We won! In Spite of Ho Ho Hobo Santa!

As tradition has it, everyone sits in the hot seat when they open Santa's gifts. And we get to wear a Santa cap, too. It's always a load of fun no matter what's under the paper.

There were several winners in the family resale gift exchange contest. Not everyone played by the rules. Those who didn't graciously donated to the kitty, which totaled over $100! We were one of the winners -  for the 14K earrings.

My clever brother decided that he wasn't interested in searching for valuable gifts under five bucks from a resale shop, so he improvised. He bought lame gifts, which drew a lot of laughs and votes, too.

Unfortunately, Ed and I were two of the recipients of his "Ho Ho Hobo" gifts. The time he didn't spend shopping, he utilized to make handmade humorous cards with brown bag envelopes to match the brown bag and twine packaging. My gift was a turntable that didn't work, but the accompanying records by Englebert Humperdink, were kind of cool. Ed's gift was an old Rival food processor.

My brother was slightly less generous with our nephew, who received the suit hanger without the suit. His handmade card explained that Santa's Ho Ho Hobo Christmas gift reflected the tight economy. He'd give the shirt off of his back, but since he didn't have one, he was happy to share at least the hanger.

And for my sister who was his happiest recipient -  he gave two old chrome and black vintage napkin holders. She was thrilled that Ho Ho Hobo Santa remembered her and her husband were remodeling their kitchen after Christmas. She said she can hardly wait to repaint the holders and place cloth napkins in them for a unique and classy touch. I like the idea so much I plan to borrow it for my kitchen.

I liked many of the other gifts which included games, an electric tie hanger, an electric car washing gadget (new in box), games and clothes. The Gyro car I bought for my nephew was a big hit. It was a crazy powerful thing that climbed up walls and flipped around every which way.

When my brother-n-law, Harry, opened his Potato Head, the children screamed with laughter. Hey, some toys stand the test of time. Uncle Harry loved it so much he took  his Potato Head home with him when he left.

Ed and I felt so bad for Ho Ho Hobo Santa that we left our gifts for him to enjoy. But, he won't find them until he takes the tree down, since Ed inconspicuoulsy hid them. We were happy enough with winning part of the kitty cash. Ho Ho Ho!