Buying presents is a really great method of getting me to think about what makes my relatives special. In my family, we don't tell each other what to get; each of us to figure it out on our own. So for my brother 6 of 12 the music nut, I wandered around in stores for about an hour before I was finally struck by a tee-shirt about hamsters. He doesn't have a hamster, doesn't particularly care for them, but the t-shirt was slightly self-depricating and strange, and that fits 7 of 12's personality. For 1 of 12's young children I got the book The Day my Butt went Psycho. I can remember that when they were toddlers, 1 of 12 used to like to read "Everybody Farts" to them. (Apparently no longer available in print, but a flash animation entitled Everybody Farts is.) Since 1 of 12 and his wife recently divorced, I thought this book might make a good bedtime gift. I tried to put the same amount of thought into everything I got. I ended up returning a couple of presents for 11 of 12 after I decided they weren't quite right. I kept a "soap and body lotion kit" which I had lost the receipt for because it just seemed too thoughtless.

All of my gifts went over pretty well, or at least they seemed to. Part of the Christmas ritual is pretending you like gifts that you don't. I appreciate that as much as anything else, because it shows how much people care about each other's feelings.

We had seventeen people for the Christmas party including my mother, eight of my siblings and myself, and assorted spouses and children. My sister 2 of 12 was our gracious host and cooked dinner, 6 of 12 handed out gifts wearing a Santa beard, and 12 of 12 provided music. 11 of 12 organized the Christmas play, which involved music, dancing, and a pretend fight.

I don't have a lot in common with my siblings in their current lives, but it is nice to get together and recall growing up. All of those childhood memories that spend most of the year tucked away in a corner of my mind that get pulled out when the lot of us reunite, sort of like of Christmas lights sitting in the attic.

Tomorrow and Tuesday I go into work, and then I have the rest of the week off. My girlfriend and I will probably spend a fair amount of time together. We have a few dinners planned and maybe a road trip.