A few years ago, inspired in part by the Story of the Christmas Pants, I decided to make Christmas with the Kornfelds a little more interesting. That year, as it happened, I gave everyone either a giftcard or tickets. They received them in an Altoids tin, locked with a miniature padlock, and a clue to where I had hidden the key. One was under the cat’s bowl, another in a block of ice in the freezer, etc.

The next year I carved out the insides of books and hid the real presents in there. It was fun to hear “Thank you so much!” from a sibling who thught I had actually given her Our Friend the Nematode.

This year I’ve got way more presents than family members. But none of the presents have names on them, just a number. Everyone gets a copy of a short story I’ve written and a question, the correct answer to which is a number that corresponds to the correct present. If you get the wrong answer though – and they’re trick questions so there’s a good chance you will – you’ll be unwrapping coal (and of course I went to special lengths to make sure you can’t tell before you open it).

Next year? Hmmm. I dunno yet, but I’ve got 12 months to figure it out.