Christmas eve is not as fun when your kids are almost grown. They have no big wants. They have money (from birthdays and Christmas.) They’re not into anything they don’t already have.

So what do we give them for Christmas? This year E got a magnetic sculpture made of a strong magnet and bolts. This can be changed around and it reminded me of his bobble head and his art model. He also got a $15 pair of headphones. M, on the other hand, made out like a bandit, with a pair of gloves and the same headphones. I spent $15 more on him than on his brother. (We also paid for one and a half months of their insurance as a present. They made enough Christmas money to pay for the next four months.)

R got a wallet, that he picked out, and a watch, that he picked out. I also dropped by the mall today (There are no limits to my love.) and purchased Blink for him. So he did have one present he wasn’t expecting.

I got three steel birds from R. (They were a request.) E purchased Understanding Poverty for me. That may seem like a small gift, but he called the bookstore to find out if they had it. Then he went and got it. Then he brought it home and wrapped it himself in Christmas wrapping paper. My favorite Christmas wrapping paper. I thought it was sweet. M and I went to the Lifeway bookstore and he purchased my gift and a card with an ornament in it. I picked them out. He didn’t sign the card, just put them both in a gift bag he chose from the closet.

It was a small Christmas, but sweet.

We ended it by watching Stranger than Fiction, a wonderful movie that everyone should see, especially if they have an English teacher in their household. Interesting. Very interesting.