We started the morning with stockings, which were placed on the couches with care. I think each year the candy total goes up as Brandon and I get older, more indulgent, and less concerned with sugar consumption.
William got stocking candy this year (in much smaller quantities than his siblings) and thought that it was the best thing in the world. And then when he found his siblings' stashes and was banned from eating it, he thought that was the worst thing in the world. It may be easy to take candy from a baby, but it certainly isn't quiet.
I'm pretty sure that most of the children's candy is gone by now, with the exception of Edwin's candy. When we moved from Dushanbe, we found years-old mummified candy in his dresser drawers, being saved for some eventual rainy day.
We supplemented the candy with pork products - bacon and sausage - shipped all the way from America via the commissary in Ramstein, Germany. I used to scoff at paying exorbitant prices for comfort foods, but I guess I've gotten old. Because, pork!
We also had our traditional croissant breakfast ring that leaks butter every single year. This year I finally gave up and embraced the pools of butter; we now call it fried croissant breakfast ring. Sigh.
After breakfast was eaten and cleaned up, children were dressed and had brushed their teeth, we got down to opening presents.
William also got his first taste of presents because he didn't know what they were until this Christmas and so I've never bought him one before. He was very happy with his presents, a car carrier and a book. Life is pretty good when you have candy, a toy, and a book.
Sophia used the power of the internet to find a pattern for a baby carrier that she could make for Eleanor. She hid in her room or mine, secretly making the present, and even sewed a pocket on the front for Eleanor's baby's bottle. Kathleen and Sophia bought bought each other the same kind of Barbies. We don't have any policy for the children giving each other presents, so it's fun to see what they come up with. Eleanor very kindly wrapped up some old crayons for Brandon. He was quite touched.
My parents (with the help of suggestions from me) bought the children a big Lego set that goes with the set they bought them last year. I enjoy building the sets with the children, they enjoy watching and helping me, and we have a fun time together for a few days. It's a fun tradition.
The sets click together, so now they have the beginning of a city street. The children will spend hours playing with the sets. They've named all the people that come with the set, given them backstories, married them off, and made vacation homes for them. Last year the children filmed a stop-motion movie with their first set.
We spent the rest of the day after presents reading books, watching movies, putting together Legos, eating candy, and having snacks. It had planned to order sushi (it's not a holiday here, so restaurants are open!) for dinner, but nobody was really hungry so we just had leftovers. A younger version of myself would have been horrified, but I was just fine with it. I don't care about the food as much as I used to, and I'd rather spend the time with the children, hanging out together as a family. Everyone had a wonderful Christmas together.
