Wanna Bet??

At this time of year, most people are filled with holiday cheer, graciousness and the spirit of giving. In my family, we are filled with the desire to compete. The day after Thanksgiving kicks off one the oldest McDougall traditions...tis the season of betting.

The McDougall's can make a competition out of anything. Whether it be a "friendly" poker game after the dinner dishes are cleared or a full out bocce tournament complete with bracketology at a family picnic. We even had a baby pool going with an over/under as to how long my sister was going to be in labor. I won.

We used to play a family football game every Thanksgiving against my aunt's family. This game has since been cancelled. It got out of hand one year when we all showed up in matching Giant themed shirts that Eboogie made. Plus, the boys are now well over six feet and the touch football game always turned into hard core tackle. Too many injuries.

Christmas time is different. We have two competitions we engage in every year...the Christmas Card Competition and Secret Santa. The Christmas Card competition came about 4 years ago. My sister and I had moved in together and foolishly claimed that between the two of us, we were going to accumulate more cards then my parents. I believe they beat us by a good 20 or so that year. Slowly we climbed back and last year's game gave them a run for their money. I believe that it actually ended in a tie. Of course there were three of us pooling our resources.

This year is going to be quite interesting since I have moved out and Pooh has now thrown her hat in the ring. Currently, I am holding strong in 2nd place but T and Gail B have a commanding lead. I have to rally if I am going to win.

Our second and longest running game is Secret Santa. This started when we were kids but we didn't actually start gambling on it until I was in high school. Typical Secret Santa rules apply. The McDougall twist? After the first night of presents, everyone has to write down their picks and seal it in an envelope with $1. Sometimes the envelopes are sealed with hot wax and a thumbprint. We mean business.

On the last night of presents, we open the envelopes and the person who had the most correct wins the pot and bragging rights until next year. This makes the first night of gifts very interesting because we try to frame each other. Good times.

Every family has their own traditions to pass on to younger generations and these are ours. And we are passing them on. In the words of my 13 year old cousin..."Who wants to play for fun when you can play for money?" This is our mantra.