secret santa

We started a new tradition in our home last year (our kids' school was shut down for a month over the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays due to a "sick" building...we needed something to do to keep us from going crazy!). We exchange names and do secret santas within our family. We decided to do it every weekend in December, getting a new name each weekend (we don't do it during the week as it is much too distracting with homework and such). I can't begin to tell you how much our kids LOVE this! And how GREAT they get along in the midst of it! We have talked as a family about how when we are focused on giving to others, instead of our own selfish desires, it spills over to every area of our lives and we feel better, too! It is so much fun to see what the kids come up with to give to each other, and how sacrificial they can be. Here is a note that Nate left on Micah's bed yesterday (click on the picture to enlarge it)... Can I just say how proud I am of my kids and how much I adore them???