The Gift Conundrum

We use Amazon… liberally.  I use the subscribe and save, my oldest daughter uses the music stations to teach dance, three of us read using the Kindle app, and we take advantage of the rapid shipping. My husband and I used to do Christmas shopping on Amazon and would get a kid to open the package if we were expecting things from one another.  Suddenly the oldest two grew up and got jobs and money and started using Amazon, too!! It was not a problem until Christmas came around.

To fix the problem, we invented a tradition.  We simply wrapped EVERY Amazon box that arrived after December 1.  Yep, I do use the subscription service for toiletries and household items.  That means under our tree were paper towels, dishwasher detergent, and feminine hygiene products.  There were no names on these gifts, so we took turns opening gifts randomly on Christmas morning.  When a gift was unwrapped, the giver would claim and assign it to the intended recipient.  When a big brother opened his little sister’s first menstrual cup, he had another opportunity to become the best-husband-in-the-making.  We’ve done it for a few years, and it made for a morning of fun and giggles. We even had a few gift-wrapping parties with invited friends to add to the Christmas festivities.

Last year, my husband said he didn’t want to do it anymore.  He missed watching people open his gifts.  So we aren’t doing it.  We have no plan in place for the boxes that are coming to the house, and let me tell you, folks, it's pandemonium over here.  I’ve already opened the gift to me from my darling husband.  And there is a box sitting in the entryway right now with something from me to him, from him to the littles, and I think from him to me.  What are we gonna do now?