This tradition was started when our kids were very little. Christmas Eve has always been spent with my family. Zach and Ashley would get so excited not only for Christmas but for all the fun that awaited them at Nanny and Pa's house, thus Christmas Eve was a very long day! When they were little, I think about 5 and 2, we began this tradition. It was started to give them a little something to pass the time! But we still do it today, with all the kids, "big and little".
2) The Christmas Eve Morning Hunt
On our tree are small decorative cone-shaped boxes. Each Christmas Eve Morning, those little boxes hold a poem. It is the first "clue" of many to help them find the Christmas Eve Morning Gift. The clue leads them on a scavenger hunt through the house (and occasionally outside in the yard weather permitting) until they finally come to a special treat. When the kids were little it might be an art project, game, Christmas Movie, etc. Of course, the hunt is the popular part of the activity. To add a spin on things we have added challenges to our hunt as the kids have gotten older and wiser! The poems went from giving very direct clues when they were little, to now having to make the older "kids" work and think through the clue. To add to the fun, we always try to do something a bit different. The first Christmas Meg was in the family, we tied the three kids together...so they could "help" her with the hunt, so of course we had to repeat that activity this past Christmas with David. Seeing 4 adults tied together at their wrists and ankles, scampering through the house is a sight to behold! They were laughing so hard but working as a team every step of the way! I am pretty sure David wondered what kind of crazy family he had married into but I think he has recovered! Hopefully! Another memory was when Zach and Ashley were in high school, we tied them back to back...but they quickly figured out that Zach, who was much taller than Ashley could lift her up on his back and run through the house carrying her! As you can well imagine, we have some great pictures that year! Larry and I have more fun planning it and the kids never know what to expect! A few years ago, the kids surprised us with our own hunt! They did a great job on the clues/poems...what pressure! Ha. Last year the adults helped the little grandsons on their first hunt but this year we are thinking they will be able to do it on their own...with all the adults following close behind with camera's snapping! Each year differs slightly, but one thing is always the same. You read the clue as a group, solve the clue together and run to the next location where you will find another clue, and so on and so on. As you can see, our family believes in having fun at the holidays! One thing I have learned...it is more about the activity than the prize!
3 comments:
I am loving your posts! :) Yesterday's made me cry & todays made me laugh! You are such a good writer...I think you should write a book. I love you!
i agree with ashley about you writing a book! :)
you have a wealth of fun to share with the world!
karen
MK-I have just read the last two entries together and like Ashley, am laughing and crying at the same time. Love you. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to more.
I have so many sweet memories of Nanny and her house. She has been on my mind so much lately. We have been looking at new homes over the past several weeks, and everytime I find a big closet, or a secret room, Jerry has to rehear my memories of playing "office," or "school," or "church," or whatever else that we played in that burning hot sewing closet. So many precious memories at Nanny's. I want those memories for my children and grandchildren. Funny how something so simple can be so special. We should all have a special room, a cookie jar, a Christmas book, or something else special like Nanny always did, hu?
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