My husband and his family liked the gifts we got them. My husband actually got me a gift this year. He got me a figurine of Toad from the Mario series. I suppose if you’re not a gamer this might not mean much but I’ve now got the box pinned to my corkboard now.

Mine comes with a coin

But this is the character I typically pick to play in whatever Mario game that lets you pick characters. Like Mario Kart for instance. I still suck at the game but you know, it’s not the same without Toad.

My mother served a baked ham for dinner and my father made his homemade rolls and homemade cranberry sauce. I don’t think I will ever get used to the texture of this new sauce. This is a new thing he’s doing since we used to buy the smooth canned sauce, but the flavor is truly something to die for. Kinda wish he would puree the berries and then make the sauce so it would feel like the canned stuff but taste like his homemade stuff but I imagine if he did that it would ruin the flavor somehow.

Of course somewhere along the way I’ve picked up a stomach bug. I’m hoping it’s just my nerves getting the best of me. I think I will make use of the annual gift of the electric blanket Scholar Owl gets me every year. Bless That Child’s Heart And Soul. I use that thing year round and kill it by the time Christmas comes around every year. Yes even in the summer I use it. Something about it eases the joints like nothing else will. So when I say heat therapy, this is what I’m talking about. Wrapping up in that stupid thing, maxing out the setting on it, and just letting it melt me to nothing.

The boys have done well. No meltdowns. No fighting. No show boating. Everyone getting along. They have actually kept themselves fairly low key. So far. I hope it stays that way. All I know now is I’m extremely exhausted at this point.

I think the gifts that won Tuxedo Cat over the most was a tie between the Magic Tracks and the hamsters (I think that’s what they are?) that look like the Avengers (especially the Hulk one) and the homemade knit tiger cat. My parents got him the tracks – they glow in the dark. And Scholar Owl got him the hamster dolls. Anyone that follows Piggie’s blog should know it was my sister, Piggie, that made the hat for him.

Little Bear… well that boy it’s all things robots so he’s happy but I think he was ultra pleased that Scholar Owl got him a set of his own Stick Bots – or whatever it is they’re called. But they’re for making your own stop motion videos. Scholar Owl got a bunch last year from 3 people I think it was and Little Bear was hurt he didn’t get any. So Scholar Owl got him a mini army of them this year. I don’t think I got to see what my sister made for him. I think he pulled a Tuxedo Cat on me – as in “I like this so I’m going to stash it away from everyone.”

But for some reason Scholar Owl thinks he isn’t good at gift giving? Every year he proves that wrong. He has a big heart and he pays attention. Really that’s all you need for gift giving. There have been times in the past where he has picked out things that made no sense to me at all, but I let him get it anyway because I wanted him to learn. It may have cost him only $5, but in the eyes of the receiver it was priceless. I guess it wasn’t him that really needed to learn. So I’ve gotten in the habit of paying attention more to what will light people up and make their day. Well, I try to anyway.

So what did Scholar Owl get that I think sparked his fire? Well I bought him a Mewtwo figure and I thought that did it BUT my husband turned around and gave him Pokémon Moon for the 3DS and so I thought that surely did it BUT NO! lol He opened the present from my sister at the end. It was a handmade Pokéball and inside it was a handmade Oddish. lol ^_^ She had crocheted it. Full working parts and all. That made his day! It lit him up so much it was contagious. Everyone else lit up with him and joked around with him. The room was full of smiles in that moment. I think it made his day about the same way it did last year with the Chomper she made him from Plants vs. Zombies. That is a real gift and a true treasure. I wish my sister hadn’t been stuck with work today. I wish she had been there to see it rather than read about it or hear it from us. Thank you, Piggie. <3