A long long time ago, let's say about 18 years or so (gasp!), there was a little girl and her brother who were getting ready for Christmas. They had a younger brother who was a truck-and-tractor lover, and when I say lover I mean he was infatuated to the nth degree. You all know little boys like that--their lives revolve around dirt and rocks and big yellow toys and "bbbbppppttttthhhh" sounds while they play. Well, the little girl and her brother thought it would be fun for this little one to have a tractor of his own, so they worked in their secret basement lab many many nights, creating a cardboard masterpiece. It was truly amazing . . . complete with working controls, a door that opened, keys that turned, a real operating backhoe, and a big shovel on the other side. They were so excited to give it to their little brother on Christmas!
When Christmas Eve finally came around, they anxiously waited for their little brother to go to bed (getting to stay up late never had so many perks as this night!), carefully brought the cardboard tractor upstairs, and set it where it would be seen first. Well, that was a restless night for them in more ways than usual! The next morning, excitement filled the air as they ran to see what Santa had brought for them, and what their little brother's reaction would be to his life-size tractor. When he came in, he had all the appropriate reactions for about three seconds, then ran to the Tonka truck that was waiting by the tree. Well, that was just about too much for the older sister. She had worked so hard on the tractor, and all he wanted was the Tonka truck!?! She ran, crying to her room, disappointed beyond consolation. Her mother came in soon with soothing words and hopeful thoughts, and soon all was okay, if not completely right. The little girl was able to forgive her little brother for not being as excited as she wanted him to be, and to realize that he was just little, after all!
Jump to present day . . . for obvious reasons I can't go into great detail here, but this year I decided to make some homemade gifts for my kiddos. A lot of time and energy and money has gone into these projects, without any knowledge or expectation on their part. (will the promise of pictures after the fact suffice for now?) In order to avoid the aforementioned disappointment and emotional ending (although, I would hope that I have grown up a little bit since then!), I have come up with a strategic way to ensure the "homemade tractor" gets first dibs. See, Santa wraps all his gifts in Santa Paper, so everything is disguised under layers of wrapping paper when we come down Christmas morning. If, however, one gift is left out, say . . . UNwrapped, then for a small moment (admittedly it might be very small!), all the attention will be on this one present, and the giver might get the excitement of Christmas morning and the surprise of the creation and maybe . . . if expectations are low enough . . . feel a little bit gratified to have spent so much time and energy creating them . . .
I'll let you know how it goes . . . : )
When Christmas Eve finally came around, they anxiously waited for their little brother to go to bed (getting to stay up late never had so many perks as this night!), carefully brought the cardboard tractor upstairs, and set it where it would be seen first. Well, that was a restless night for them in more ways than usual! The next morning, excitement filled the air as they ran to see what Santa had brought for them, and what their little brother's reaction would be to his life-size tractor. When he came in, he had all the appropriate reactions for about three seconds, then ran to the Tonka truck that was waiting by the tree. Well, that was just about too much for the older sister. She had worked so hard on the tractor, and all he wanted was the Tonka truck!?! She ran, crying to her room, disappointed beyond consolation. Her mother came in soon with soothing words and hopeful thoughts, and soon all was okay, if not completely right. The little girl was able to forgive her little brother for not being as excited as she wanted him to be, and to realize that he was just little, after all!
Jump to present day . . . for obvious reasons I can't go into great detail here, but this year I decided to make some homemade gifts for my kiddos. A lot of time and energy and money has gone into these projects, without any knowledge or expectation on their part. (will the promise of pictures after the fact suffice for now?) In order to avoid the aforementioned disappointment and emotional ending (although, I would hope that I have grown up a little bit since then!), I have come up with a strategic way to ensure the "homemade tractor" gets first dibs. See, Santa wraps all his gifts in Santa Paper, so everything is disguised under layers of wrapping paper when we come down Christmas morning. If, however, one gift is left out, say . . . UNwrapped, then for a small moment (admittedly it might be very small!), all the attention will be on this one present, and the giver might get the excitement of Christmas morning and the surprise of the creation and maybe . . . if expectations are low enough . . . feel a little bit gratified to have spent so much time and energy creating them . . .
I'll let you know how it goes . . . : )
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