It’s beginning to look a lot like stress-mass… I mean, Christmas. Look, my all time favorite holiday is Halloween. Scary monsters, and free candy. Perfection. I am not as in love with Christmas. It’s not even the commercialism (which I happen to like) or the religious aspects (which I don’t celebrate). Let’s just admit it. Christmas is for kids.
I enjoyed the holidays a lot more as a kid. I didn’t have to cook, or clean up, and I got lots of presents. Oh, what awaited us under the tree on Christmas morning! It was sooooooo hard to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. We’d crawl out of bed even before the sun cracked the sky, wake up tired parents (who’d spent half the night playing Santa), and while parents took pictures, the wrapping paper would fly. There were always toys, and sometimes, much to my disappointment, there were clothes. One year, I got a pair of cowboy boots and a fringed shirt. WTF were you thinking, Mom? I know we lived in Oklahoma, but sheesh! It was the 1970s, and it was bad enough you kept sticking me in turtlenecks and bell-bottom jeans.
Um … so, yeah. Christmas. Woo-hoo.
I’d say the closest thrill to being the kid on Christmas morning, is being the parent. At least in the early years. It was (mostly) fun staying up and putting together the bikes and the Barbie houses. I usually got stuck with most of the wrapping duties (and let me tell you, Santa was a lousy wrapper), but when I got to see how excited my kids were (even at the awful hour of DAWN), it was worth all the effort.
Still. Being an adult during the holidays is lot more stressful. While kids are making lists for Santa (and changing their minds every two seconds), we’re trying to figure out how to buy all that stuff. I remember one year, my daughter HAD to have the Barbie airplane. We searched everywhere, and on a ravaged shelf in a Wal-Mart, we snagged the last one. Many a desperate parent stopped us and either asked if we really planned to buy it (hells yeah) or if there were anymore left (uh, no). It was like Beirut, man. I didn’t know if we’d make it to the register without taking fire.
These days, Christmas is a lot easier. I don’t cook, and my family doesn’t celebrate as we used to when my grandmother was still alive. I miss my mother’s clove and pineapple baked ham, but not enough to make it myself. I’ve paired down my Christmas responsibilities to buying presents for my kids. My daughter is twenty now and wants more practical things than a Barbie airplane (like cold, hard cash) and The Boy is eleven, and he wants stuff like build kits and video games.
I may have eschewed most of the holiday traditions I used to keep, but I still love Christmas music—especially the old school crooners like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, and oh yeah, I love me some Elvis. I love Christmas movies, too (and cartoons … don’t forget the cartoons). If I sound a little cynical about the holiday season, I’m not. Well, not much. ‘Cause I can really dig one concept we’re celebrating: Joy to the world.
And that’s not just a holiday sentiment. 
I wrote a blog about Thanksgiving at Fresh Fiction. You can read it here: http://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=2105 (P.S. The winner of the giveaway has already been chosen.)
November 18th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Well my mom made me believe that Santa Clause was real up until I was like 14 years old. LOL. Boy did I get made fun of a lot in school for that. Thanks mom. LOL
November 18th, 2009 at 9:42 am
I actually just wrote my own Christmas blog yesterday, I am a Christmas Fan.. seeing i get to watch my 4 year old as well as my Boyfriends 6 year old open gifts this year… The Decorating, the music, the general happiness your suppose to feel minus the “Scrooges” True its not like it was when we were children… and gasping at the beautiful arrangement of Gifts under the Tree, first thing in the morning.. While my parents Drank there coffee making me wait what seemed like forever..Anyway my Christmas memory!
I remember when i was a teenager, my parents deciding to play what they thought was a fun game on Christmas Morning…which ended up being a Scavenger Hunt for my Christmas Gift..an hour later I take a homemade ornament off the tree and attached to it was my Class Ring… not one of those cheap synthetic ones my parents paid a fortune to get me a true gold and aquamarine (my birthstone) ring.. I was beyond happy to receive it..The fact that it made my cousin jealous cause it was real compared to hers…made it even better.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I enjoy Christmas a lot due to the lovely sparkly decorations I get to put up around my home. My favorite memory is of my extended family all gathered around a huge tree, the children sitting on the floor (no matter age) and the most precocious child being chosen to play santa. Pretty traditional but warms my heart every time.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:39 am
When we were little all of my family on my mom’s side would meet down at my grandparents and have a wonderful time as we got older we quit meeting like that and when my Nanny passed away we never meet anymore with that side of the family. I can remember one time when we were coming home my Dad had us convinced that we saw Santa in the sky. That’s one of my favorite memories of Christmas.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Favourite christmas memory? Probably the year I was allowed to help *eat* the milk and cookies and use boots to make imprints in a tray of flour by the fireplace. And of course, ringing jingle bells to wake up my little sister.
November 18th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I had a lot of memorable Christmases but the one that I really liked was when I got my engagement ring. I was not expecting that at all and was so excited. It took me awhile to open the rest of my gifts, I was jumping around so much.
Hope you all have memorable ones this year, too.
November 18th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
My favorite christmas memory is when I was 9 years old. I got my very own victrola (record player) for christmas. It only played 45’s but it was all mine…LOL. I also receive 5 records. One a played above all others and drove my parents crazy. It ws the Beatles “Yellow Submarine” and on the flip side was “Ellenor Rigby”. I would sign both songs at the top of my lungs. I must be honest and say I couldn’t, and still can’t, carry a tune in a bucket as the saying goes…LOL. But I gave it my all and had a blast. Thanks for asking about memories as I’m smiling thinking about this one.
November 18th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I think my most fun Christmas was an adult one. We did Christmas early and then took off for a warm Florida holiday. It was my 1st and only Christmas w/o snow. I wouldn’t mind doing it again either some year. Thanks, Sue
November 18th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
First I love the fact the someone out there refers to their child as THE Boy as well. I have 8 yr old twins. a girl and a boy and the Dr. kept saying THE BOY, when referring to him and it stuck. Most often my husband cringes when he hears…”DO you know what THE BOY did…?”
Second. I too felt the triumph of snagging the last at Walmart… when you did, did you too feel like throwing your hands in the air with a resounding “YES!” and then throw those same arms around the item with a protective “BACK OFF” I have heard the stories of taking things out of others cart and there was no way I was losing this Barbie dream house. Yes BARBIE, I cringe at seeing this name on this list and frankly as I see the BDH sit in a corner not being played with I am filled with nothing but shame. (But that is an issue for an over payed shrink and not for public consumption.) Yet, I will once again head out in search of whatever overpriced plastic my children have placed on their wishlist…and stangely enough do it with a smile because as you pointed out in your blog…their list will dwindle with age(CasH) and spending hours wrapping and tagging gifts to result in having a heap of paper and ribbon within five minutes will be behind me. So thank you for your reminder and the reminder of what Joy the season is truely about!
November 18th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
My mom always made sure santa came and how she pulled it off I don’t know but she must had have some santa’s helpers. Last time santa came for me was when I was 16. Me, mom, dad, step-dad, and step-mom were all at my aunts house but santa came while were gone. I have never figured out how she did it. She passed away the next year so I never learned but I loved the memory of that christmas she was so happy she pulled one over on me.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
I have so many good memories of Cmas as a kid and as a mom, but I’ll always remember the Cmas after my brother died (he was 19), I came home from Tennessee and my parents drove 4 hours in the snow to get me so we could have Cmas together. It was sad that year, but we all needed to be together. I was in a bad marriage and I really needed family then too.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I have two vivid memories of Christmas.
The first is kinda sweet. My mother was and still is to this day, my very best friend growing up.
Everything I did, I copied from my mom. So one year when I was in first kindergarden, Santa was there taking pictures with the kids.
