Christmas

2011 was a big Christmas for us.  We had a new little baby and were in a new house.  We tried a new process where Dave and I bought big rolls of wrapping paper from Costco and then assigned a wrapping paper to each person in the family.  All gifts were wrapped in that paper and then on Christmas morning, you found a swath of your wrapping paper in the toe of  your stocking.  This meant that we didn't use any labels, and nobody knew what presents were for them until Christmas morning.  We typically wrap and place presents under the tree as they come instead of putting them all out Christmas Eve, so this worked out really nicely for us.  And bonus - the wrapping papers were all double-sided so it made it more confusing to the kids.  The nice thing is that even when kids can't read, they can tell which present is theirs and help pass presents out.

Everyone was spoiled this year, and it was an all day event.  We opened stockings and a few presents in the morning and then stopped to eat Ebleskivers filled with nutella or strawberry/rhubarb jam.  After that we got ready for church and then went to church to celebrate the birth of Christ.  After that it was time for a big nap for Phinn, who was desperately needing one.  The older kids and dad opened some more presents and played with some of the new toys.  When Phinn finally came back down there was a little pile of presents waiting for him to open them.  It was perfect because we let him tear into them.  He hadn't been keen on waiting for his turn, or opening only presents for him, making this a fantastic solution.  I think I can safely say that everyone got a few things they really loved and we all had a great time.