Around 10 AM, most of Tary's family had arrived. It was almost time to open presents!
Before we did, I gathered everyone together and read out loud the real Christmas story, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ as told in Luke, Chapter 2. It was important to me that we reflect on why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place. Pastor had suggested that we read the Christmas story before opening presents as a family tradition. It's definitely a keeper.
We started opening [Daniel's] gifts. It seems that everyone in the family had the same idea...to completely spoil Daniel. Wooden blocks. Sports-related plush toys. Cars that tumble in a motorized spinner. A walker with detachable entertainment tray. An awesome indoor/outdoor house set. The only problem with all of these great gifts is what will we get him for his 1st birthday?
Speaking of Daniel's gifts, I was really bummed that the one gift that I picked out by myself just for him was broken. The toy's packaging purposely exposed a roller that when spun would play music and cause plastic faces to rise and fall like whack-a-moles. Before we had a chance to wrap it, Daniel loved spinning that roller so much that we let him open it a few weeks early. I think Tary's brother broke it by forcibly pushing down on the faces when he came to visit with the cousins a few days earlier. I know Daniel is too young to notice but I still can't help but feel depressed about it.
I received some really nice gifts this year as well. Notable gifts included the soundtrack to the musical Wicked, nice clothes, Inception and Toy Story 3 on Blu-ray, and basketball-related gear (basketballs, sneakers, and shorts).
Daniel made us a gift with the help of his teachers at daycare. He gave us an ornament with a pair of adorable photos of him wearing a Santa hat inside it. We sure love our little boy!
After everyone who was there opened their gifts, we hung around for a bit. I assembled a few Daniel's toys and we enjoyed watching play with his gifts. I really enjoyed spending time with the family, especially my extended family.
In the afternoon, we all went to Tary's parents' house for food. More gifts were exchanged there for those who couldn't come to our house earlier in the day. After watching the Celtics game, I played some video games with Tary's cousin, P. Even though I hate the whole Call of Duty franchise based on principle, it was nice for the two of us to spend time together.
We returned to our house in the evening because there are more fun things to do here for the young adults and cousins. It was fun challenging each other to dance battles on Dance Central with the Kinect. We tried to watch a movie but some people have a harder time keeping quiet than others.
It was a very good Christmas surrounded by the people I love the most. I hope they all enjoyed it as much as I did.
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