When I was a sophomore in college, I purchased a baby-size bunny suit off eBay.

It cost me $4 and has become a fixture of our family Christmas since that first year when I gave it to my little brother.  I wanted to get a full-size suit so that he could be just like Ralphie from “A Christmas Story,” but those proved to be prohibitively expensive, so I settled for the mini version.

It was sufficiently funny.

Since then, whoever got it the previous year has passed it on, giving a certain sense of anticipation to every gift you get with the chance of finding a bonus bunny suit inside.  Even those who are new to the family get indoctrinated into the tradition, like my sister-in-law Bethany at her first Christmas with us:

But this year, all of my dreams came true.  We finally found someone who could actually put this thing on.  My niece Madelyn didn’t make the trip for Christmas last year, but this time around not only came, but happened to be the perfect size.  Who knew I would pick correctly back in 2002?

Can’t wait to see who she gives it to next year.