Christmas Eve with my wife and her family, Chinese Take Out, then they open all of their presents on The Eve. I think it's a NShore thang. Long lines at Kowloon's that night............
My family always opened just one gift on Cristmas Eve, and it had to be approved by Mom and Dad. Like yer not opening the Big One until Christmas.....................
Gag gifts, one or two in the stocking......................and then there is the BIG WOW!
My family used to get together at our Lake House in Oklahoma with as many relatives as could make it, over 300 acres, lots of shoreline, and my Mom's Australian Egg Nog Recipe. That sheet would knock yer dink in the durt if you weren't careful and was always kept outside in a 5 gallon keg ~with ladle
I'll never forget being sent to the porch to get some more wood for the living room fire one chilly Xmas morning. Pretty sure I was 9 ('69) only to find three shiny new Schwinns ~my "Lemon Peeler", my brother's "Orange Crate", and my sister's "Apple Dumpling" (??, the green one). Man!! What a thrill that was.
So now, my 4yo daughter has to go outside and see what Santa's sleigh may or may not have dropped from the clouds (my wife's spin) in our big evergreen bushes outside the apt building. She knows that Santa is not real, but we still have fun with the whole concept of the sleigh, Rudolph, and the North Pole story. It's usually the one present that's too awkward/big to wrap, or the one that is the Grand Finale
