Before I was married, my last name was Van Grunsven. This is the story of the Van Grunsven Christmas of 2008...(unfortunately, I can only tell you this story from phone conversations and pictures since my family was too sick to make it there).


Christmas gifts for the Van Grunsven Christmas are always a challenge...if you don't pick something good, they will let you know. This may sound mean, but everyone is a good sport about it, so in reality, it's really fun. It makes shopping even a greater challenge. My family used to do the gift exchange that everyone over 18 bought a $30 gift, wrapped it (in brown paper with no markings...you wouldn't want to give away who brought it, would you?), put in a pile, picked numbers, and did the round robin gift exchange: first person, picks from the pile, second can either pick from the pile or take the other person's gift, etc. In the past few years we've tried to make things a bit more interesting. This year, the challenge was; spend $25 are Fleet Farm (or Farm and Fleet) and your gift must include, 1. something edible, 2. something wearable, 3. whatever else. Also, each family member was given a name and you had to make a 'hat' for that person, and that is what this story is about.


I was given my cousin, Paul. Paul is a few years younger than me and after I was given his name, I realized that i didn't know him very well. I facebook-ed him and asked him to tell me a little bit about himself. Here's what I had to work with:


I am a pretty uninteresting person, but I did come up with some stuff. My favorite color is blue, I am in grade school for my masters in social work (gerontology emphasis) I get my clothes from all over, mostly American Eagle I guess, but I really love Target and get a lot of stuff from ... Read More there (that is probably my favorite store). I also really enjoy listening to Bob Dylan if you wanted to go off of that, and I read a lot.... or you could make something completely crazy and wild looking if you wanted, I'd rock it out :)


So, my next step in my hat making process was to google, 'Bob Dylan' and 'Hats'. Much to my surprise, and delight, he had written a song called, "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat". It couldn't have worked out better for me.... and here's what I came up with!


And here's what Paul thought:

I LOVED my hat, the second your mom put it on the pile I knew it was for me, I enjoy the Bob Dylan reference!



Here are a few pics of the other great hats that were made!



Yes, the bird pooped on the hat!





This is the apple hat made for me...modeled by my mom!




The Van Grunsven Bride-to-be in 2009!




Welocme to Wisconsin!





Yes, this is my brother...






Sarah, my brother's girlfriend and a teacher!



Yes, my Uncle Gary made my grandma wear a toilet seat!






my Aunt Connie loves to clean!

My dad made this one for Alex

My dad's hat...he's a fan of duct tape AND

he's a little lacking in the hair department...this hat helps with that!

My dad modeling my hubby's hat...the pig actually flies in a circle...super cool!

Jared (my hubby) made this hat for Jenny

The gumballs actually fall into the cup near my Aunt Cathy's mouth!

my mom made this hat for Mandy!

I really liked this one too! Nice modeling Uncle Mike!

And so that, is a summary of the Christmas of Hats that we had to miss. I can't wait to see what the Van Grunsven's come up with next year!