Buckyballs, Bikes and Hermit Crabs

Christmas is over and done, and most of the gifts have found homes on shelves in the closets. The house is almost back to normal. Complete normalcy (whatever that may be) won’t happen until next week when the kids go back to school (thank you baby jeebus).

All in all, though, it was a very good Christmas – very relaxed, very low-key, very fun. I managed not to work myself into a lather making things “perfect,” and no one died or ended up in the hospital, which has happened in the past at Christmas. Ella was sick, but not enough to stop her from enjoying the day.

On Christmas Eve the big girls hatched a plan to wake up at 4:00 a.m., but I didn’t think they’d actually do it. I should never doubt the sheer combined will power of my daughters. I heard Ella coughing a little after 4:00 a.m. and went into the living room to find the girls sitting on the sofa playing a board game, happy as can be. Lily popped up and shouted, “Santa came, and he brought me a new bike!” I was initially upset that I hadn’t been there to see the look on Lily’s face when she discovered her new bike, but I got over it. The girls were so into the magic of Christmas and the tree and the presents and Santa that I couldn’t stay mad. But I did send them back  to bed with strict instructions to stay put until at least sunrise.

All of the kids except Elizabeth slept until almost 8, which was nice. The adults were able to have a cup of coffee before the festivities began.

At our house, present time is laid back and a lot of fun. It’s not a paper-filled melee of unwrapping. The kids love looking at each other’s gifts and exclaiming over them. Campbell declared each gift “just what I wanted!”  His enthusiasm was infectious. Elizabeth wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but she loved her “phresents.”

My sister sent B a set of Buckyball magnets as a gift, and everyone spent the rest of the day messing with them. They’re addictive little buggers. Although we do yell, “Don’t go near a computer!” every time one of the kids picks them up.

One of Ella’s favorite presents was a gift card to the pet store so that she could buy new hermit crabs. She was thrilled that Santa knew her hermit crab had died the week before. Quigley II and SuperCrab II have now joined Fred the First in the aquarium.

Our big family gift was an Xbox Kinect system. We haven’t ever had any type of gaming system in the house, and the kids hadn’t even asked for one. They jumped up and down and screeched when the box was opened.

While B concocted his traditional Christmas brunch of Eggs Montreal, my dad (runnerdude in the comments) hooked up the Kinect. I had as much fun watching the kids play as I did actually playing it.

When Lily wasn’t playing Kinect, she was begging for someone, anyone, to accompany her on bike rides. Runnerdude was a good sport and took her on a few laps around the block despite the cold.

We finished off the day with a viewing of “Despicable Me,” which was a huge hit. When it was over, we all went to bed tired and happy.

I think it really was one of the best Christmases we’ve ever had. It was filled with family, love and fun – just the way it should be.