I remember waking up in the mornings on Christmas Day and going over to the tree to see the addition of gifts that were placed by Santa. I would wake up Brian and show him all of the new gifts. It is time to wake the parents!!! So, Brian and I would head down the hallway and whisper who we will wake up as we got to the door. After we wake our parents we would head back to the living room and wait anxiously to open gifts, which couldn't happen until they had their cup of coffee =). So, as we got older, we also got smarter by brewing the coffee before we woke them up at 6am =). 
Well after telling that story to Abby, she made our coffee this morning then came to wake us up to let us know the coffee was ready for us and that Santa left gifts and Rose (family Elf on the Shelf) ate cookies and left a note for next year. Oh how Santa loves Oma's cookies!!!

I remember the artistry Dad had when it came to decorating from perfecting the lights on the house to the painting of poinsettias, Noel and the Star of Bethlehem on the windows. I can still visualize how he painted everything as if it were yesterday. I remember the luminaries and him using Styrofoam cups over the large bulbs that hung from the house. I remember the endless strands of lights to find the 1 light that was burnt out.
Christmas was a joyful time of year and my dad loved to sit back and see the smiles on our faces when opening presents. I remember handing out gifts and becoming confused on the ones that said "To Hugs ; From Snugs" in which I would always have to refer to my dad and he would smile and point over to mom. I was fortunate to have had those moments and it is something I am able to pass on to my family.