Friday, December 19, 2014

December 19 – “Giving and … receiving?”

One more of our big Christmas events is in the books.  We hosted our annual church-wide Christmas party and white elephant gift exchange.  And it was quite the affair, I might add.  We had 32 folks in attendance (or at least that many who threw their hat into the ring (or their gift under the tree) for the gift exchange. Lots of food graced the table as well, always a plus.  Chris made tea and coffee and punch and we had hot water for hot chocolate or cider. 

Of course I put together some unstoppable trivia quizzes.  Categories this year?  Christmas song initials, What Carol is this? (Given an obscure line of a carol, tell the title.  This one proved very difficult), Christmas Foods (way too difficult for the crowd this year), Quotes from Christmas Movies, and Christmas Potpourri.  Lots of laughter and working together on all of them (not to mention the presence of the serious food) helped everyone relax and enjoy the games.  When the time was right (read here: When Chris said let’s get started), I read through the trivia answers (mystifying and amazing with answers unexpected and, well, trivial).  Then I read the Christmas story and prayed. 

The gift exchange rules were pretty basic.  Open a gift from under the tree or “choose to receive from someone else the wonderful gift of an already opened present.”  When a gift has been in different possession three times it remains there unto eternity (or until next year’s white elephant party).  And whoever has number one gets to close out the game by keeping his gift or doing one final gesture of good will and trading it with anyone whose gift has not yet been frozen.  Great fun?  Why sure.

The gifts themselves were wide and varied.  Betty received a gorgeous glass polar bear (actually the closest thing to a real white elephant we had this year).  I remember seeing not one but two Disney princess snow globe music boxes.  I couldn’t tell you which princesses they were (have to ask Cailyn), but one was blue and one was pink (the globes, not the princesses).  A garbage bag that looked like it was full of, well garbage, proved to contain an entire apartment full of random stuff, including some beanie babies and a wooden angel.  There were a few of those Christmas cocoa and coffee mug combinations as well as a free spirit coffee mug with Christmas lights imprinted on it.  A huge jar of animal crackers was popular, and its twin, filled with chees puff balls quickly disappeared into a “place of safe-keeping” behind Andrew.  And before he got got home, there might have been three or four of the cheese balls left.  On the “ooh, aah” side of things, someone went away with a Blue tooth amplifier, and someone else found a machine that I think creates blue ray discs from DVD’s.  Giraffe skin stationery, a giant candy cane filled with candy, a Starbucks gift box, some wonderfully Christmasy themed paper plates and napkins, and a box full of … gift bags all made its way home with appreciative new owners.  And if you don’t count Jennifer’s three attempts to take baby Cedric away from his Mommy, then a large framed painting of Elsa was the only gift that ended up being frozen.  Get it?  “Frozen.”

Two of my favorites were the Flippin’ Chickens (robbery beasts with a hole in the head for your finger.  Then you pull the tail back and let ‘er fly) and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle gooey smash ball.  Super TMNT fan Brennan ended up with that one, and gooey it was.  I think I want one.

The award for most entertaining gift recipients of the evening went to Cailyn and Houston.  Cailyn was visibly disappointed when she first opened a picture frame.  She received new life when someone thanked her for opening their gift and took it out of her hands.  Next she discovered a quite large ladies night shirt, imprinted with the togs of none other than Saint Nick, himself.  Again, not so happy.  But after yet another redeemer of gifts, her third attempt resulted in a very nice women’s makeup kit (actually I have no idea what the stuff inside was, but the bag looked really nice.  She took that one home.  Whew.

Houston was no less entertaining from the male standpoint.  He first opened a wire letter rack that you can hang on the wall (why do I know so much about it?  Because Chris became his gracious present reliever.  Now we have a wonderful wire letter rack.  Look for it next year).  With his precious wire rack graciously (and rapidly) presented to another, Houston was free to gather up his next prize, a package of women’s soaps.  Not so wonderful a sight to his young, almost-a-teenager eyes.  Again his face fell in disappointment.  And again he met one who relieved him of his burden.  And his time his excavations revealed a nice set of men’s colognes.  He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about this one, that is, until I reminded him, “With the soap you had to take a bath.  With this you can smell good and never have to bathe.”  Not sure his mother agreed with my assessment, but I did detect a rather strong cologne-ish odor before they left the house.  Houston’s good for tomorrow, Wyrick family.  More shower time for everyone.

Leaving the best for last, there was one gift, the absolute dream gift of the decade.  It came in a simple square-ish picture frame, but the image within was - how can I say it? – priceless.  Right there, in my very living room, was a framed picture of none other than the world famous, internationally acclaimed masterpiece … “Lora Dressed as a Hot Dog.”  Compelling.  It was the one I certainly would have selected to grace our wall somewhere in the house.  But alas, as it happened, I had a host-ly obligation to end the game, for it was a school night, and time for all good young padawans to curl up in their Christmas blankets and go to sleep.  One more school day until Christmas vacation.

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in  Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Father, thank you for your most special gift to us: The baby who would grow up to become the Savior.  Amen.

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