The game was always between me and Mammammy.
The rules were as follows:
1. You had to be awake.
2. You had to be the first to shout (making the other person jump is a bonus) "Christmas Eve gift!" at the other. If you were shouting at the same time, the first person to the end of the phrase won. Wheel of Fortune rules apply -- shorten the phrase and you're out.
3. Never actually get a gift.
It sounds ridiculous, which is half of the fun.
I'm not sure if this was passed down to Mammammy from someone else or not, but we played it every Christmas Eve. The trick was for me to wake up without her knowing. That usually gave me the advantage, because she'd have been up for hours and off in her room busy with something else (reading and smoking, usually.) There were a few times she could've burned down the house, I startled her so.
Even when I was grown, she'd call and (without caller ID) hit me with "Christmas Eve gift!!" as soon as I picked up. Lord help anyone else answering the phone. Mostly it became a phrase to remind one another, as a shorthand, "I love you."
So this morning, when I woke up, I whispered (everyone else is off of school and work and still asleep) "Christmas Eve Gift!" and smiled. I remember.
The rules were as follows:
1. You had to be awake.
2. You had to be the first to shout (making the other person jump is a bonus) "Christmas Eve gift!" at the other. If you were shouting at the same time, the first person to the end of the phrase won. Wheel of Fortune rules apply -- shorten the phrase and you're out.
3. Never actually get a gift.
It sounds ridiculous, which is half of the fun.
I'm not sure if this was passed down to Mammammy from someone else or not, but we played it every Christmas Eve. The trick was for me to wake up without her knowing. That usually gave me the advantage, because she'd have been up for hours and off in her room busy with something else (reading and smoking, usually.) There were a few times she could've burned down the house, I startled her so.
Even when I was grown, she'd call and (without caller ID) hit me with "Christmas Eve gift!!" as soon as I picked up. Lord help anyone else answering the phone. Mostly it became a phrase to remind one another, as a shorthand, "I love you."
So this morning, when I woke up, I whispered (everyone else is off of school and work and still asleep) "Christmas Eve Gift!" and smiled. I remember.
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