22 days of Christmas

As I kid I grew up with a special tradition. My parents gave me 12 days of Christmas presents. They were usually very small gifts and I got to open one each morning the 12 days before Christmas. I can remember being so excited to pick one each morning and to count down the days to Christnas each year. I remember my friends thinking it was so cool and being jealous. Well this year Papa Ed brought the 12 days presents but instead of 12 there were 18. And then Callie was allowed to open them starting the day Papa arrived. So now GiJu is bringing a few extras to fill the final days for a total of 22 days!! Alright this tradition needs to be 12 next year!

But the kids love it. There has been some learning activities involved as GiJu numbered all the gifts. Callie can pick any present she wants. Sometimes she can identify the number but more often than not her job is just to find the matching number for Diego. She can do it really well!

It's been exciting to watch them open and see how excited they are. Diego didn't quite get it at first. We would rip the paper and Diego would try to put it back down to make it perfect again. Today was the first day I saw him say open and rip his own paper. I think all this practice will make him ready for the big day.

AND one other positive is that the kids have to use self control. All the presents are under the tree but they cannot open more than 1 a day. They haven't even asked or taken more than one. It's rather impressive considering most people have to keep ornaments away from their kids on the tree never mind wrapped presents.