Christmas presents with no labels!

I was wrapping a few Christmas presents this weekend and didn't have any gift tags or a pen nearby. This made me think about how my mom NEVER labeled presents. It was always "let me see it for a minute" before handing them out. Sometimes someone would start to open a gift and mom would say, oops, that isn't for you! and then hand a half opened present to the person it was intended for.

So this year I will see if I can remember what things are for whom! I only have one kind of wrapping paper so far, so we'll see how it goes. :)

Christmas, 2005- Dad with Boris.

Another thing about Christmas presents, and presents in general. I love keeping the wrapping paper on the floor (like in the above picture.) I like the mess that it makes! It always makes me sad when I'm at a party or shower and the wrapping paper goes straight to a garbage bag. That is no fun! I guess if I'm not the one cleaning up it makes sense- but even if it was my job to clean up- I'd leave the ribbons and the wrappers out for a while.

This makes me think of how my mom used the wrapping paper from gifts one year to decorate with at the dining room table. We had a table that had a piece of glass over the wood. Mom took the pretty paper and made a collage underneath the glass. She'd make sure to put who things were to and from (for those of us who DID label gifts!). It was a nice way to remember each other and keep the season alive for a while. :)