Christmas Eve...

Every year we open our 

stocking stuffers on 

Christmas eve.

The stocking stuffers are almost more

exciting than opening the big 

gifts on Christmas morning!

We each take turns opening gifts...

James was so excited for everyone to open 

their gifts,

that he opened his up last because he kept 

handing out gifts to everyone else!

All the stocking stuffers are just 

little dollar items that I collect all year long 

from sales and clearance shopping. 

And we get a few of the same items every single year...

band aids, tooth brushes and scrubbies to name a few.

Angelina wasn't feeling too good,

but she still got into ripping open the gifts!

2 days before Christmas eve,

Angelina had the stomach flu,

then the day before she ate some of her cousins 

dairy and wheat food and had 

terrible indigestion all of Christmas eve...

poor girl!

Angelina found lots of earrings in her stocking!

James spent quite a bit of time 

video taping from the leap pad...

didn't want to miss a single memory,

I guess!

Someone found a spiffy new hat 

in one of his little gifts...

still wears it on an almost daily basis!

And Elsie found the coveted 

lump of coal in her stocking!

Last year we started the tradition of the lump of coal.

Last year Elsie gave daddy the lump...

so this year was Daddy's turn to give it someone.

He quietly wrapped it up and slipped it into

Elsie's stocking. 

She was pretty happy to open it up...

because now she gets to wrap it up and 

slip it into someone elses stocking next year!

We are hoping this will be another fun tradition 

that will continue when our children

are grown...

~

Side note:

3 days before Christmas eve Elsie fell,

hard

and broke her nose...

so she looked downright lovely for Christmas!

Christmas memories for sure!