The Leaning Tower of ....Christmas???

We made it through another Christmas without Rye.  It felt slightly easier for the most part and I spent less of the day this year crying in secret or trying to get control of the crying, although I did at one point ask "who are we missing - we are missing someone- we can't start" and then realized that he would not be coming this year either.  It still often feels as though he will just walk through the door - a little late maybe- and join the family again. We march.

A couple of years ago our family started drawing names for Christmas - our group was getting big and it was financially and time unreasonable to get a quality gift for each member and then it took hours - literally- to open them.  On Christmas each year after we open gifts, we draw again for the next year.  We have a whole year to put together a gift for the person we drew, and find a little "stocking stuffer" gift for each of the others.  We have a dollar amount limit so that no one is supposed to be getting more than anyone else - keeps it pretty even!  Unless you are the recipient of the Tower of Christmas! Then it is an over the top gift event!

This year was my year to get the Tower - from my sister.

You can see to my right in the above photo - the Tower.  It is a set of various sized "nesting boxes".  The tradition started last year when my niece was gifted the Tower, full of all kinds of things 13 year olds might like for Christmas.  I got really excited about it being my turn for the Tower and forgot to take a picture of it before I started opening!  The above is a set of finger-less gloves with Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" on them - so fitting!

A Christmas Broom!  Made by hand by sister and so so so cool!  It is perfect and a joy to have such a decoration at my house!  The picture does not do it justice!  It was on the front of the Tower - thus my angst about not getting a picture before I started opening.

We take turns opening gifts, so it does take a bit of time to get through and I am right in the middle!  We start with Mom and Dad because they always have more than everyone else, and then we go youngest to oldest and end with Mom and Dad.

I had already played a bit with the broom once I knew it was for me - so it wasn't actually attached to the package anymore by the time everyone else had opened!

Box 4 of the Tower - Crystal ball - aka Calcite Sphere.  Said to have uplifting energy attributes and healing properties among other things!

Ree Drummonds aka Pioneer Woman newest cookbook!  Not ever a bad bite from one of these recipes!  This was box 6.

 We are going backwards in succession a bit - Box 1 had this sparkly Chamomile Tea - Twilight Tea - it has actual sparkles in it!  In another of the boxes was a beautiful night shirt with "sweet dreams" all around the hem of it, and some Eucalyptus/Mint bath salts- so comfortable and wonderful!

Socks - which I badly needed!  It was one of the only things on my Christmas list!  I actually threw away the ones I was wearing at Christmas day - turns out they had holes in both of them! You can see that some of them (Center above) have some relevant sayings on them, and the ones on the left match the new shoes that were in box 10 of the Tower!  My magic shoes from InnerArt that I told you about in an earlier blog- the old ones were worn out and I needed new!

These are called Mandala pattern.  They have many original art designs at InnerArt.

 Opening Box 5 of the Tower, while wearing the gloves and a pair of the socks that say "Magic is Real"!  Awesome!

A beautiful leather journal and a marvelous pen to write in it with!  Incredible work in the leather and for any of you who are bent like me - smells and feels wonderful - like magic itself is infused within.

Box 2 had these beautiful Dragonfly note cards and the "You are Magic" cards.  40 quote cards to "help you follow your gut, tap your intuition, and manifest your dreams"!  The Universe on Speed Dial! There is also a little stand in the box to hold up the card of the day.  I have gone through and picked out all my favorites - but there really is not a bad one in the bunch!  They will help me to keep marching as we go through.  

So now I have the Tower of Christmas boxes, so whomever I get next year (we forgot to draw this year so we will draw on New Years) will get the Tower of Christmas next year!  I hope I can do as good a job on it as sister did this year for me!  Magic is Real!

I hope that your Christmas/Yule was wonderful and that you were able to find some joy.

Blessed be in 2020.