24 November 2007

24

The presents are unwrapped and the ham consumed, and another Christmas-at-Thanksgiving celebration winds down. Almost ten years ago I was invited to a work Christmas gathering. We were told to bring three wrapped gifts values at less than $5 each. These were put on a table and we rolled dice until they were gone; rolling doubles earned a present. They were then unwrapped and oohed and ahhed over. A timer was set, and the dice rollng re-commenced, this time doubles meant you could steal a gift. It was great fun. I suggested it to my family. I think I meant for it to replace gift giving, but instead it morphed into a supplemental Christmas activity that is now as traditional as the Michigan Rummy or 31 games. At one time we decided on a limit of $20/family, but I don't think anyone's adhered to that in a while. As large as our family is, the gifts cover a dining table with a card table pushed up to it. There's quality merchandise, white elephants, and schwag from the various corporate employers about the table. Each year the kids' selection gets a little better as they grow old enough to participate. There's screaming, mayhem, greed and excess: all the necessary elements of a successful Christmas. Generally, a select few items get snatched from one end of the table to the other, and there's a bit of horse trading at the end of the game to find homes for stuff you don't want, and foist stuff off on whoever got skunked. This year we filled a small box for the tree of hope charity. It's nice that someone else can benefit from our craziness this year. And I got a fire starter!
Off to bed; tomorrow we pack the troops into the car and head back to work and school. Tough to go back after such a nice long weekend. Hope your holiday held as much laughter as ours did.

1 comment:

MamaMichelsBabies said...

That game is SO much fun! We did it at my baby shower and holy crap, get 4 women competeing for the same thing and watch them turn into the guys you see at the stadiums during the superbowl. It's hilarious and an awesome idea for CHristmas for a large group.. kinda takes the stress of off finding the perfect present because your not sure who it's going to end up with. I'm glad it went well for you guys!