Flashback Friday

Came across one of my favorite Christmas pictures from when I was a kid, and figured now was as good a time as any to institute a 'Flashback Friday' post (although, honestly, I don't think it'll be an 'every week' kinda thing. Just randomly when I find an old picture I like).

This is Star and I on Christmas morning. We look beyond excited. We looked crazed, really. I loved it.


This picture makes me think of a few things:

1. I can't quite decide which of us looks crazier. I think it might be Star though, just barely.

2. How amazingly wonderful, magical and fun my parents always made Christmas. It was the perfect holiday, stuffed full of traditions and family togetherness. Even now, we all get together on Christmas Eve, and methodically sort and organize the presents in exactly the same way we did as kids. We prep the stockings, organize our particular 'corner' of the basement family room, and eagerly pick out our 'Christmas Eve gift' we get to open that night. (That is if Mom didn't get us pajamas that match, 'cause if those are in the mix, than our Christmas Eve present is already labeled and ready for us to open . . . and I think my last pair of pajamas that matched my sister's were a gift I received in my mid-20s, these aren't just traditions from my childhood, they're still alive and well! I think Dad and Cody got matching pajamas to open sometime in the last few years.) We all get together on Christmas morning at like 6-7:00AM. We've pushed it back to 7 now that my kids are so young, but before they were born, we would all drive from our respective houses early, or just sleep over at Mom & Dad's, so that we were ready to go at 6:00AM. I still have a hard time sleeping on Christmas Eve, and am usually up by 5AM anyway. But when we were kids, or at least still all under the same roof, we would wake up, find ways to sneakily wake up our younger siblings, get the whole family together, descend the stairs in order of age (something we still do), find our stockings filled to the brim with all manner of candy and jewelry and socks and toothpaste and deodorant and shampoo and underwear (as little kids it was more toys obviously, but as we reached our teenage years it was practical stuff mixed with junk food. It's always been one of our favorite parts of Christmas morning, exploring the bounty of the stocking), happily show off our 'Santa gifts' to one another(which are unwrapped, and just sitting next to or underneath our stockings in our own 'corner'), spend awhile swapping Christmas candy or flavors of toothpaste and eating Kraft Cheese and Crackers (a must in any stocking), then going through the tradition of the opening of the presents. Which involved all sitting in a circle (next to or in front of our 'corner' of presents), and then opening presents one at a time, youngest to oldest. It's a slow process, as someone opens a present, shows it off, everyone gushes, that person goes and hugs whoever gave the present, sometimes pictures are taken, then it's the next person's turn. Repeat. Like 100 times. We played for awhile, then we organized and set up our bounty, all just in time for our grandparents to come over at like 6:00-7:00 IN THE MORNING to come see what we got. Yeah, we did this all ridiculously early. And even now, there's a few of us who'd be doing it at 4AM if we could talk the others into it (lazy people who want more than 3 hours of sleep!) Except now, it's me that won't let anyone wake up my kids before 6:00-7:00 anyway, so I'm the stick in the mud. Anyway, after my Dad's parents coming over (when I was younger, now Grandma comes over later), we would head over to my Mom's parents house for breakfast with the rest of her family at 9AM or so. Now the family actually meets at my Mom's house, and it's been pushed back to 10AM, which always bums me out, 'cause we leave there to go to Greg's family's house around 10:30 or so -- since they don't wake up and open presents until 11AM! Which worked out really, really well for our little family, but it still is just shocking to me :-) How can people know it's Christmas morning, and not get up before the sun!? It's like they're adults now and want to get a good night's sleep in. Weird. :-)

2. I wish I could get a Smurf Big Wheels for my own kids! It rocks! I found this one, that I would love to get, but apparently, Greg thinks it is unreasonable to spend $75 on one. :-)