Christmas Strategery

My love language is gifts but this year I was on fire. I wasn't just about the gift itself this year, but the presentation. Two in particular.

Christmas Scavenger Hunt at NorthPark Mall

This year my Granny and Grandad moved into the "resort" (assisted living, but it's so awesome I would move there if I could). So unbeknownst to us, last year was our last Martin family Christmas at the house. Even though we were unable to do a few of our traditions, everyone came to Christmas at the resort so all the love and warm fuzzy feelings were still there, the chairs just weren't as comfy. One of the traditions we had to let go was the annual treasure hunt at the house. It made me sad that no one would be running around like a chicken with their head cut off so I made up clues for Uncle Karl to find his present at NorthPark. THE NorthPark where you can find people casually dropping thousands of dollars between Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's, Neiman Marcus, and Gucci just to name a few. I was pretty proud of some of the clues that had him running around the mall...Excuse the clues, they have been cheesy for years so I had to keep with tradition.

HO HO HO! Hope you're smart! Santa got lost and took your present to Northpark.
Rudolph felt bad and left you some clues, you'll find them at the mall waiting for you.

Close you're eyes and picture this, you're a 10-year old girl with no fashion sense.
Walking by this store can give you a headache, so hurry and find your clue, you have no time to waste!

Karl at Justice
Now seek out your most fashionable family member, usually decked out in sequins and fur. While she's smart she doesn't possess this degree, just a refined sense of style inherited from the family tree.

We didn't get a picture of Karl and me in front of Anthropologie, I got lost inside....here he is at another stop.
We had lots of fun that night and I'm not sure how I'm going to top it next year...

Brian HATES Puzzles

He got a big present this year, I found a groupon for an aerobatic plane ride but his parents, grandparents, and sister combined to give it to him. I just ordered the puzzle with a picture of the specific plane. I went easy on him with only 48 pieces but since it was a group present, he got half the pieces one night and the other half the next day. He was a good sport.

Chase was a big helper. I mean that sarcastically. When the puzzle came in I put it together to make sure all the pieces were there, but it was missing four pieces! Ok maybe Chase stole the pieces and left them all over the house for me to find. One under the table, one in the trash can, and two in his toy box. He was a lot nicer to Brian.

He'll have fun cheating death doing loops and spins while I'm holding my breath on the ground.