The 12 dAys of Christmas... in a bag~

For the past 2 years my dad and step mom have done the 12 days of Christmas for each one of their kids. I LOVE IT, it's so much fun!!!!! They pre-wrap 12 gifts and put a note on each one. Then they put them all in a bag and we get to choose a gift from the bag each day. It's alot of fun and even though my kids are teenagers, they still like to open a present each day leading up to Christmas....I think that's the "little kid" coming out in them. This year we weren't able to go to the family Christmas party when my step mom handed out the 12 day gift bags (because of the yucky weather that just happen to show up that morning), we got our bag a little later and so we've got to open up several gifts at once...you know, to catch up with everyone else and be on track...we've loved it. Each year they give us a wonderful Christmas book to add to our collection. I have 13 books in all, and I think most of them were gifts from my dad and Kathy. I love to sit down and read them. They all have such neat messages and make me stop and think about the Christmas season and what it means. This year there was a darling nativity in our 12 day bag. I LOVE IT, its adorable!!!....(you know I love nativities). Its so cute and simple. I put it on my shelf and I enjoy looking at it every single day. Although the gifts are so much fun and we love them, its not the gifts that make Christmas. Its the love, the kindness and the thoughtfulness that are remembered year after year, not the "things" themselves, and each time I look at this darling nativity I will remember the time, the love and the thoughtfulness that went into making it. I have such a special step mom. I couldn't have picked out a better one myself. She goes out of her way to always let us know that she loves us, that we are her children and grandchildren. She makes things special and is such a neat person and alot of fun to be around. I love her so much. Thanks Dad and Kathy for being such wonderful, amazing parents as well as grandparents. Thanks for making our lives special and being such a wonderful part of our lives! We love you!!!! ....oh, and they also put this sweet note in our 12 day bag for FREE BABYSITTING...don't think that just because we have teenagers that we won't call them up and use that free coupon....teenagers are harder to tend than little kids, we WILL be calling!