Numb3rs

I've talked about it several times on the show, but I feel the need to post this very useful information on the web, so that people all across the world can utilize this method of labeling their gifts on Christmas day, for generations to come. My little way of making the world a better place.

Or, something like that.

Truth is, my family has been doing gifts this way for a very long time. It's fun, easy, and mysterious. Like Angelina Jolie in the good 'ol days.

Here's how it works...instead of simply placing name tags on gifts, you place a number. No names, just numbers. This way, nobody has any idea which gifts go to which person. Well, the person in charge of the list knows, but that's it.

So, instead of looking under the tree and within minutes knowing how many, or how few gifts you have, you end up having no idea. Thus, the mystery. You see a big box in the corner of the room and hope its yours, but you won't know until the moment that gift is about to be opened.

My dad usually keeps the master list, and in the years since I've moved out of the house, I've kept the list for the gifts we've purchased.

The trick is trying to have all of the gifts blend in -- both in appearance, and numbers chosen -- so that it becomes difficult to know at first glance which gifts are coming from which person.

There ends up being dozens and dozens of gifts uner the tree, all numbered 1 thru whatever, and one of us starts by selecting a gift. The number is called out, my dad says who it belongs to, and that person opens their gift.

Then they select the next gift, and it goes on from there. One gift at a time. As a fan of opening gifts, I never want to see that last gift opened. Anything that drags it out is fine with me.

As a kid, you probably did this too, you'd rip through however many gifts you had in about ten minutes, and then it was all over. Kind of a letdown. Take your time. It's like eating a big steak, you want to take your time with it, not shove it all down your throat in two minutes. Savor it.

That's how this works. My folks and my brother come over around 10:00am, we put out the gifts, then we eat a nice breakfast, then we settle down for gift opening around noon. One by one the gifts are opened, and it usually wraps up around dinner time.

As we get down to the last few gifts, again nobody knows if they've opened up all of their gifts or not, it starts to get tense, wondering who gets what of the remaining presents.

Maybe this isn't for you. But, maybe you're intrigued and are willing to try it for a year. Hopefully this was a good explanation.

If not, do you have my number?