2012 was a year to remember.
We started our Christmas by all attending a Christmas Eve Service,
Envision singing 'Silent Night',
a cappella style with candles lit throughout the sanctuary.
Envision singing 'Silent Night',
a cappella style with candles lit throughout the sanctuary.
and enjoyed watching the young ones open their gifts,
observing their facial expressions of curiosity, excitement and anticipation.
One of our famous traditions has been to 'Unwrap the Gift'
In order to qualify you need to roll a dice of 6,
wear the mittens, touque and scarf and try to open a carefully packaged
gift which was wrapped tightly and secured with packaging tape.
This is no easy task...
There were three levels of surprises.
At one point the screwdrivers were needed to open a hard drive casing.
There is always a lucky winner...a gift card.
I remember playing this game at my first Christmas, (40 years ago)
when I became an official member of my husband's family.
And the fun began, as everyone watched in surprise as I slowly
opened and unwrapped the most unique gift ever.
It consisted of different sizes of wood doweling, screw drivers, screws.
Really what was I suppose to do with this?
A hand crafted note of instructions accompanied the package,
which made absolutely no sense to me.
Was, this another Funnel Story?
Was it a directional guidepost?
Was it a weather vane?
A place to hang delicate laundry?
What's your guess?
The whole family was stunned.
Christmas Day found some of us on the snowy peaks of Mount Thom,
while some folks at home attended to the turkey and stuffing.
Word of Caution: Don't wear running shoes in the snow!
Can you find the pickle in the tree?
Another German tradition from years ago...
This is a great way to disassemble your tree.
Christopher became the prize winner for the second time.
Several rounds of Rook and Dutch Blitz
kept the competitive family spirits burning.
A packaged gift of cinema tickets lay awaiting for the next day.
Off to the cinema to watch 'Les Miserables, a stunning musical.
This was one special Christmas well spent in more ways than one.
Spending time with those I love most.
Tune in again...
to see what Santa had created in his work bench.