Christmas was fun!

As a general rule, dull moments are pretty well forbidden around here.  Toss in loads of wrapping paper, way too many presents to be healthy, squealing kids, sleepy parents, and a herd of thoroughly confused cats and you're sure to get your fill of entertainment.

For example, it's Christmas Eve and we've finally managed to convince the littles that if they don't go to sleep, Santa will receive a text saying it's not necessary for him to stop by our house at all.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
"I want Santa to come!"
"We'll be quiet!"
"When he comes, can I look out the window and see what he drives?"
"He drives a sleigh, remember? And reindeer steer!"
"What if the reindeer slide off the roof?"
"What if Grandma gets run over by a reindeer?!?"

Well, that didn't have the intended result.

Eventually they lost the battle with midnight..or was it 1:00am?  Could have been 2:00am.  I had a couple of last minute gifts that needed to be wrapped and I figured it wouldn't be any big deal to just take care of that upstairs before heading downstairs to set things up.

Now picture this:

A shredded piece of shiny wrapping paper gets balled up and tossed into an already overflowing trash can under the computer desk.
A curious kitten can't resist sticking his nose into said trash can to see what the shiny is.
A curious kitten is just a tad too heavy to be putting all of his weight on one side of an already overflowing trash can and pulling to get leverage.
An already overflowing trash can suddenly tips over with much clanging and tinkling and effectively ambushes a curious kitten.
A not-so-curious-anymore kitten tries to back away but finds it is too late and he is now tangled up in a trashbag that is making entirely too much noise for his taste.
A definitely-not-curious-anymore kitten panics and bolts down the hallway toward the stairs with the trashbag chasing him every step of the way ... and gaining on him.
Two slightly concerned adults join in the chase in an attempt to rescue a definitely-not-curious-anymore kitten, and minimize collateral damage along the way.
A sorry-for-ever-being-curious-in-his-life kitten makes a most impressive leap from the top of a 14 step staircase in a last ditch effort to shake off his now extremely noisy tormentor that still has a deathgrip on his butt end.
A smug kitten lands gracefully at the bottom of the stairs and strikes a pose for the other three furballs who have gathered downstairs to see what kind of trouble he's gotten himself into this time.
A still overflowing trashbag lands on the floor right behind a smug kitten with a deafening crash.
Four cats teleport into another time zone, leaving their fur behind.
Two adults cling to the staircase railing for support while desperately trying to stop laughing long enough to suck in air.

A small voice wafts down the hallway in a sleepy slur. "Told you the reindeer would fall off the roof."