Day 20

Your Favorite Christmas Tradition

I have been looking forward to this post since day 1! Every Christmas Eve growing up was spent at my Grandma and Grandpa Paulson's house, my mom's parents. We would all look forward to...THE BALL OF FUN! It sounds so silly, and when I think about it, it really kind of is, but the memories associated with are so treasured!

The Ball of Fun, is a very very long strip of butcher paper, rolled up into a ball, with gifts for everyone wrapped up inside. The gifts aren't anything too crazy, in fact they are so simple, and I don't know why we get so excited about them. They usually are something along the lines of, a travel pack of tisues, a knitted pot holder, a jar of bubbles, a whoopie-cushion, a bottle of lotion, a pack of gum, car air fresheners, etc. SUPER random stuff!

My grandparents are always in charge of putting it together, and they write our name on the outside of the gift, and as my Grandpa unrolls the ball, he tosses the gift to whoever the lucky person is! You unwrap it, show it to everyone, and then put in a grocery sack to take home. My whole family sits all around in a big circle and the little kids beg Grandpa to unroll it faster! It's so much fun!

We have had quite the memories of ball of fun...the two funniest years were when my Grandparents were on a mission, so the aunts and uncles took turns doing it each year. When my Uncle Chris was in charge his year, he had the first probably 15-20 gifts unrolled for his wife, all of us kids did NOT think it was very funny, if I remember right, I think my brother Clark even started to cry because he wasn't getting any ball of fun gifts!

Another funny year, was when my Aunt Jill was in charge, let's just say she didn't roll it up into a ball very well...so we refer to that year as the 'tampon of fun' year. HAHA! The gigantic tube of gifts wrapped in white butcher paper seriously looked just like a huge tampon!

I wish I had pictures from when I was younger, but the only one I have here with me is Christmas Eve 2009 at my parent's house. You can see the big ball my Grandpa is unrolling, and in the other picture below shows everyone in the big circle.

It's such a fun/funny tradition, and I don't know who or how it was ever made, but I love it and I am definitely planning on continuing this tradition for many many years with my family!