Passionately Full of Life

It's been rather dead here for a while, but I hope the hiatus is over now... :)

Did you have a good Christmas? It was wonderful in this neck of the woods. We enjoyed a low-key, joy-filled family gathering here. In recent years, my family has begun the tradition of a white elephant gift exchange with the cousins in lieu of many gifts for each person.

I took hundreds of pictures of our family's Christmas tree this year, but unfortunately when I downloaded them , the files were corrupted. Only this one "survived." Perhaps I'll get some others next Christmas! 

 Not only has this practice simplified everyone's life, but it has also provided much mirth! Each year gifts have ranged from practical (gift cards) to creative ( a "party" in a box complete with root beer, cards, snacks etc.).

The method of distribution has differed over the years as well. The first year, each gift was numbered and people would pick a random number. The next year gifts were distributed hot potato style with the person still holding the "potato" picking a present.

Not quite "Christmas-y." Oh well.  

 This year, we hid Easter eggs each filled with a number which corresponded to the order in which people select presents. This alone would have contributed to general mirth, but the gifts really "took the cake" as it were!

One of the very first presents to be opened was wrapped in a large box that used to house a punching bag. What it contained at the time of the gift exchange was something quite different--much to the chagrin of the young man who selected it. It contained a calendar. But not just any calendar. No, a mere calendar would not have elicited such a response... It was a calendar entitled (pardon the phraseology) "Hot Guys and Baby Animals." It contained just that: shirtless men holding puppies and kittens. No wonder the young man expressed such embarrassed vexation! Needless to say, no one wanted to "steal" his gift!

Another unique gift--of a tamer sort--appeared to be a basket of fruit, but upon further inspection was found to contain not only a dozen or so kiwis, but also the statuette of a kiwi bird made in Australia! The bird blended in quite well among the fruit and gave quite a surprise to the person receiving it.

The last gift I will describe appeared to be quite normal at its outset.  The  woman opening the simple green gift bag looked surprised, but not disbelieving, when she pulled out the first item: a can of pineapple. Her look transitioned into perplexity as she announced the second and third items: two more cans of pineapple. It wasn't until she was advised to open them  that she seemed somewhat disconcerted. She carefully popped open the top of the first can, making sure not to spill any juice, but to her surprise, the can contained a gift card and candy. The second can was opened with less care, and not surprisingly it was filled not with pineapple but with some tea candles. The young woman then reached for the third can, pulled open the top and laughed when she saw the glistening pineapple within.


The other presents in the gift exchange were lovely as well and I think the only one who went home slightly disappointed was the man who ended up with the calendar. What will next Christmas bring? Who knows! I just hope that we can keep up this tradition for many years!