The kids stayed in bed until almost 6 am, just like we asked. I got up not too much later, but Papa. Well, Papa wouldn’t get up until quarter to 8! Sheer torture for those kids, I tell you. They were fine until 7, since that is when he had said he would get up. but then he didn’t, and they started to get antsier and antsier. Can’t open presents until everyone is awake, you know. Finally, finally he shuffled downstairs and we could start.
Santa came! And look at all the loot he left in their stockings!
There was a little less under the tree than in years’ past. We did away with the gift exchange on both sides of the extended family this year, but somehow no one seemed to mind, or barely even notice.
(These ended up being THE hit of the day. Alexandra got them in her stocking, and the kids created words with them all day long. In fact, it’s now 2 weeks later, and it seems no one can walk past the fridge without spelling out some crazy phrase. Who knew?)
And the gift opening still took until 10:30. But I like that we take our time, and let only person open a present at a time. That way it truly gets admired, and the recipient has a chance to express his gratitude fully. 
But we did end up having to take two potty breaks in between. 🙂
One of the big presents, though, was that it started snowing Christmas Eve afternoon and didn’t stop until the day after Christmas.
While I was in Madrid, I picked myself up a little something. But I was very good, and saved it to wrap and put under the tree. So the kids were very excited to see what Papa had gotten me. heehee
It was cranberry scented bath gel and shimmery lotion. My favorite.
There were always lots of “helpers” waiting in the wings, if the tape and wrappings seemed too difficult for anyone to conquer alone.
We brought these treats back for the kids; mince pies and real Turkish delight! (It isn’t as good as Edward thinks it is. Definitely not worth betraying your family for.)
The rest of the afternoon was spent reading our new books, 
setting up the marble track, and Skypeing with family. We also had a delicious ham lunch, and then snacked on leftovers for the rest of the day. As a special treat, in the evening Aunt Ursula, Nabil, and Uncle Chris came to visit. Urs and Chris are Oma’s brother and sister. She and Nabil live in Luzern, and Chris drove down from Linz, Austria to spend Christmas with them. They drove through a horrible storm just to come see us. She also baked a totally delicious cake that I am proud to say we ate for dinner.
We Skyped with Oma while they were here, and Oma showed us her hilarious old Marshmallow coat, and her new chic car coat Opa got her to replace it. For about a week afterwards, whenever the kids wanted a laugh one of them would say, Remember Oma’s coat? That was all it took to send them off into gales of laughter. It was pretty ridiculous, although very warm, I am sure. 🙂