Well, it was early afternoon and the granddaughters, age 3 and 5, opened their gifts. The Barbies were checked out and clothes removed faster than a teen on prom night. Itty bitty shoes and accessories were scattered in the carpeting for grandma to step on in her bare feet, which is always a treat. What I don’t find with my bare feet, the dog will find and chew up. Next came the various other toys; strawberry shortcake dolls and accessories, Dora and the oh-so-street-wise Bratz. If Dora hangs around the Bratz for long, she sure will be getting an education on stuff I’m sure isn’t on her “map”. She’ll be wearing eyeliner and thongs with low rider jeans and end up skipping school to get 20 piercings just on one ear. (ever notice how the teens dress now? The girls wear 2 sizes too small and the boys wear 2 sizes too big. I have honestly seen the crotch of some kids’ jeans almost at their knees. I cannot fathom how they keep them up. But this is a whole ‘nother story)
My evil ex bought the one granddaughter a Wazoo or whatever its called…that toy totally disappeared after she blew on it LOUDLY for 10 minutes straight. If I have my way, it will never be found again. Toy ponies and cow girl hats and doll house furniture….it was like a toy store exploded in my living room. Within 30 minutes I heard the girls running and squealing with delight…back and forth they ran and an odd popping noise accompanied their laughter. I had to check and what I saw confirmed my belief that kids don’t need all this expensive crap. Those girls were playing with big empty boxes, wrapping paper and bubble wrap, as their toys lay in disarray on the floor. They were popping the bubble wrap at each other in a game of cops and robbers as they were running and hiding and also antagonizing the dog with it a great deal. Such fun. They played with that more than their toys. Next year I can save myself a lot of money….just go to the grocery store and get some empty boxes and then buy a couple rolls of bubble wrap and I’ll be all set.
Christmas is wonderful, but this grandma is tired out and I’m glad its over for another year. My dog is exhausted and stressed out to the max. The weather cooperated and we did have snow, although it was only about an inch or less. We all got together in the same house and there were no arguments, no hurt feelings, angry outbursts, snide remarks or injuries during this small period of time. This is as close as we can get to “The Waltons” but I’ll take it.
