I’m going to be in so much trouble next year….

One of my favorite things about Christmas is planning and buying the gifts.  As the kids have gotten older, they often want cash instead of presents and I HATE to just hand cash over!!

As the years have gone on, I have stuffed cash inside rolls of toilet paper, taped 10 dollar bills to cans of chili and even folded it up and rolled it into bubble gum wrappers.

Last year was a great year as Brian’s money was inside a bank and he had to roll a small ball thru a three dimensional maze to unlock the bank, Amber had to unroll yards and yards of crepe paper to find her presents inside and Jenny’s money was stuffed inside balloons that she had to pop.

So, this year Michael decided that I needed a bit of my own medicine!!  He bought me three packs of  Tsueniko Fabrico Markers and wrapped them in an ENTIRE roll of toilet paper!!   I unrolled for about 5 minutes!!!!

Jenny and Amber both received plastic containers filled with candy, finger nail polish and hard cold CASH…….

But the one that stole the show was Brian’s gift.   It started when I found this lunchbox for my Star Wars crazed son….

Then I started thinking about the lunch that he took every day for 4 years of High School.  It consisted of one peanut butter sandwich, a bag of Spicy Nacho Doritos and 2 mini Butterfinger bars. 

I decided to fill his lunch box with an actual lunch, but where would I put the money……in the Doritos bag….no, too easy……in the Butterfinger pack….no, too hard.

That leaves the sandwich……..

……just right!!!

Brian was a trooper and played along with the entire gag!!!!

…..first checking out the lunch…..

….then hopefully checking the Doritos bag…..

…..finally conceding that he was going to have to at least open the sandwich, although at one point he thought that he would have to actually eat it!!….after much laughing and finger licking……

…..the cash was liberated….. 

As we all laughed about the gag gifts, Jenny noted that next year it will be all-out war.  I will have to be VERY watchful when opening my presents next year and will have to up the ante.    Any suggestion?????