christmas for 10, plus 4

a Rutherford Christmas morning

We often get asked if Christmas at our house is absolutely crazy. Bonkers. A zoo. Our answer is the same every year. Nope. It's just a whole lot of fun.

There are things we do to simplify the process and enable us to enjoy the time together a little easier. Traditions reign supreme during Christmas. Traditions have given us a sense of continuity along with the security of knowing what to anticipate. Whoever chooses the Christmas tree is allowed to hide the pickle ornament. Whoever finds the pickle ornament gains the privilege of opening the first gift, after which we open by age. When we prepare the Christmas Eve party menu, we prepare the same foods that have been around since the first party back around 1981. There is a simple joy in feeling free to enjoy the ride without the pressure of making decisions.

On Christmas Eve from 2 to 6 in the afternoon, the kiddos open one gift each every hour from family and friends close enough to be family. Not only does this help ease the crazy anticipation that fuels gift-ripping mayhem, it allows an hour to enjoy every new gift. Everyone is able to be part of the fun of watching a treasured wish come true and then there is plenty of time for assembling, building, learning rules, and trying out. After the final gift opening, stockings are hung by the chimney with care, cookies are carefully selected for Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, a frigid glass of raw milk is poured, and the rocking chair is carefully positioned for optimal posterior resting.

Christmas morning, Scott usually slips downstairs early enough to brew a pot of coffee and enjoy the soft glow of the tree alone for an hour or so. He so loves hearing that first excited footfall as the children begin to slip out of their bunks. A call is put in to the local family who rush over to our home in their jammies before the children are allowed downstairs. This year the local family included both my parents and Uncle Ryan and Aunt Laura (my brother and his wife.) Believe it or not, gifts are opened one round at a time with clean-up happening in between each round. We learned a few years ago that not cleaning as we go means the inevitable search for utterly important pieces which have been thrown away amid oodles of discarded wrappings. Trust me - not the most fun to be found on a Christmas afternoon! 

The rest of our day has us enjoying new gifts, almost always assembling Legos, playing new games, and eating the intentional leftovers from the Christmas Eve party during a movie siesta. Close friends drop in throughout the day, adults take turns at showering, and there is almost always a nap or two. It rarely feels rushed or overwhelmed. 

For Scott and I, we both feel with each passing year that Christmas is taking on more and more of a storybook feeling. I don't know if it's pure experience which allows us to better flex each year or if it's the sense of fleeting time which helps us to grasp onto each memory and hang on tight. I do know that I love this time of year for all the extra time we gain together.