Phil and Toni Roberts Family Christmas
The Roberts’ Family Christmas was held December 7, 2019 at the community room of Hamlin Bell apartments in Perry. Thirty-three of the family attended from as far away as Graettinger, Bettendorf, Winterset, as well as from Boone, Churdan, Jefferson and Rippey.
The event began at 5:00 with a buffet meal of meatballs, sausage rolls, deviled eggs, Rueben dip, pickle and chicken wraps, and assorted chips, cookies, candy and finally with bowls of chili. There was something for everyone’s taste buds.
After the meal, Grandpa Phil, complete with Santa hat and white beard, handed out gifts to all the great-grandchildren, (ages infant to 9 years old.) As each child came forward to receive their book, parents were busy taking pictures of the little ones reaction to a real live Santa!
Next came the boxes for the 13 grandchildren. Each box was numbered, not named, so each had to remember their sequence of birth in the family before they could retrieve their gift. The boxes each contained several mementoes from Grandma Toni’s special collection of elephant statues, portrait pins, banks, books, Christmas decorations and jewelry. It was great way for the couple to downsize and see their grandchildren enjoy their mementoes in real time.
While the youngest members were busy playing with their gifts, the grandchildren lined up for the MAIN EVENT, the white elephant drawing! The males lined up first, each answering a question correctly before getting a chance to draw from Santa’s sack. Then the females took their turn to answer correctly in order to draw a gift from Mrs. Santa’s sack. An incorrect answer sent the contestant to the rear of the line before trying again and of course lost their chance of drawing a better gift. Questions included the subjects of math, science, presidents, state history and athletic figures. The one question no one answered correctly was, “What is the boiling point of water?”
The third group of contestants, ages 10-16, had questions on books and authors (YA), geography, and family names. Jenna Morton won the prize for listing all 50 states in alphabetical order! WOW!
Everyone had a good time and even learned something, including grandma and grandpa! The rest of the evening was spent eating (second’s at the buffet) and taking family pictures with Grandma Toni and Grandpa Phil in the middle.
As in the past, gathering with family at Christmas makes “It’s a Wonderful Life” every day of the year!