Presents!

If you've looked at my favorite links list, you'll have noticed The Knot on there. It's because I frequent a message board over there, full of my favorite internet people, and it's where I spend a good bit of time even though I'm not planning a wedding anymore.

So the ladies and I did a Secret Santa exchange for Christmas, and my presents just came today! My Santa (I am sworn to secrecy until the reveal date) sent me handmade notecards, a framed Subversive Cross Stitch, and a copy of Silent Night, the story of the WWI Christmas ceasefire. Absolutely awesome gifts.

I love presents. I love giving presents and getting presents and just the whole idea of presents. Is there anything better than the sound of wrapping paper tearing away from something delightful? I think not.

Bacon also got a box full of gifts from her grandparents (my parents) today. True to family tradition, they're almost all from someone weird: Rudolph, Laura Bush, Bill O'Reilly, and Dick Cheney.

My parents must have had too much eggnog one year, because in addition to gifts from Santa and Mom&Dad, we got some from the reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and - despite being Catholic - the Hannukah fairy. The next year got weirder: there were gifts from our favorite television hosts, fictional characters, and imaginary friends. And once we knew the "truth" about Santa, all bets were off: I've received gifts from The Marlboro Man, my old station wagon, and every cat we've ever owned.

Being the weirdos that we are, we took this little tradition and ran with it. We now try to come up with the craziest senders or the best tie-ins to the actual gifts. All my presents from my husband this year are from vampires; he got things from Garage Bands, bad Sci-Fi movies, and a particularly badly wrapped package from Thrifty, the Paper-Saving Elf.

It certainly makes for an interesting Christmas morning. There's nothing like shrieking laughter before ten AM to make for a joyous holiday.