This Christmas was so enjoyable.
We finally managed to get the tree decorated on Friday. Yes, two days before Christmas. Afterward, we placed the presents under the tree.
Then we discovered that our dog Haley remembers what Christmas is all about. She got all kinds of excited about the presents under the tree. She even began whining for the fun to begin.
Little did we know the entertainment Haley would provide through out the weekend.
On Saturday, Haley had had enough. She helped herself to one of the presents. Apparently, she learned to read somewhere, as the chosen gift was one of her presents. After a couple tries of taking it & placing it under the tree, we had to put it completely out of reach.
By Sunday morning, Haley’s excitment had grown. She started nosing through the presents. She came across a gift bag that looked good. Then stuck her nose inside. Amazingly, this was one of her presents.
She was the first to be given permission to pick a present. It was the gift bag. It contained a sheep’s wool toy. She had a hole in it within 5 minutes.
After opening our Pomeranian Griffon’s gift–an appropriate sized dog bed–Haley claimed it as hers. Griffon wanted nothing to do with it. Why would he when he had a lap? So, Haley stretched herself across it.
Next up was the present she was so adamantly wanting on Saturday. She tore the wrappings off that one herself…Thank you very much! This was a soft racoon that had no stuffing. But, it did have squeakers in the head and tail. Challenge accepted!
Haley was even excited about the appearance of the stockings in the festivities. My silly girl!
All in all, Hales destroyed 4 toys within the amount of time it took for the family to open all the presents. Maybe 30 minutes.
Haley’s antics did not end there. After we were done openning our presents, Haley worried her self silly over the remaining gifts under the tree. Whining and looking for all the world as if she were thinking ‘But there’s more. Aren’t we going to see what’s inside those boxes, too?’
As for the two legged family members, I’d say they enjoyed the Christmas goodies they received as well.
Jay was given a band jacket, amongst a few other small things. But, the best gift came as a complete surprise to him. He has been asking for a laptop computer for a couple of years. While he hadn’t asked this year, circumstances were such that we were able to surprise him. He was totally surprised & absolutely thrilled. He couldn’t get enough of his new laptop, today.
My favorite moment came when I was able to surprise Tim with a weed whacker. He had been wanting one for some time, but other things always took precedence. With the help of Dad, I was able to pick out a weed whacker earlier this month. Dad had been hiding the surprise at his house all this time.
We had it all planned out. After all the presents were openned, Jay was to ask Pap for some pie, as an excuse to get Dad into the kitchen. They were then to retrieve the weed whacker from it’s hiding place. Mom was to keep Tim’s attention. And, I was to stealthily get the camera ready.
What really happened was Tim needed to go to our house for some reason. Dad suggested to surprise him with the present when Tim returned. Great suggestion, Dad!
Tim came into the house, through the kitchen and around the corner to the living room. Jay was standing there holding the weed whacker, while we all said ‘Merry Christmas.’
Surprising the two of them was such a thrill for me. Particularly Tim, as he is so hard to surprise. He always finds out his gift some way. Not this year! 
Later today, we have discovered Haley curled up in Griffon’s dog bed. I don’t know how she managed, but she had everything in but a leg. That is one photo op that we unfortunately missed.
Plus, Griffon has finally warmed up to his new bed. He is sleeping in it right now.
It’s been a lovely Christmas day surrounded by family, love and laughter. Couldn’t have been better!
