Patti, how fun that you bumped into your new friend!
Tamara, I hope you enjoy your homemade ice skating rink! LOLOL! Too bad they closed it.
When I was growing up we had quite a few aunts and uncles who lived near us. Plus my Grandmother whose birthday was the 26th. So we'd get together at Thanksgiving and we'd draw names. There were so many of us this made it affordable for everyone. Adults swapped with adults and kids swapped with kids. And each family would contribute something towards Grandmom's birthday gift. Then we'd meet again on Christmas Eve. After dinner we'd all gather in the largest room and we'd all open the gifts from the ones that had drawn our names. When we were finished someone would present Grandmom with her birthday present. It was always so much fun to have such a big family gathering.
But when I was in 7th grade my Grandfather died. He'd been in a nursing home for many years and that's why he wasn't at the parties. Unfortunately the day of the funeral the two oldest sisters got into a physical fight and it was really bad. Nothing was ever the same again. So when I had my daughter I decided to continue the tradition of opening one gift on Christmas Eve. I continued that tradition until she grew up and moved out. Whenever I'm around the kids or grandkids on Christmas Eve I always make sure I have one gift for them to open.