Let's Make A Deal or No Deal

The rules are simple. Choose a gift from under the Christmas tree to open on Christmas eve. Just one. And chose wisely. Then you must either stay with your original choice or make a "deal" with me to exchange whatever you have chosen from under the tree for what’s behind Door #1.

Once you decide to accept or decline the decision is final.

Contestants are encouraged to ask the audience for advice; however, only the contestant's answer will be considered binding and final.

Do you want what’s in the Box or what’s behind Door #1? What would be behind door #1?… An electric guitar, a brand new 10-speed bike or a Zonk (a worthless, ridiculous prize)?

I didn’t have time to go with my original plan to create a crossword puzzle each of them would have to solve just to figure out which gifts were theirs, so instead I merged two of my favorite game shows, Let’s Make a Deal and Deal or No Deal.

The princesses know they get to open one gift on Christmas eve. We started this tradition early in their lives. It stopped the bugging of “please, please, please, please, please, please let us open a gift” and took some of the pressure off getting up at the crack of dawn to open gifts. They always went to bed Christmas eve with smiles on their faces.

So little princess spent most of the day sorting packages by person so that she could see her pile more clearly. She pondered each gift. “Should I open this one?” Big Princess didn’t give it too much thought and just picked one. They had to wait until everyone was together before they could open it. Finally around 6 pm everyone was home and settled in the living room.

“Now Mom? Now?”

“Ok but let me just say... its time to play Let's Make A Deal or No Deal.”

“What?” They cried in unison. “That’s not part of the deal.”

“Contestants, you can open the gift you have carefully chosen from under the Christmas tree or… trade it for what’s behind door #1.”

“What’s behind door #1?”

“It could be a zonk.”

"What’s a zonk?”

“Ok, what’s behind door #1 could be the grand prize, the gift of all gifts or it could be something I was planning to put in your stocking or just something I was too lazy to wrap. Deal or No Deal?”

Both girls chose No Deal.

Big Princess passed up the electric guitar a day sooner for some socks and little princess opened some plastic beads instead of the brand new bike. Sure they got them the next day but I have to wonder over their sense of caution.