It started out as a way to avoid having to buy too many Christmas gifts for the kids. Liz, Dee, Vanessa and I decided we'd have the kids draw names and do a little Christmas exchange. Then we figured it'd be a great idea to do it for ourselves too. Then Liz had a grand idea of having a cookie exchange. Then our gift exchange became a gift exchange/cookie exchange/dinner party. In the meantime, let's have the husbands draw names for a gift exchange too. Then we were all bringing a dish for the party plus some wine plus the 4 Christmas presents PLUS 6 dozen cookies? Craziness! So we ditched the cookie exhange idea and ended up with the 1st annual Kiefer/Reiff/Quinn/Strickland Christmas party at Liz & Brian's house!
The kids ate a quick dinner then scurried upstairs to play with the babysitter while we had cocktail hour. We brought them downstairs to exchange gifts and Liz had the idea to have each of the kids explain one thing they like about the person who's name they'd drawn. To watch these 5 year olds and 3 year olds tell something sweet about their friends was priceless! There were several "I like so and so because they play so nicely with me." The kids retreated back upstairs to play with their new toys and also decorate cookies (again - loving the babysitter!).
Now we could enjoy a fabulous dinner without any kids tattling or hitting or breathing wrong. After dinner, we did the adult gift exchange and decided to carry over the idea of saying something you admire about the person who's name you'd drawn. This was easy for us girls but it was fun to watch the guys a) get sensitive about each other and b) try to make it meaningful to the gift that their wife probably picked out! We laughed and cried and realized just how special it is that 4 couples came together by chance and have become such good friends.
It's too late now but for next year if you and your friends/family do a gift exchange where you draw names, you should definitely try out http://www.drawnames.com/. It was such an easy way to do it! The website has you set up who's involved and who can't buy for whom (is that even gramatically correct!?). So you could tell it that Ragen can't buy for Maggie, etc... We did 3 seperate draws (kids, moms, dads). Then it emails each person individually to let them know who they've drawn and keeps it all secret. The website even goes so far as to allow you to set up a wish list if you'd like.
Liz's beautifully set dinner table
Rob, Jeremy, Brian & Jeff posing with the gift Brian made for Rob (which is a picture "George" took in college of Jeremy & Brian and then had Rob & Jeff's pics added).
The kids table
A first! All 7 kids smiling happily! L - R: Ragen, Reese, Grace, Josie, Maggie, Ella & Ellie
All 8 adults smiling too - another victory!
Things got silly as the night progressed...
Rob, Jeremy, Brian & Jeff posing with the gift Brian made for Rob (which is a picture "George" took in college of Jeremy & Brian and then had Rob & Jeff's pics added).
Jeff and the leather beer holster Jeremy gave him - it was a hit!
1 comments:
Ragen and the girls :)
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