Thursday, December 24, 2009

"He Stuck in His Thumb, & Pulled Out a Plum..."

The Jensen family, every year on Christmas Eve, participates in a gift exchange called 'Little Jack Horner' in which every family member brings a predetermined number of gifts, each one under five dollars. These gifts are all wrapped, they all have a string attached to them, and they are all placed in a big box with the long string sticking out from underneath the lid. The idea is everyone takes turns pulling a gift out of the box by its string, opening it, and showing it to everyone. These items should all be useful, some are funny, some are things people use every day, and some are nostalgic! When all the gifts are pulled out from the box, the trading 'floor' is 'opened' and the bartering begins. This is where the real fun happens. This year, we had out Jack Corner exchange after our Christmas Eve party at Tick-Tock's and we got both grandmas involved, as well as Beau and Tanner. We had such a wonderful time!

Here Cam and Kevin are, attaching the long strings to their gifts

We had two big bins full of presents-- there were more than 100 of various useful items in them!

Mom got a key chain with the AA slogan on it:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Perfect for her! ;)
Kevin got a sword... He looked like a little kid again while he was holding it!

This was the highlight-- slime that looked and felt like water, but stuck together like slime. So awesome!

This loaf of white wonder bread was meant for my dad who is a white-bread-aholic. The irony here is my Grandma Jones pulled it from the bin. She despises white bread and its lack of nutritional value! Needless to say, she was quick to say yes when Daddy traded her for it!

We had a lot of fun with Jack Horner-- Thanks to the Kevin's Grandma Sanders who came up with the fun and festive idea!

Little Jack Horner
Sat in a corner,
Eating his Christmas pie.
He put in his thumb,
And he pulled out a plum,
And said, "What a good boy am I!"

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