Christmas

It is odd having mostly teenagers at Christmas -- they don't tend to wake up before the sun. In fact, it was 9:30 before Alec and the girls got up. Poor Chandler was going crazy waiting.

We always have Swedish tea ring, orange julius and hot chocolate for breakfast and I make everyone eat breakfast before opening presents. We eat, get dressed, make sure the dishes are done, and then it's time to open presents. (I like to extend the anticipation)

Santa doesn't wrap our gifts. He leaves his gifts and the stockings on the couch covered by a tablecloth or sheet. The kids line up oldest to youngest and stand in front of the couch while Kevin and I lift the tablecloth for the "big reveal".

For many years now, we've limited the presents under the tree. Each child gets four presents - a want, a need, a gift of time, and something homemade from whichever family member drew their name.

Here's the kids checking out what Santa brought them.

I love how excited Alec gets at Christmas. He was so excited for Santa to come and then he is thrilled with every gift. You can see his joy at getting a pear in his stocking.

We got a calendar with pictures of the Morgan side of the family. That was fun for everyone to view.

McKayla is checking out her new camera (her want).

The rest of our Christmas day is just very relaxing. Alec watched his new DVDs. Chandler played with his Bop-It and Bop-It Bounce. Shanley loaded music onto her new MP3 player. My parents came by bringing their gifts and my mom and I put together a puzzle.

Great Christmas - hope everyone's was just as merry!