Pets have always been part of our families, the only difference being that I had cats and Eric had dogs. So, it didn't take too long until we had our own. Cats for now, hopefully a dog someday. We don't go so far with Kahlan and Edie to celebrate birthdays, but at Christmas they get their own gifts. And last year, I managed to even find pet paper at PetSmart. It's not very pretty, but it is nice to have something just for their gifts. And they seem to like the crackly noise of the paper and they definitely like the special treats they get.
For the most part, they don't bother the decorations or the tree, thankfully. They do like the fuzzy Santa hat tree skirt, though. Edie especially likes it, and will curl up under there quite often. She is also the one who rings the bell hanging from one of the bottom branches of the tree. It's a tradition from my own family's tree, that a cat bell is hung where the cat can brush up against it as she investigates presents.
Edie is also the one who chews on the tree branch that came off when I put it up this year. She pulled it out of the box one night and now I keep finding it all over the apartment.
The big gift this year was a cat hat, with reindeer antlers. It's silly, and not very well designed, but I couldn't resist it. Maybe if it had ear holes, they might have tolerated it longer.
Or not.
