girls and I had a tea party this afternoon, conplete with crackers, hot water, and plenty of sugar.
2 yr old–a playhouse made by big brothers from a huge cardboard box
John–a speaker system for the TV
Me— laptop, of course
Part way thru the morning we managed to clear a path through the living room and enjoy our french toast strata, which is divine with blueberries. By 1, we were at Grandma’s house, visiting with all of John’s family and eating yet again. By 4 we were back home, setting up John’s theater sound system and (after a little more path-clearing) settling in for a dinner of leftovers and a movie.
Lovely, lovely Christmas…we are blessed. I hope yours was good too.
owlhaven.wordpress.com 
I love the family photo below. We like to have tea parties, too, but with bonbons 🙂
Sounds like a wonderful Christmas my 7 year old is up at 5:45 this morning “studying”…he is studying the guide book for his new video game….now if he would do that for homeschool we would be set, but somehow the video game is what inspires this.
My 13 yo got Nerf dart tag I think last year and loved it. With 3 guys we have all manner of Nerf gun things — they’re a lot of fun. My middle son even took a couple of smaller ones to his dorm room last year.
I made the strata, and it was DELICIOUS! (It’s really good with multi-grain bread, btw.) Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Just loved peeking in on your day! I am getting used to chaos – as an only child, our Christmases were quiet and organized, everyone opening gifts one at a time. I am learning to appreciate the “free-for-all”! I would have loved to hear the din at your house! 🙂
That sounds like a wonderful Christmas! I love your 2 year old’s favorite present. Christmas here was pretty excellent, too – except that the kids got up at four. Four in the morning. By Christmas Night, I was a very, very tired woman.
Hahahahaaa! I got that kitchen set for Spicey!! (The Big Trade-Off) How cute to see your baby girl enjoying one too!!
‘Tis beautiful to see the joy in those little girls faces.
Thanks for sharing your Christmas with us!
Sounds like an excellent Christmas!
I’m raising money for St. Jude Research Hospital. $1 per comment. on my site.
A tea party is a fine place to be on Christmas Day! so cute….
I had to smile about the sheet music. Apparently it was a request by several students at the music store where my son works. There was a waiting list arranged. He hand-delivered one copy on Sunday afternoon.
Santa’s helpers come with many faces.
A big box is the Best!
I was doing home daycare when we got our new water heater. Oldest child was about 7 years old then. The huge box was played in by everybody for quite a long time.
We had the french toast strata too. Thanks for the recipe. It was a bit rich, but once a year….why not.
We had the french toast strata too. Thanks for the recipe! We didn’t add fruit in it this year (I forgot it at the grocery!) but I think next year we’ll try baking some apples inside it. It just sounds like it would be really good.
it sounds like a wonderful holiday for all of you!
mmmm…. new laptop. *swoon* I love mine!
Sounds like you all had a wonderful time! Thanks for sharing!
So sweet – your 2 yr olds present!!!! I LOVE IT!!! And I love the pic of your 4 yr old “sharing” her tea set by having a tea party with her sister! BEAUTIFUL! Thanks for sharing the “faves” – it gave more insight into your fun family! : )
Such lovely kids! Love this pic.
I enjoyed reading your blog. 🙂 I’m new to this, so I just need to figure out how to add it to my favorites or something like that.