Even though Christmas day is over, the partying is still going on and going strong! And of course, when there is a party, that means more food and more presents; all of which we all look forward too! This year was so fun, our kids love nothing more than to hang out and be with their cousins. I wonder sometimes if our kids realize how lucky they are to have such close relationships to their cousins and how fun these get togethers are to spend time with each of them. I love all their cute smiles, funny personalities, and unique differences that make our Okerlund family complete.
This year's party started out with Grandpa and Grandma's delicious Christmas dinner or should I say feast? We ate everything from veggies, chips, dips, crackers, salads, rolls, ham, beans, potatoes, more salads, lots and lots of pies, etc. The food was never ending and we ate till we could eat no more.
When dinner was done, the kids made us quickly clean up dinner and take down the tables so they could open presents. When you get this many people in one house with gifts spread everywhere, you would almost think Santa's sleigh got dumped here of his way back to the North Pole. And not only are there a lot of gifts to sort out for so many people, but the anticipation of it all is very overwhelming. There is usually so much excitement that it hard to contain the kids!
As usual, everyone was spoiled again. We let the kids exchange their gifts with the cousin that they drew. This year Allyson had Jaden, Lottie gave to Marshall, Trey had Allyssa, and McKenna had Kambree. They had as much fun giving this year as they did receiving. Once the cousin gifts were done, we let the kids open the gift from Grandma and Grandpa. Ally and Lottie were excited to get their own set of the Frozen - Elsa and Anna Barbie's, and stuff for their AG dolls. McKenna got a cute zebra mirror for her room as well as a nice jackets and cute headband. Trey was excited over his Disney Wii game set of the Toy Story to go with his new Infinity, as well as a nice shirt.
After wrapping all the presents, we started the long awaited Bingo game. This is our Second Annual Okerlund Bingo, and it couldn't have been more memorable.
Every family was in charge of bringing around six gifts in a $10 price range to add to the pot. Plus on top of that, Grandpa and Grandma go above and beyond to add to the gifts. Since Tyler and Ashley initiated this game last year, they have been given the responsibility to be the BINGO caller.
Once everyone has their own BINGO card, we started pretty quiet as all the attention was to each letter and number called out. It wasn't long after starting, that someone started calling out BINGO and instead of getting new cards, we kept them and kept adding markings to our cards. So at one time, there could be several winners. Grandpa and Lottie's card was pretty lucky this year because they walked away with quite a few BINGOs.
The best was when Mary and Tammy both called out BINGO together. Tammy went right for the pile of gifts and actually picked up one of my SNOW signs. It was hilarious because Mary played smart in knowing that she could steal Tammy's item if she wanted and so once Mary saw it, she went right for it. Look at those two, cracks me up!
Yes, Mary was able to defend herself after walked away with the sign. Tammy, however, went back to the pile and was able to pick up one of my North Pole's signs. In the game we set rules that the prize could have three owners, so each of these signs could have had the opportunity to be taken again, but who would want to mess with these two?
I had to laugh because Jeremy and Grandma O both drew lame cards. We didn't end up switching out at all during the game for new cards, we just kept marking the same old one. You would have thought that would have helped them out by hanging on to them and eventually they would get one, but when the gifts were all about divided out or dead from being stolen, those two finally drew BINGO. Grandma ended up with a nice bathroom rug, but I don't think Jeremy got a thing!
Everyone walked away with some pretty nice gifts. Once again, our little family made a haul off of BINGO. It has definitely been something the kids want to continue doing each year at Christmas time. I am so grateful for this tradition, isn't that how memories are made?
We were fortunate enough to have everyone join us this year, except for Kambree. Poor thing wasn't feeling good and she was heartbroken that she had to miss this party and we did miss her not being here with us. We all felt quite lucky to have Oakley be here with Brynn, this year. Since they are getting married next week, it was fun hang out with him and have a chance to get to know him. Hopefully the chaos won't scare him off!
Once again, another party has come and gone. My kids always hate when the last party is done because then they say Christmas is really over. I do have to admit that I hate it too because I love all the time we get to spend with family this time of year. So you have to look at it like this, that even though it is all over, wasn't it fun to go out with a bang. What a fun memorable party to end the Christmas season with! Thanks so Grandpa and Grandma for hosting such a wonderful party, makes me excited for next year! Happy Holidays!
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