As a family we do a gift exchange in December. Last year we picked names and got a gift for the name we had picked. This year we decided to purchase $5 gifts for each member of the family. While staying in the $5 area is a bit challenging, being second hand, garage sale, freecycler and Kijiji shoppers it does make it possible to find some nice gifts in this area ... and there's always Dollarama. It's fun to see the girls getting to an age where they can partake in the giving as well.
The girls had each already found gifts for Matthew earlier in the year. Here is Rebecca's gift, a puzzle, and recently Matthew has very much been into puzzles, and very very much into Lightening McQueen, so the timing was perfect.
My gift from Marietta - a rolling pin. I lost the handles on my old rolling pin ... a rather perplexing thing, and I'm sure some little fingers had something to do with it. I thought for sure when we moved we would find them back hidden in some corner or something , but they never reappeared.
Rebecca got Marietta some basic sewing items - scissors, pin cushion, measuring tape, needles, pins.
Marietta found a new tie for Dad
The girls received the books series of Road to Avonlea from Mom and Dad (that wasn't part of the $5 gifts as we did give the kids a few extra things also, but it wasn't too much over $5 :)
Marietta found this present for Matthew back in the fall at a garage sale. This is something we actually already had in our house before. James received the same gift for his second birthday, but when it did not cooperate and work properly we returned it as there was no way we were going to pay that kind of money for a gift that just frustrated James instead of entertaining him. Now at the $4 Marietta found it for it's a bit more worth the hassle, and this one seems to work a bit better. Matthew is just as content to colour on the mat and play with the train seperately (driving us nuts with it's constant whistle because it can't find the track to follow)
You simply fill the "pen" or "track drawer" with water and draw with water on the mat, slowly the water dries up and you can keep drawing over and over. You use the "track drawer" to draw a train track and then Thomas is suppose to follow the track ... he has a bit of an issue with curves if they are too sharp and when he has trouble finding where to go he whistles insistently for you to fix the problem.
It was a fun evening as a family. Matthew couldn't get enough presents and couldn't care less about the present he opened as long as there were more wrapped ones as he just wanted to open more and more .. ah ya, just a bit selfish isn't he! But once they were all gone he settle down into enjoying each of his new gifts.
For years the girls believe in Santa and so they want Matthew to believe in Santa also and were very careful not to give away any indication that Santa is actually Mom and Dad. We'll see how long they're able to keep it up :)
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