Our Christmas family traditions begin the night before. On Christmas Eve, we open our stockings from Santa - mostly candy/treats and a few small toys. Then, we all go to bed.
Ha! The kids go to bed, the elves get to work! We still have wrapping to do - so we're going to be up for a while tonight. But it's worth it to see the joy on our kids' faces when they wake up to see a pile of Christmas gifts to open! The anticipation and suspense we've built up have finally started to click for our two-and-a-half-year-old. He knows when he has "two more sleeps" or "one more sleeps" until "Cwismas pwesents!" When Shep opens Christmas presents, he tears into them with full vigor - he immediately plays with them and repeats, "Oh wow!" sometimes, for emphasis. It's so gratifying, watching someone you love appreciate the gift you've given them. My daughter is at the perfect age to tear into the wrapping paper with gusto. Of course, she's also young enough to be more interested in the paper than the gift itself!
I film everyone opening their presents for posterity, which means I'll never miss the perfect ten seconds of ecstatic freak-out when my kid realizes they got the coolest new car EVER! In honor of kids - painfully honest kids - I want to highlight the best kid Christmas gift reactions ever.
Girl Gets Half-Eaten Sandwich For Christmas
Next to her big brother, a little girl opened her Christmas present. Her immediate reaction was a dramatic eye roll at her mom, who filmed the whole thing. Then the girl has a bit of a fit about how unfair it is that her brother got cool nail clippers and she got something that "isn't even a gift". I mean, I guess I understand. Who wants to get half-eaten food for Christmas? Skip to 3:40 to see the little girl side-eye her own mother!
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Brothers Get A Puppy For Christmas
Two young boys peer into the end of a gift box through a slit in the wrapping paper. The younger brother sees something move and says, "It looks like..." and the big brother interrupts him to blurt out, "IS IT A PUPPY?" When they finally open the box, a picture-perfect golden puppy pops up out of the box, happy as can be! The boys squeal with delight when they realize this puppy will join their family. Ah, sweet childhood glee! Skip to 2:22 to find the puppy duo.
She FINALLY Got That iPhone
It's almost 2019 and everyone and their dog has a cell phone. It's now just a regular expectation that you can be reached at any time, anywhere. So I can understand; it must be torture to be the only girl in the eighth grade with no cell phone. This girl is tearing open gifts like a woodchipper, with little reaction to the (super cute) sweaters her grandma presumably bought for her. Eventually, she pulls a sweater out of a box - and finds a smaller white box tucked in the bottom. She immediately cries out, "Oh My God!" and bursts into heaving sobs. I'm sure she obliged her mom for the annual family Christmas photo after opening that one! Has anyone been happier to open a present? Doubtful. Skip to 2:10 to see this teenage drama.
Cute Toddler Opens Tiny Present With Big Surprise Gift
This four-year-old has two older siblings who seem to get pretty lucky for Christmas. They opened a few awesome gifts - huge boxes with really cool presents inside! It's his turn, so the little guy tears open the paper, flops the box open, digs through the tissue paper. Eventually, he dumps the contents of the box out, grabs them and looks puzzled for a moment. His mom asks what he got for Christmas and he happily shouts, "CUTIES!" He grabs all four oranges in his hands, clutches them to his chest, and beams up at his mom. CAN IT GET ANY SWEETER? No, not really. Skip to :16 to see the cutest cutie get cuties.
I loved seeing my own kids open their presents this morning! As I expected, my daughter went straight for all the wrapping paper. She seems to prefer tissue paper, so she's refining her tastes. My toddler got so excited to see his wooden town playset! We're grateful to have gifts to share with them and to see their faces light up in the glow of Christmas magic.
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Merry Christmas to you and yours, readers! Share your family's Christmas morning gift reactions with me on Twitter @pi3sugarpi3 with #ChristmasGiftReactions.