Christmas through my children's eyes....

As Christmas once again approaches (wow times flies, didn't we just celebrate Christmas?? I am certain we did) I sit here quietly, nostalgically and remember those times when my son & daughter were growing up. Time really flies when your not looking. Every year I decorated our festive Christmas tree in a different theme. I had six sets of assorted ornaments and items to pick from and rotated depending on the mood that struck at that precise moment.
One particular Christmas I decided to forego tradition (throwing caution to the wind & be unique my rebel moment *wink*). Since we were living in Lake Havasu after much debate with my conscious  I bought tons of large simple silver 'cookie cutters' shaped as cowboy hats, boots, cactus, jalapeno peppers, indians etc, etc, etc (you get the idea) and tiny metal/rustic bells to add the final touches! Simple white lights  graced our  soon to be grand tree. I then went about scattering the cookie cutters as ornaments (which of course I moved a bazillion times....type A that's me *wink wink*) sitting for hours tying bows out of brown raffia, (who came up with this beautiful but oh so annoying product? do you know how long it takes to unravel and open those strands to make a elegant bow? nah...didn't think so, ugh. and just as you got the last piece open it would tear making it impossible to use and thus the the process would begin again). I continued to place the bows scattered evenly between the western cookie cutters, then came the tiny little bells here, there and there to! It was my masterpiece and I was proud of how great it actually was coming together! I called it our 'vintage unique eloquent western tree'. It was marvelous.... (well at least I thought so..beauty is in the eye of the beholder folks)
Sticking with the theme I wrapped every single gift in thick brown paper (like we used to ship packages in) and brown natural twine to tie them, you know it all had to blend or I wouldn't sleep at night.....( ho ho ho)
But my very very very favorite addition were the tags. Instead of going with store bought tags or labels , I spent hours copying tons of old photos of everyone on white paper, then cutting them precisely and glueing each one to the top left corner of each present. No name was written just the photo...(hee hee) I am not certain to this day who was more amused Me or the Children. It was simple and a mystery all wrapped into one big adventure for the impending day!
From when they were very young my husband  & I taught our children that if you ever 'touch' a present under the tree whether or not you think someone is watching or may catch you, the next day when you got up that present would miraculously disappear to points unknown to this day. This was a lovely holiday myth that my mother in law passed down to us and she told them in a way they were skeptical but absolutely convinced, as neither were brave enough to risk losing a gift. And as we all know children push the limits (of course! it is they're duty..) so if they touched a present that was not theirs but for the their sibling, two of their gifts would disappear (fear is wonderful motivator!)
I would arrange the gifts so you could see the tag on every package by just sitting back and gazing.....
So everyday after school or early evening when we got home they would dump their backpacks and any other worldly possessions in the foyer (certain to kill anyone attempting to enter the house after them!) and with lightening speed run to the tree and throw themselves down on their bellies, resting their chin on their little hands side by side giggling and in the spirit of olympic champions proceed to count how many each had seeking out new gifts that appeared while they were away that day. Every so often I would rearrange a few just to throw them off...what an amusing sight. As the parents we would quietly with the stealth of trained ninjas peek around the corner and watch them with delight listening to the conversations they carried on. (to have that time back *sigh*).
Of course as siblings they would dare one another to 'touch' but the shear prospect of what may happen would delude them to chicken out and just look, laugh and chatter together. (*priceless*).
The neighborhood kids would come to play (they were always at our house...) and we would peek in to see a fleet of adorable children laying on their bellies, knuckles or hands on chins looking at all the gifts, and laughing till I had to cover my own mouth so they would not hear me giggling too. They would pick out whose picture was on each gift and remember the moments those "actual pictures" had been taken telling stories amongst themselves. Of course the stories were much grander each time they repeated them to a new child that wanted to come see what it was all about. What fun we had...!!
I so wish I had video taped some of those moments, but alas I shall always carry those images in my heart and memory to pull out whenever I need a giggle or a cry when feeling nostalgic.
Christmas is a magical time of year for young and old. Always remember it is not about the gifts....the true meaning is different for everyone but it goes beyond words. 
I love you my two sweet children, your presence completes me. (does anyone have a kleenex?? hand it over!!)....
Merry Christmas to all & to all a good night!