a very yippie Christmas

for those of you who are visual learners, here is a snap to show you what my gift theme for Christmas was all about. my theme was "yippie".  say whaaaat?  go here for what on earth that is all about.

soooo themes.  here's the deal.  my family doesn't do gift giving all willy-nilly.  no, sir.  this is a full-blown elfingpalooza.  each year, right around the end of october, my family schedules planning sessions for each person where we select a secret theme. from there, we choose a budget and pool our money, and then we all go on shopping excursions to purchase gifts to fit our chosen themes. once the gifts are purchased, we plan "elf evenings" and all gather to watch Christmas movies, sip festive drinks, and wrap gifts {this year, the wrappee took elinor on a walk while the rest of the wrappers did their thing. holiday pass-the-baby}.  each person has their very own wrapping paper courtesy of crate & barrel so we can identify each person's packages under the tree.  plus, it looks super chic.  almost a decorative statement.  and then, the gifts are tucked away until the big day.

on Christmas morning, we take turns opening our gifts and trying to guess our theme.  some are more obvious than others.  and it is always a hoot to watch as each person tries to piece it all together.  my mom is especially enjoyable.  this year, our themes were as follows:

dad | chill

mom | the bag lady

my sister | happy go lucky

my bro-in-law | urban cowboy

my hubby | hipster

me | yippee

you can imagine the gifts.  as an example, my mom received everything in bags: garment bag + makeup bag + goodie bag + tea bag, etc.  and i, i received a mix of all things hippie and yuppie.  perfect.  is my family great, or what?