For our November/December book club (for which no one read the book but me and the host), the big part of the night was really a white elephant gift swap. I don't think I've ever done that kind of swap but I was told to bring anything - a new gift, a gag gift or a re-gift...anything you might find around your house and want to pass on to some unsuspecting soul.
The first gift I ended up opening was a cute apron and book to go with it. But as we went down the line, someone snagged that and I chose another gift. It turned out to be a very interesting Christmas ornament.
The friend, H, that brought this gift felt bad because she claims I'm the quiet, sweet girl and I think she thought I deserved something better. Or maybe, she didn't think I would be able to appreciate the beauty and value. (She'd be mortified if I didn't also mention that she included a Starbucks gift card with it.)
The gift that I brought was an infinity scarf that I made. When H found out that I brought a homemade gift, this made her feel even worse. But it shouldn't have...to me the scarf was the easiest thing I could bring. I had already made it and it was sitting around my house. I had looked at some gag gifts in the store and honestly didn't feel like wasting my money. I'm just not a gag gift type of girl and being fairly new to the group, I didn't have much background in which to work in a funny gift.
When I first opened the ornament, I thought it was Star Wars related. In that fraction of a second I thought that my kids would be excited about it. Upon further inspection, I discovered it was this...
I didn't manage to capture my own picture of the box so I found this one on the internet. While searching for it, I learned his name is Gene Simmons. (Yes, I've probably heard that before but if you'd asked me his name, I couldn't have told you.) And I also learned that there are several more Kiss themed ornaments.
So we laughed about it. I promised to take pictures of it on my tree and I think she promised to come to my house to verify that it was actually on my tree.
It sat around the house for a few days because it took many days for the tree to "fall" and be ready for decorating. And then the kids found it and it turns out they were excited about it...
They thought it was hilarious and wanted to do their impressions. I think they did a pretty good job. Jack is actually holding the ornament in his hand but it's a little blurry there.
And when we finally decorated our tree, they fought over who would put it on the tree. I would have shoved them out of the way to have the honor but then I wouldn't have gotten any pictures. And we did not hide him! He's not up there with the angel obviously but he wasn't tucked in the back either.
This was serious business...
Behold the beauty...
This ornament will stick around. (I really hope he doesn't lose any of the spikes over the years.) It will always make me smile and remind me of my first book club and a fun night with new friends. I might even have to add to the collection. Or at least replace my red bead garland with something a little more chain-like.
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