For the last nineteen years my parents have opened their home the first Monday of December to the neighborhood and ward to come celebrate Christmas with them. I think it is a magical event, even though at times it can seem a little chaotic with over 150 people, majority of them kids, in our downsized home. We may go a little overboard with the decorations but the kids love it and it sets the mood for the evening.
The first stop is the candy shop- the dinning room hutch with several glass jars of candy to fill your treat bag. Then comes the reindeer food (Santa’s reindeer are well feed in our neighborhood). The best moment is when the children come around the corner and they see the toy shop (the kitchen table filled with dollar store toys) and their eyes light up and they literally run to the table. Of course it takes time to pick the perfect toy and you might have to trade once or maybe five times till you get the right one. But after the big decisions are made, you can celebrate the victory with lots and lots of food. The last stop of the evening is you pick up a family Christ center gift that we have put together because that real reason to gather friends together to celebrate the birth of our Savior.
So after weeks of planning, cleaning, and decorating the evening comes to an end. We discussed that maybe next year will be our last open house, but then we realized that we would really miss it and it would not be Christmas without it. So here’s to next year and the years to come.
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