The Suburban Kelley's: ThanksChristmasGiving 2013

We had another fun Kelley Family ThanksChristmasGiving. This is when all of Craig's side of the family gets together (the parents, 5 Kelley kids, spouses, grandkids, and 1 great grandchild) for Thanksgiving. We also celebrate Christmas at the same time since we go our separate ways in December.

For the second year, we hosted the family event. It was relaxing, low key, and just a nice evening spent together. And now, I will share LOTS of pictures.

Our hot cocoa/coffee bar

Plenty of appetizers! By the way, I had some bags of candy corn with peanuts. I put them in a bowl with freshly popped kettle corn. Tasty low-cal snack...okay, I made that up. Not sure how many calories in it, but it was tasty!

Then, the family started to arrive. Here comes Tim, dropping gifts along the way.

Warren (aka The Other Guy) surprises his nephew, Preston.

Paul dressed for the occasion (photo by Kelsey)

The turkey is ready to carve.

Major kudos to Craig for being Chef Extraordinaire! He made the ham AND the turkey.

Kim is mashing the potatoes. LOTS of them!

There was so much food!!! I didn't even get a picture of all the desserts.

Some of the men retired to the couch after filling their tummies.

But, it was time for a big surprise. The head of the Kelley family is celebrating his 80th birthday in February. However, since not everyone will be together to celebrate it, we decided to just throw it in with our other holidays. Only the kids knew about this surprise. It went perfectly.

Kim is explaining the surprise to her parents.

Grandad (as he is now called) listening to the surprise.

I thought he would be a little emotional and sentimental. However, when Kim said he would be turning 80 in February so we're celebrating now, he replied "What if I don't make it that long?" We all cracked up!!!

I had seen on Pinterest where a man was celebrating a milestone birthday, so he had the same number of memories written about him from people throughout his life. We decided to do that as well. We contacted lots and lots of people that knew Grandad throughout the years and asked them to send in memories. We didn't quite get 80 memories, but we got 70!!! Close enough! Kim handled all of that and presented the letters to him.

Grandad cherishes those letters!

Next, we all pitched in and purchased lots of gift cards. Kim is presenting him with the gift card tree.

Such a great idea, Kim!!!

Granna was surprised too. She didn't know about any of this.

The cake. There are 80 candles on this cake!!! (photo by Kelsey)

I think Kim is sneaking a taste. LOL

Paul very carefully carried the cake.

Love this reaction!

Can you believe they all stayed lit?

Here is a pic from the other side of the same pic. Kelsey and I were snapping simultaneously. (photo by Kelsey)

Time to blow out the candles...all 80 of them!

Where's the fire extinguisher?

Halfway done.

Amazing! He blew them all out!!!

Finally, it was time to open all these gifts!!!

The great-grandbaby got to open his gifts first. Preston even gave him some of his old toys.

Kaitlyn got Hello Kitty outfits, Our Generation doll carrier, American Girl gift card, a DIY purse, origami kit, and this bracelet craft kit.

Preston got a Hot Wheels track, RC Helicopters, a baseball blanket, and this paper airplane kit.

Next, the adults got to open their gifts. Since there are so many of us, we drew names. It was so funny to see all the presents. Everyone was very creative and didn't just give each other a generic gift card. Some of the gifts included Longhorns Jenga, Oriental Painting Set (or something like that), RC Helicopter (just like Preston's), photo coasters, guitar shaped spatula and pancake mix, a hollow book (Kris took the time to cut out the middle of the pages of a book for Faynetta's gift), a homemade crocheted purse, crossbow set (not a real one), a blender, a belgian waffle maker, and more.

Warren received this paint can full of $1 bills. Notice Preston's blanket? He carries it everywhere. Thanks Aunt Kim!!!

Craig received this: a giant inflatable shark that swims through the air. Click here to see exactly what it does. He has not blown it up yet. I'm kind of afraid I will wake up to it hovering over me in the middle of the night.