AJ came prepared. Proof that sometimes it's the silliest little things that bring the most joy, note the "Santa sack" in the photo below. It was a gift from a media rep to my ad agency that I won in a drawing last week. For AJ, the bag, along with the elf hat he wore in his school play, were among his Christmas highlights.
It wasn't enough to carry our gifts in the bag. He wanted to squeeze in everyone else's presents too. This meant it took even longer than usual to distribute the gifts for the kids to start opening. Sydney was not amused.
She did her best to be patient. At one point she positioned all her gifts in a half circle around her, declaring, "I'm in the middle."
At last the kids were given the go-ahead to begin. We tried to have the kids open their presents one at a time so we could see who gave them what. But it didn't work out very well.
We made sure to talk with Jeff by phone throughout the evening. His absence because of work was probably the only negative thing about this Christmas.
The kids are at such perfect ages. Everything about Christmas seems magical and fun to them. Add in their cousin Zane, and it was impossible to look around the room and not smile. Their excitement and joy is so pure and sincere, it's contagious. They appreciate every gift and happily respond with hugs.
I know it's supposed to be better to give than to receive. But in this case it's better to do both. By giving these kids even simple gifts, we received the best smiles ever.
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