My parents are flying in on Monday. We’re planning a nice, cozy holiday in the Colorado mountains. It will be the first Christmas I have spent with my nephews, Heath (6) and Jes (5). I’m looking forward to being with them as they open their gifts. Oh yes – and sipping on eggnog.
Although I’m originally from Oklahoma, we spent most of our Christmases in the Rockies. We packed up the car with all of the presents and made the long drive from the Sooner State to Colorado. Mom quickly learned that it was much easier to travel with unwrapped gifts than to wrap them ahead of time. When we arrived, we could just open gift bags and plop in the presents. Then, after we had our own house in Crested Butte (which we share with three other families), we kept the same Christmas gift bags there throughout the year. And we held onto them year after year after year.
Recycling the same gift bags over . . . um . . . probably 15 years or more . . . got to be a joke after awhile. The packages looked the same every year except for those that I brought. Mine always had to be different. My most memorable wrapping was the zebra-striped paper with hot pink ribbon. Not so Christmas-y, but très Alyson.
Don’t miss my annual blog post with the Bert’s Eggnog recipe. It’s a tradition you don’t want to skip.
And look for Monday's newsletter on tying up loose ends before the New Year.