My family has a tradition that we don't necessarily do every year, only when the opportunity arises. My family tends to buy Christmas presents near or right in front of each other without getting caught. This tale is just one example, but it's a Yuletide memory worth telling.
It was many Decembers ago. I believe I was a teen or a pre-teen. My dad, my brother, and I went jewelry shopping for my mom. We looked around, and I used to really love going to jewelry stores. My dad asked me which ones I liked as usual, and I said I liked the semi-precious stone items, particularly a blue topaz ring. Since I was a kid and obviously could not afford to give my mom anything in the store, my job was the try on pieces of jewelry and give my expert opinions.
Dad said that we were going to play jokes on Mom, since Mom always likes to snoop around. Really, she doesn't always snoop around. Sometimes she finds things by accident, ....just like I do on occasion. Dad had decided on some earrings, and he said as a joke we would have each earring in a separate velvet box to make Mom think we got her two pieces of jewelry. Technically, two earrings were two pieces of jewelry.
When we got home, Dad decided to keep playing jokes on Mom. Dad told her to hide in the basement, saying we got her something large; no peeking and no snooping! He told me to get out of the way, and told my brother to help him with the large box. They mimed and heaved the imaginary box through the house and up the stairs. They pretended it was very heavy and difficult to haul up the steps. This was to make Mom think that she was getting something really big.
On Christmas day, I was happy, and opening presents with the family. Mom was opening one of the little boxes that had an earring in it. I stopped unwrapping my presents to see her surprise. To my surprise, both earrings were in one box. Dad handed me the other box and said it was for me. I opened it, and it was the blue topaz ring.
