The Trickster Grandma

Here it is, only 10 days until Christmas, and talk about a lot of pressure!  I still haven't completed the whole Christmas gifts thing.  Most years, I only do a little.  When I had young children, I loved to decorate.  I had so many knick knacks for Christmas that there wasn't enough shelf space, I had to take other things down!  Hanging lights, putting up a tree, making sure there were holiday scented candles to enhance the season ... yeah, that was me.  I did all that, and more if I could. 

I also liked to be the "trickster" during the holidays.  One year, all the kids got underwear gift wrapped beautifully, inside a cardboard box so they didn't know what was inside.  I would add a couple of marbles to the box to make it rattle enticingly .... lol.

One year, the gift for my then father-in-law was wrapped inside another wrapped box inside another wrapped box.  I think there were 7 boxes altogether.  The final outer box?  was from a 4-drawer filing cabinet.  hahaa  It was H-U-G-E.  And it was so very funny watching him open box after box .... lol  I still laugh thinking about it, and that was more than 30 years ago!

The past three years have been more difficult that others.  By the time the Day actually arrives, I'm so sick of looking at Christmas items that I just can't do it on my down time at home, so I haven't decorated at all.  This year, I put up the small Christmas tree.  And I decorated a tall cactus by wrapping red tinsel around it.  And bought a $2 bucket of plastic bulbs and hung on one of my bushes.   I know I might regret it later, having to take it all down quickly, but it's cheerful enough for now!  After Christmas is when my really busy point at work begins and I won't have much time or inclination to take all that stuff down and put it away properly. 

But what about all the pressures?  As far as gifts go, I have given up trying to buy something for my siblings, they both have much more money than I do and can (and do!) buy whatever they want for themselves.  So the one thing I have done for years now is to collect family photos and create a calendar.  Maybe they use it, maybe they don't, but everyone can use a calendar, and it's family.  I haven't had any work "relationships" worthy of gift giving, so I haven't.  This year, one of my gals gave out gifts, so now I feel a bit obligated to reciprocate.  I decided on some hand made coasters using some of my photography as a backdrop.  It will do!

Because my granddaughters are all teenagers, cash is Queen!  But I'll try to trickster it up and wrap them uniquely so there's effort or a surprise.  Last year, one's gift was wrapped 'round and 'round with packing tape until it became a small oval ball.  For another, I took zip ties and wove them together before zipping them up.  By the time I was done, it was a wall of zip ties, and took a lot of effort to clip them apart to get the money out!  lol yes, I am *THAT* Grandma!

Do you have any trickster stuff you do for the Holidays??