This was our year at home for Christmas, and I must admit that it was nice to not have to travel. We went to school until December 20th, so it felt like the break before Christmas was really short. We finished up some shopping, had "The Night Before the Night Before" with Jonathon's family, and enjoyed a really nice Christmas Eve Sacrament Meeting, but other than those things, we didn't do too much prior to Christmas.
It is interesting having older kids now. Their Christmas wish lists are very different than young children. The few things that they wanted cost more money, but really, they didn't even ask for that much. Jonathon and I decided that apart from a few gifts, we really wanted to give them an experience instead. We have always enjoyed going to Universal Studios in Florida as a family. I have been following a group (Orlando Informer) that does a special after-hours party at Universal 4 times a year. They offer unlimited food options, very short ride wait times, and many other perks. The tickets are limited in number, so it is a great way to enjoy the parks without a lot of people. Jonathon and I decided that since this would be our last time going for a while, (since Christian is leaving for his mission) we wanted to try this new experience. We bought tickets for the event and decided to surprise the boys for Christmas.
I didn't just want to give them the tickets though. I wanted to do something big and memorable. I finally convinced Jonathon to help me create an escape room-type activity that the boys would have to solve to get their gift. It turned out so awesome... maybe the coolest gift we have ever given!
This is a very short, summarized version, but here is what we did for the escape room:
We started by giving them a note from Santa saying they would have to find their presents in the room with the "keys" (piano room). Along with the note there was also a real key that would help open a lock.
Once they were in the piano room, they found a jar with a lock on it. They used the key to open the jar and retrieved four puzzle pieces and another clue.
Next, they found a set of three different colored markers and a clue directing them to find invisible lines on the earth (latitude and longitude on the globe). There were three lines marked by the different colors of markers, and they had to put them in the right order to open another lock box that contained more puzzle pieces and Christian's present.
When they finally found all of the puzzle pieces hidden around the room, it created a picture with a clue that was written backwards and had to be read with a mirror. The clue said "I don't fly but my brothers do. Find me amongst them to open a gift for you." (It was a real key hidden among the "flying keys" on our Harry Potter tree).
They eventually found the key, opened another locked box, and found Andrew's present and the final clue that told them to put all of their presents together and figure out what the big present was. Christian got a dinosaur shirt, Hyrum got a Hufflepuff badger stuffie, and Andrew got "Men in Black" sunglasses.
Once they figured out that the presents were all connected with Universal Studios, the clue told them to tell Alexa what they thought the present was. Andrew said, "Alexa, are we going to Universal Studios?" Alexa responded, "That is correct. Merry Christmas!" We were pretty proud of that part because we had to program the Alexa to respond to several questions that they might ask. When they had finally solved it, we gave them a paper with all the information on it.
We were super excited about how well it all worked and how cool the escape room turned out. The boys were thrilled, and even though they aren't very expressive, I could tell they were very excited! Hyrum was especially excited, and he just kept talking about it all morning. It was such a fun Christmas surprise!
One of the most special gifts that I received was from Hyrum. At the beginning of December, he came up with an idea for a present for me and talked to Grandma Hill to see if she could help him. She invited him over to her house several times to work on the gift. I had no idea what it was, but he was sure excited about it every time he came home. When I opened up the package on Christmas morning, I found four sets of homemade earrings. Apparently, Hyrum insisted on doing one set for each season. He did all of the work on them by himself and was so proud! It was one of the most thoughtful, tender presents ever.
After we opened all of our presents and finished the escape room, we went to Grandpa and Grandma Hill's house for a breakfast smorgasbord. She took inspiration from a hotel continental breakfast, so there was an omelet station, do-it-yourself waffles, juice, bacon, sausage, and more. We took homemade cinnamon rolls that Jonathon and I got up early to make. They were amazing! The looked great and tasted even better. After breakfast, we did our traditional treasure hunt to find our presents from Grandma and Grandpa and then headed home to rest and relax.
It was a lovely day!
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