This activity is similar to a Secret Santa but with many, more complicated rules and lots of stoppages (a little like what American football has done to the noble sport of rugby). In summary: everyone buys presents, people draw numbers and get to pick a wrapped gift to see what they've got. But before you pick a gift you can choose to steal from someone who's already opened one. Unless that gift has been stolen three times before. There was something about raising your hand to signal a fair catch, but I didn't understand that.
Needless to say, the endeavour became a microcosm of business activity including clues as to why the current financial meltdown has occurred. Alliances were forged and broken, husband stole from wife and father from daughter, certain gifts attained values way above their production costs, and illegal trading went on long after the market closed. Egg-nog and economics make for an explosive combination.
Grumpy old men at Christmas. Did I mention there was an ugliest jumper competition going on? We don't always dress like this.
The indoctrination has begun.
Patrick and Kathy are certainly in the spirit (Patrick won the dressing up contest, for obvious reasons).
Madonna and child.
The angel Gabriel.
Rudolph.
Vince attempts to explain the ludicrously complex rules. No unnecessary roughness was an important one.
Pete in a frenzy of unwrapping.
Elise is pleased with her uniquely SF tree ornament...until it was later stolen by Amanda!
This is what Hannah traded a walking dreidel for: a fish with earrings.
I was very pleased to steal a cherub from Kathy. Severed doll's head with wings? Whatever - it was the only ornament that truly matched our tree.
