Christmas Traps

We have this great tradition every Christmas Eve. Jared and I stay up after the kids have gone to bed, and usually after Santa has come, to set traps down the stairs for the kids. It all started when I was little, and my parents, probably out of frustration, started setting simple traps to make some noise when we were out of bed on Christmas Eve. I loved to go and sit in front of the Christmas tree and admire the lights and the presents (I may have peeked at a few of them) - there were many traps that I set off myself. There was the string of bells in the middle of the hall - I think I was running at full speed when I hit them, and who can forget the bread pans on the top of the stairs that I hit and listened as they tumbled down and down the stairs (at that moment - the stairs were an abyss)!! Dad would usually yell, "Get back into bed" and we (sometimes just me) would run into bed, until I thought they were asleep again and tried it all over again. So our Christmas Eve tradition was born, but in true Emily fashion - we can't do anything simple - it must be complex, take a long time and use elaborate devices. We've had a few incredible ones - like last year, when we put a remote control on the flood lights and blasted the kids when they came down the stairs (making lots of noise with the bells) - we layed in bed and laughed until we cried. It was great! So this year is certainly no exception. The hype starts when we get the Christmas decorations out and the kids start asking if we'll set traps this year. This year, we told Monica that we probably wouldn't - and she told us that if we didn't, she would!! How crazy is that! I think the kids are just as excited for the traps as they are to see what appears under the tree!



So this year, it included PVC pipe, bells, lots of fishing string (it's invisible in the dark), a large roll of tape and of course, the remote control device. This time, hooked up to the vaccuum downstairs in the hall, the flood lights and a vaccuum upstairs in the kitchen. We hid the extention cord behind one of the pvc pipes and when Jared hit the remote - the two vacuums went off as well as the flood lights. I must say, this year, I was way too tired to find too get laughing too hard!! But it was still great! I even remembered to take pictures so I can show just how crazy we are. Sometimes I think most of the fun is setting it up and then hearing the kids try and get through it. They always tells us that this year, it was the easiest to get through. They've started carrying scissors and various other tools I probably don't want to know about! Whenever I tell anyone about our 'traps' tradition - I'm sure they think we're absolutely nuts - which we are!!! It's been one of my favorite Christmas traditions!!