Celebrating our Michigan Christmas at Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving, but since we're here with family and we're all together, let's celebrate Christmas too!

After cleaning up the Thanksgiving meal, and relaxing for just a few minutes, we all came together in the living room. 

First off, Ian and Alli went shopping with Amy and Don yesterday. Amy and Don gave the kids a certain amount they could spend, and the first thing they wanted to do was buy presents for everyone back home for Christmas. 

Uncle Ty got some coal (Sour Patch Kids) in his stocking. 

Everyone got some of their favorite candies. 

Junior Mints for Theresa and Sugar Babies for me. Very thoughtful. Nice job. 

Grandpa loves peanut brittle. 

And then it was time for the kids to open some presents. 

Harry Potter plush toys! 

I thought this was a sweet photo and then I saw the ad for the Squatty Potty on the TV. Now it's a funny picture. 

Can't go wrong with a panda beanie. It'll go well with her panda shirt, pants, and slippers. 

Some beanies. Ian's is a Hogwarts one! 

Grammy! You're not eating on Rita's new carpet, are you!?!

(smiles, showing candy)

New jackets! If there's one thing Alli might like more than pandas, it's Pikachu. 

And some Pokemon cards for Ian. 

A cute purple Pikachu shirt. 

And Mario games for the Switch! 

Grandpa is giving envelopes to everyone, but he always has a second offer. You can either take the cash, or get the same value in silver dimes! 

There's a few other random gifts people have for each other. Some Ramen pillows. 

And boxers! 

Getting a picture of all of us together. 

Now, a few people got presents earlier, but it can be challenging to get something for every single person. Instead, a few years ago, we started playing Christmas games where everyone can "win" their Christmas gift (money). Each couple came up with a different game without telling anyone else what it was, so hopefully we'll have a good variety! 

The games are a lot of fun because everyone gets together and laughs and laughs. We remember those times more than we might remember opening a certain present. 

First up, the game from Theresa and I. It's a rubber band shooting game! We would have liked to do the balloon dart game that we've done for years and years, but for some reason Rita didn't want us to do that on her newly refinished wood floors. And it's in the 30s outside and windy, so we'll play this instead. 

Ian is super serious about his aim. 

Where did it go? Why is it behind me? 

That plus the ever present "oww..." "oww..." every time he shot a rubber band gave us lots of laughs. 

Don't judge too much Jared! 

The only person to go 0 for 10 with all his shots. 

T and I with the comforter to protect the floors from the cans. 

Austin doing a classic finger-gun rubber band shot. 

Super intense. 

Nevermind. That's intensity. 

Abby keeping Grandpa honest, making sure he's behind the line. 

In the end, Dae Dae took first place! 

This next challenge is from Austin and Ethan. It's a little like Tic-Tac-Toe, but in order to place your marker, you have to flip your cup off the side of the table and land it. Once you win a space though, it's not yours to keep. Another person can put their cup on top of yours and claim it! That middle spot is highly challenged. 

And with 4 players, it's a very hectic game. Even after the first person wins, everyone keeps playing to figure out 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places. 

Time for the kids and the grandparents to go. 

I don't know why we put Chi against the kids. She seems to have hidden talents that come out when games with money prizes are on the line. 

She took first place for her table of 4 then moved on to the championship round against all the other first place winners. 

And then, she showed everyone how it was done! First cup. Landed. Second cup. Landed. Third cup. Landed and boomed! Three in a row before anyone else could barely get 1! There was so much cheering for her! Great first place win Grammy!

Next, Aubrey and Jared had a game set up for us in the living room. On a slanted table, there's cups taped along the edges. On the other side of the table, behind a roll of wrapping paper, inside a narrow slot, you have to roll a ping-pong ball across and try to land it in a cup. The cups alternate red and green which correspond to paper bags with balloons. Land in a red cup, popped a red balloon and collect your prize! 

At the very top of the table in a precarious spot is the special cup with Christmas bows on it. Land it there and you win the grand prize, but it's also the most risky. Your ball might just roll off the table! 

Three rolls per person. 

Where will it land? It's always random. And will it fall in a cup? It's not always guaranteed! 

This was a fun one! I was the big winner, landing not just 1, but 2 balls in the grand prize cup! 

Our next game is a version of Connect 4, but this time we're bouncing ping-pong balls across the table. 

Teams were chosen randomly and I happened to get lucky and be paired up with Chi. 

But it wasn't her time to win apparently! Alli came in clutch and made the winning shot to take it home for her and Theresa. 

Abby and Carson had us all gather around the dining table for the next challenge. 

24 candles, all in a line. Take a deep breath and see how many you can blow out! 

It seems easy, but try not to laugh while doing it. 

There were some ties, and Abby just couldn't allow that. For the tie-breaker instead of blowing, you had to "sing/blow" the candles out. I don't even know if that's a real thing, but it made for some pretty hilarious attempts. Jared in particular had us all laughing hard. Check out the video below. 

Dae Dae was the big winner, being able to blow out 21 of the 24 candles in one breath! 

The kids didn't want to be left out of all the holiday game planning fun, so they (with the help of Aubrey driving) have a holiday sugar cookie decorating challenge! 

5 minutes of decoration and they'll pick their favorite cookie design! They'll be in another room so as not to be influenced by the contestants. 

Theresa and I were the "hosts" keeping track of all the cookie decorators and getting feedback during the decorations. 

5 minutes seemed to go by really quickly. 

Alli and Ian judging Ethan's Buddy the Elf cookie with everything just thrown on top in a big mess. 

Sorry Ethan, last place for you. It was funny, but not so much decorating. 

Carson thinking his Pikachu inspired cookie should have finished higher. Unfortunately you have to please both judges and not just one. Ian's not as big a fan of Pikachu as his sister. 

The top 4. Who will it be? 

Second and Fourth for the two Christmas Tree themed cookies. Nice job with spoons and toothpicks! 

And Abby took home the top prize with her Arctic Fox and star scene cookie! Congratulations! 

Our final game, by Amy and Donald has us shooting Nerf Darts at plastic cups. Three shots with your dominant hand and 3 more with your non-dominant hand. 

Amy thought it would be fun to put together a view of many of the different shooting styles. 

Must have been all that practice as a kid in her backyard with her BB gun. Theresa was far and away the winner with 14 cups knocked off in just 6 shots! 

Alli was 2nd! 

It was a ton of fun playing Christmas games with everyone this year! So many laughs and lots of memories.