Christmas went off without a hitch this year with no puking and good weather for traveling.
As planned, we started our celebration the night of the 23rd. Punky was excited to have both of her half-brothers spending the night in anticipation of Santa's (early) visit that night. Her dad made a delicious pasta dinner for us and then we let her open one little gift from her brother. Before bed, we sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn and filled a plate with cookies and carrots for the big guy. Last year she licked each and every cookie left for Santa; this year she chose three special cookies, and then ate two of them herself.
We thought it would take forever for her to fall asleep, and the trampoline assembly just couldn't wait till the wee hours of the morning, so I took her in our bedroom and locked the door behind us while her dad, brothers, and one brother's girlfriend all got to work in the living room. Punky was super-excited, of course, and a bit distracted by the giggles and chatting outside the door, but when we heard a loud bang I used it to my advantage.
"Mommy, what was that noise?" she queried.
"I think that was Santa's sleigh landing on the roof!" I whispered. "Quick! Close your eyes and get to sleep because he won't come in if you're still awake!"
To my utter surprise, it worked. She was out like a light in under two minutes. I waited ten more, just to be on the safe, and headed out to check on the assembly.
While they toiled away for the next hour and a half, I dug out the other gifts that were scattered around the house and arranged them neatly under the tree. I took pictures of them struggling to wrap all the stretchy bands around the base. I stuffed her stocking. I set the coffee up for the morning. I took pictures of them trying to figure out how to secure the netting to the sides. I packed a few things for our trip the next day. I did my checkbook. I took pictures of them attaching the big red bow to the front of the trampoline, and more of the finished product and tree surrounded by presents, and we finally called it a night around two.
Then I couldn't fall asleep; I was too excited.
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| Punky and her favorite Santa gift |
We were up before seven because we had to be, not because we wanted to be. We had a long day ahead of us and time was of the essence. I went in to wake Punky about a half hour later while her dad got the video camera ready. I thought for sure she'd jump out of bed and run for the tree, but no. She didn't want to move. It took plenty of coaxing to get her out of bed, but she was wide awake once she caught sight of the trampoline.
I was right, the look on her face was absolutely priceless. She screeched and did a little happy dance before running over to investigate. Within minutes, she was in bouncy heaven. And we spent the next few hours forcing her to come out periodically to catch her breath and open one of her other presents.
Shortly after noon, we were on our way to his mom's house. Punky told everyone the news: Santa brought her a trampoline! We ate dinner and chatted for a while, then headed back home to pack the truck for our trip. Punky was exited to have twenty more minutes to jump before saying goodbye to her new present for a few days. By four, we were on the road and we arrived at my mom's just in time for her traditional Christmas Eve dinner. We spent Christmas morning with Punky's godfather, who spoiled her rotten again this year, and then we headed to my sister's for the rest of the day. As planned, we came back home Monday afternoon.
It was a nice Christmas, with plenty of food, wine, and gifts. My nephew, niece, and Punky got more presents than they knew what to do with, but that's how it should be. We can't afford to spoil them year round, nor would we want to, but Christmas is a magical day for kids. As long as they grow up learning to be thankful and appreciative for what they have, there's no harm in it.
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