Baker Sock Party

Rob's family has had a Christmas tradition that goes back way before I became a part of the family. Each year, around Thanksgiving, they put every one's name in a hat. The hat is passed as each person draws out a name, keeping it a secret from everyone else. When I first met Rob, this "sock party" was held on Christmas Eve each year and every person brought a Christmas sock filled with fun and unique gifts for the person whose name they drew. Over the years, adding spouses and then grand kids into the mix, the tradition has evolved accordingly. We now meet on a night a couple of weeks before Christmas in order to have plenty of time to spend opening our little gifts and trying to guess who purchased and packaged them especially for us. We've also added a door prize to the mix. I think Jeanie started this tradition by bringing a Christmas-y gift one year and we drew a name out of a hat to see who would take that gift home. In return, that same person would purchase a gift the next year and the process would be repeated. It's been fun seeing what everyone comes up with and I've added a few things to my decorations along the way. We always have a lot of fun at these parties and this year was no exception. It was just what I needed after a long and trying week.

Last year someone in our family won the door prize, so this year we brought a cute, musical motorcycle Santa. Jeanie was the lucky winner!!

No family should be without one of these at Christmas time:

Another tradition that has come about in the last decade or so is a rousing game of Pictionary played on a white board. We all have fun with this!!







Tony is responsible for this fabulous caricature of Gene Simmons!!:

I really don't know what Cody was thinking here. . . he knows I have a camera with me at all times :)

Poor Cody was picked on a lot this evening. . .

I guess you're never too old for hugs and kisses from Grandpa!!

More fun pictures of the evening: