The Answer

So, Lori you are right! It is firework-related. And Melinda, you were thinking like I was. But let me back up, I am getting ahead of myself..... Last week when Duease was here we were in Metro perusing the Christmas section and found these really cool rolls. Being that it was in the CHRISTMAS section, we assumed that it was wrapping paper. However, we were quite wrong! We got the tubes home and realized that one end were heavier than the other. I thought that it was just stuff that you would use for wrapping (you know tape and things inside the roll). I decided that I would open it to see what it was. I pried it open and found all sort of rolled-up paper inside and then one end was a metal canister. Because this just confused us more, I asked our househelp if she could read the Chinese on the package. She read it and started laughing.  Totally missing the joke, Duease and I just stood by befuddled. XaLiu then told me that what I had was actually similar to fireworks, but instead you twist the roll and it shoots out brightly colored confetti (hence the paper I found inside). Chinese set these off for Christmas - this really doesn't surprise me. ;-) The funny (and alarming) thing was that Duease had been thinking of taking her "cool roll of wrapping paper" back ON THE PLANE. Can you just imagine going through security and then customs with that!? I laugh and then shudder thinking about it. When Andy got home that night, we decided to try it out. He put it back together and we were amazed that I had not set it off earlier with my dismantling. We shot it inside (because we were just expecting a little confetti), but were really surprised by the force at which it came out. The confetti projectiles came close to taking out our Christmas tree! Afterwards, the kids had a blast playing the in the massive amount of paper. This was a quintessential Chinese experience on so many levels!

Shooting it took two people after I had mangled it.

Can you even see Josh for all the confetti? And this was after it went off, the kids had a great time throwing handfuls of the streamers and confetti into the air. Our house was a wreck!

Tori gathering her pile.