Christmas Eve

As part of our Christmas Eve tradition, we opened the gifts from our family gift exchange.

Jason received the dice game FARKLE made by Abree.

Rylee received a purple yarn-wrapped scarf hanger made by Treyson.

Abree received a cute handmade ceramic ocarina bear made by Taylee.

An ocarina is a small wind instrument with a mouthpiece and holes for the fingers.

I received a decorated/repurposed mail sorter from Rylee.

Treyson received a fleet of robot snacks (drink box, applesauce, Laffy Taffy, raisins and a spoon) from me.

And Taylee received a duct tape crafting station from Jason.

He used a little shelf, a shoe organizer, bookcase shelving and some containers for the station.

"EVERYTHING IS COOLER WITH DUCT TAPE!"

The extra effort of homemade gifts is always worth it in the end. It's so fun to see the excitement of giving... and receiving.

Christmas Eve

After reading the Christmas Nativity story, we passed out our family exchange gifts. Abree received a cute fabric flower headband from Rylee.

Notice the one Rylee is wearing in her hair...ya, sorta like that. :)
Abree gave Rylee a flat iron holder... made from a pot holder.

Treyson was given a pom-pom/marshmallow shooter from Taylee.

My gift to Taylee.

Treyson came up with this gift idea all on his own. He traced the Jazz logo onto nice watercolor paper, then painted and framed it for Jason's desk at work.

Grandpa Waite received Stampede basketball tickets from Jason.

Jason made the ticket holder for his part of "homemade". :)

I received a chalkboard sign from Dad. He had Amber help him come up with the idea and make it. I LOVE it...and have used it for many occasions.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, we had family over to celebrate with Grandpa Waite.

We had a yummy Taco Soup dinner (prepared by Candice...thanks!) and lots of yummy treats.

For the kids under 8 years old we had a........ gift pass?

We all sang Jingle Bells as they passed the gifts in a circle. When the song was done, they opened the gift on their lap.

The rest of us did the traditional white elephant gift exchange game.

Next, we gave Dad (Grandpa Waite) his gift from all of us. He wanted a "shake weight", so that's what we got him. He quoted the commercial, "Only 6 minutes each day, is equal to a 42 minute work out with traditional weights." We all tried the shake weight and played around with it. There's a learning curve to getting it shaking just right.

Levi liked the box it was wrapped in.

He hung out and played in the box for a long time and LOVED it!

You can't tell from these pictures, but he was perfectly content and really did LOVE it.

When it was starting to get late, everyone left to do their own Christmas Eve celebrations.

As a family, we read the Christmas nativity story in Luke, reflected on our services days and opened our homemade family gifts.

As predicted, Abree LOVED her blanket from Treyson. It was so fun to see her excitement and watch Treyson soak up the excitement and gratitude.

For days after Christmas he said things like, "Mom, I think Abree really likes the gift I gave to her." or "Do you think Abree likes her new blanket as much as her old one?" He was so proud. :)

Grandpa read us the book from Taylee.

She had illustrated it with lots of cute detailed pictures too.

Jason liked his Rubik's cube.

He planned on taking it to work to put on his desk.

Taylee liked her scarf.... except for the fact she was poked and found 3 hidden straight pins in the ruffles. Oops!

Treyson thought his walking stick was cool and began asking when we planned on going camping or hiking next.

Taylee kept teasing him that it had her initials on it and that she was going to love using it.

After opening gifts, we set out our stockings for Santa. The kids gathered their bedding and headed to the family room to sleep. It took them a little while to settle down, but they got quiet within an hour or so.

Homemade Gifts

We had so much fun 2 years ago making the gifts for our family gift exchange, we decided to do it again this year.

Treyson drew Abree's name. He told me he wanted to make a new blanket for her since her special baby blanket (made by Grandma Smullin) was getting raggedy and would have to be put in the "keepsakes" box soon. (Or "keep safes" as they would call it.)

I thought it was such a sweet idea, I totally hopped on board last minute and helped him whip up a quilt for her.

I showed him how to tie and within a few practice tries, he got it! I was so proud of him.

Rylee drew Jason name. She made him a customized Rubik's Cube he could take to work and put on his desk. It was all about the BSU Broncos an the Utah Jazz... of course.

I had Taylee's name. I made her a ruffle scarf. I bought 2 scarves from the Dollar Tree and cut of one of them to make the ruffles. Then sewed them on. It turned out cute. (Finished scarf not pictured.)

Taylee had Grandpa Waite's name. She made him a book, "Top 20 Things That Happened in Our Family in 2010". It was cute to see some of the things that made the list; Jackson lost his first tooth, Taylee started piano lessons, Sterling was born, we had the Ison Christmas FHE (funny to give to Gpa Waite), etc.

Grandpa Waite had Treyson's name. Grandpa made Treyson a "walking stick". It was cool. He smoothed it, carved his initials in it and even sacrificed a piece of his own shoelace for the handle.

Abree had Rylee's name. She and I made these flower clips for Rylee. So cute!

Jason had my name. He knows what I like.... acts of service! I received a gift certificate that entitled me to: A Garage Overhaul.

Including: Pressure washed floors, organizing and relocating items, a haul to D.I., arranging food storage items, re-organization of tools and a bike rack!

Are you jealous?

I know it may not be YOUR ideal gift, but it is MINE. :)

Homemade gifts take thought, time and effort, but it is SO worth it. I hope to continue doing this year after year.