Well, it's been a different (everyone keeps calling it "interesting") Christmas for me this year. With a few family members out of commission with assorted medical maladies or financial constraints and a series of mid-December snowstorms that left us with at least seven inches of snow in multiple layers--great for school canceling, sledding, and eventually efficient snow-balling, bad for trying to drive all over the place for Christmas--some celebrations have been cumulatively postponed and downsized. Traditionally, given the substantial size and generosity of my family, there are five Christmases (take that, Vince Vaughn!):
--1-- First, my great-aunt (who is also my neighbor)'s, with the gifts primarily being from her and my other great-aunt (one of those "out" this year, hospitalized) on the 24th. This is first because my dad was born on Christmas Eve and it saves everyone the hassle of going back the next day. Just my close family and my great-aunt this year (some other family members showed up later, but they're always late).
--2-- Close family (brother and parents) at our house on Christmas morning.
--3-- Christmas Day, a bit after the above, we go (dared, rather, but our dad's truck and 4-wheeling made it) to our Grandparents's. This year, "Santa" was snowbound for six days so, as you'll see below, I got some odd stocking stuffers.
Fourth and fifth are my great-grandma's and my other grandparents's, usually interchangeable in order on the 23rd, 25th, or 26th, but they haven't happened yet so I don't feel all that qualified to continue from here on out.
Gifts, as best I can remember, chronological but in no particular order!
--1-- Zack & Wiki, bag of chocolates, $20, was offered a Page-A-Day but declined and passed it on to mom, came back on Christmas for a few things and got more chocolates from my other great-aunt ("sent through" someone, no doubt).
--2-- Instant chocolate pudding mix, Twix, $1.50, hot choco mix in-a-pointed-sack, bulk box of assorted hot choco flavors (a favorite, and a joint gift to my brother and I), an orange, silly string (I've accumulated cans of that stuff over the years and I've still got five left. It's concentrated, pressurized irritation.), one of those wearable blankets.
--3-- $100 (two $50s), Drill Dozer +some GameStop coupons I tossed (I was supposed to also get Secret of Mana, mangled in description by my grandmother as "Matta", or something, but that's cool because I actually decided earlier I was going to get it on the VC. Anyway, that's where the second $50 came from in compensation) a toolbox (I don't want it now but I know I will later so I had my parents hold onto it. However, it was handy for storing all my gifts and came with a BA screwdriver-in-a-screwdriver-in-a-screwdriver-in-a-screwdriver-in-a-hammer), a German handkerchief, an emergency flashlight, a light-up pen, a fundraiser chocolate bar, four AAs, a scarf, and an unfinished and upside-down photobook of Halloween pictures of me.
