In 1952 or ’53, when we lived in Cincinnati, Mom [Eloise] had gotten tired of us boys – in past Christmases – constantly picking up, shaking and “weighing” each present under the tree that was addressed to us. We’d do this for what I guess seemed to her like hours [or, maybe it really was..].
So, for that Christmas, she said that the presents for us boys from Mom and Dad would be randomly numbered [except we didn’t know that term], starting with 1 and ending with the total # of gifts for all 3 combined. And on Christmas morning, as we opened the presents one at a time, she would tell us three – in order – what our next present number was.
Sounds like a plan – except that she misplaced the list before Christmas morning. The only thing she could do then, was to look at each gift and try to remember from its shape and from the wrapping paper [but the paper was the same for a lot of them], who the gift was for. Seems to me she missed it on most of them – so after we opened each gift, before we could ooh and ahh over it, she would tell us who the present was really supposed to be for! [The disappointment level was pretty high on a lot of them, when we found out it wasn’t for us after all!]
That was for sure the ONLY Christmas where we had numbered presents.
Another memory that stands out for me was when I was 6 or 7 years old, in Princeton. They let me SLEEP IN, in my bunk bed [Harry had the lower bunk], on Christmas morning, after everybody was up and opening presents. I still have no idea why they did that – but I was a bit put out [OK, more than a bit…].
So, for that Christmas, she said that the presents for us boys from Mom and Dad would be randomly numbered [except we didn’t know that term], starting with 1 and ending with the total # of gifts for all 3 combined. And on Christmas morning, as we opened the presents one at a time, she would tell us three – in order – what our next present number was.
Sounds like a plan – except that she misplaced the list before Christmas morning. The only thing she could do then, was to look at each gift and try to remember from its shape and from the wrapping paper [but the paper was the same for a lot of them], who the gift was for. Seems to me she missed it on most of them – so after we opened each gift, before we could ooh and ahh over it, she would tell us who the present was really supposed to be for! [The disappointment level was pretty high on a lot of them, when we found out it wasn’t for us after all!]
That was for sure the ONLY Christmas where we had numbered presents.
Another memory that stands out for me was when I was 6 or 7 years old, in Princeton. They let me SLEEP IN, in my bunk bed [Harry had the lower bunk], on Christmas morning, after everybody was up and opening presents. I still have no idea why they did that – but I was a bit put out [OK, more than a bit…].
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