I got on his lap and proudly told him, “I want a microwave just like my mom has.”
Remember how big those suckers were when they first came out?
The second memory is that I wanted a cute, fuzzy, white bunny rabbit.
I got a rabbit but it was NOT cute, fuzzy, or white.
It was a speckled white and brown, I swear that evil little being had glowing red eyes, and Very large, sharp teeth.
The little sucker bit me and I dropped it on the ground. Oops. It really was a self defense reaction.
Needless to say, we found a new home for the bunny and I have never wanted another one since.
Awww. Memories.
Thanks,
Fallon Hadley
November 19th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
My favorite Christmas memory was when I was five and my Mom told me that Santa had left my gifts on the porch. On the porch was a shiny blue pedal car with presents stuffed inside. I was so excited I screamed and jumped up and down.
November 19th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
i have a couple christmas memories,
#1- growing up in s. florida, my parents always had awesome christmas parties and the firemen used to go around the neighborhood with the firetruck, playing santa delivering gifts that the parents dropped off at the firehouse.
#2- in 89′, my mom almost died (i was in 10th grade) and we didn’t really concentrate on presents for obvious reasons, on christmas morning we woke up to a box of gifts wrapped for all 4 us, but no return name on it. so it was really like there was a santa claus.
#3- when i was real young, we used to make all our christmas ornaments (every year) and while we did it, we used to listen to elvis,bing crosby,and all the classics, we used also bake all our cookies and the house smelled so good.
those are my 3 favorite memories when i was kid.
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:39 pm
For my 14th birthday (1957) the transister radio was the fad. I wanted a radio with the leather case & strap and that was all I really ask far. Christmas morning there was no box the right size for my radio and I was really sad. The last gift I was handed was to big but I opened it and there was my radio. They had wrapped it in a larger box. I started crying I was so happy. That is my favorite Christmas.
November 26th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
1 favorite Christmas memory is one where married for a year and first Christmas with my husband’s family and we spent the night in our niece’s room and the next morning my silly husband of one year woke up the household with his rendition of a “meowing” cat. The little kids in the family loved it, I wanted to hide and my In-laws explained it was an inside family joke, go figure the things you remember.
My next favorite Christmas memory was from my young adulthood when still at home with my parents and this particular holiday my Dad got my Mom a red “wiener dog” puppy and he made my Mom cry because the little pup was so cute.
The all time favorite Christmas memory is where my Husband and I bought our first house outside Houston Texas and we got to decorate the outside and buy our 1st “Big” tree and decorate it together and the whole family came to our “new house” for the Christmas dinner and gift exchange. Everyone has now grown up and our nieces and nephews have their own families now but that one was really special because house full of little kids and all the smiling adults having a good time was really nice to see….
On that note Happy Thanksgiving Day everyone….
Jackie B. Central Texas
November 30th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
1958 I ask for the newest thing out, Portable, battery radio with case and strap. Christmas morning, no gift right size so just accepted no radio. Last gift, box bigger than bread box, so I carefully opened & another box inside, I opened it and there was my yellow, portable, battery operated radio with carrying case. I just started crying I was so happy.
December 5th, 2009 at 2:30 am
First, a little background…I was raised in a small town in central Oklahoma – the local high school didn’t integrate until 1973, after my parents graduated. So, when I was nearly 7(my birthday is on Christmas day), I opened my last present at my grandmother’s house on Christmas eve. I was so excited when seeing the box with a picture of the newest babydoll – one of the first that actually peeed! When I opened the box, the actual doll ended up being African-American. My parents were shocked and my grandmother quickly apologized and took it away! Have you ever seen what happens when you take away a babydoll from a 7-year-old girl? On Christmas eve? Which is also the day before her birthday?! Needless to say, I cried for days and kept asking where my dollie was! Nearly 27 years later, and I’m still waiting on the replacement! But the biggest disappointment was in seeing how my family felt about “other” races – that will never change!