Just To Torment My Kids

Wrapped items for one family's white box.

I'm writing this blog post and including the following pictures, just to torment my children.

You see, even though they are all grown up (ages 33, 31 29, and 26), the reality is that when it comes to Christmas, they are large-sized little kids.  They still like the mystery and surprise of getting Christmas presents.

There are presents here, waiting for them - the WHITE BOXES - and so now they will have to be tormented, wondering what is in there for them this year.

The story of how our family's weird WHITE BOX tradition started goes back just a few years.

Probably about the time our youngest turned 21, we decided to stop the giving of Christmas presents and just give the kids cash or gift certificates.  We told them ahead of time we would be doing this, and they were just fine about it.

Christmas morning came and the family was gathered as usual around the Christmas tree.  They each opened their envelopes, expressed their gratefulness, and then we sat there and looked at each other.  It was too quiet.

 It just seemed that there should at least be some ribbons on the floor, some balled up and torn wrapping paper strewn around, some boxes to open.  That year there was none of any of that.

I wasn't fine with that.

A loaded white box

And so, the next year, I gathered up some odds and ends for each family and tossed them into a plain white box.  Why the white boxes?  Because the plain white boxes were cheapest way I could find to box up a bunch of little items.

They loved it, and even reminded me the next year after that to make sure there would be white boxes ready again.

Fast forward to Christmas of 2013.  I started getting reminders from my big little kiddos sometime around Thanksgiving, making sure I wouldn't be forgetting about the white boxes.

Apparently it has become A TRADITION.

Here in this post, then, is proof that they are loaded and ready.

But oh, there's still about five more days until Christmas.

Sorry kids, you'll just have to wait, and wonder.....

Hee hee.