My Favorite Christmas Tradition began with Daddy

When I got married, my husband and I assumed the usual roles; I cook, he mows, I take over all shopping responsibilities including Christmas for family and friends, he does garbage detail.  You get the idea.  When I was a child my mom & Santa did all the shopping for  us.  I think the closest my Dad ever got to a shopping mall in his life was if they needed their AC system fixed and he would climb up on the roof and take care of it.  So this is how I expected it to be with Cam and I.   Imagine my surprise on Christmas morning ,1993, when under the tree was a gift to Madison from his Daddy.  My 3 week old son who only weighed 4 1/2 pounds on Christmas day (he was 5 weeks premature) received a football from his Daddy.   I cannot tell you one thing I got Madison but I remember what Daddy bought.  I just thought it was so precious.  He wanted to get his boy something.  This tradition has continued every year since.  One thing about the gifts is that they are never anything that Madison would have asked for.  Mommy and Santa take care of those presents.   They have never been super heros, matchbox cars or video games.  They are never expensive, big ticket items.  They usually always are something that Daddy wants to share with his son or something they have in common.  In years past there have been Miami Hurricanes T-shirts (their favorite college team next to UK), Yankees hats,  UK tickets, Led Zeppelin and Aaero Smith Greatest Hits CD's (this was Madison's classic rock phase). Just small things that mean a lot to the two of them.  But there is more.  It's the presentation that I love the most.  I take lots of pains with each gift.  Wrapping it so that it looks beautiful under the tree, perfect bow, matching gift tag.  Not Daddy's. You can spot it under the tree from across the room.  The gift comes wrapped in whatever container it comes in.  I've seen T-shirts wadded into a ball with wrapping paper rolled around it and 1/2 of the tape dispenser holding it together.  There is never a bow and the best part is he never uses a gift tag.  He writes their name on top with a Sharpie.   Why do I love this so much?  It's just something I look forward to every year.  It's just so Cam.  This tradition has now come to include Sophie.  Did her Daddy get her a beautiful doll her first Christmas home, a dress maybe?  No, last year she got a yukalaylee from Daddy.  He just thought she would look cute with one.  And he was right. 

Sophie her first Christmas home with her yukalaylee.

Where in the world did he find a Silver Sharpie?

This is the first present that Daddy has put under the tree this year.  It is to Sophie.  She loves it and picks it up every day and shakes it.  I am looking so forward to Christmas morning to see what Daddy has wrapped up this year.  I'm sure he won't disappoint.  He has already made my Christmas just with the wrapping job.