Christmas Memory

At our house, the gifts are always put under the tree Christmas Eve. Because, you know, that's when Santa comes!
When the kids were little I would wait for them to go to bed, and then bring out all of the unwrapped gifts and sit there for hours watching Christmas movies while wrapping all the presents and getting them under the tree. As the years went by, the only presents to get bows were the last ones to go under the tree. It got to where I convinced myself that you couldn't see the bows on the presents buried underneath, so why put ribbons and bows on them? I was just getting lazy.

One year, I decided that I didn't want to spend all night Christmas Eve wrapping. So as I bought gifts, I wrapped them and put them under the tree. It was so nice to not have to stay up really late wrapping. We got up, and the party started. Then it came to a complete halt. As we started handing out gifts, Robert pulled one out from under the tree for Bryan. He looked at me and handed it to me. One end of the gift was open. We started pulling out Bryan's gifts. Every single one of them had been opened on one end, and then put back under the tree. Not just opened and taped back shut (like i used to do when i was a kid), no these were ripped open on the end! I was not very happy at the time, and I think maybe I wanted to cry, but now I love that memory. It makes me laugh every time I think of it.

That was the one and only time I put the gift under the tree before Christmas Eve. I still don't do it even though the kids have moved out.

Now I worry that the kitties will rip them all open!