Christmas Ramblings

I learned from an early age that getting dozens of the most expensive Christmas gifts does not make a successful holiday. When I was younger, I pretty much got whatever I asked for. Okay, that IS an exaggeration, but I rarely went without a decent amount of gifts. Of course when you’re a kid that is what Christmas is about. But as I grew older my 16 page Christmas lists dwindled down to half a page of ideas, mostly books and a few ideas for “big gifts.”

After my parents split up, they still collabed on Xmas gifts. One year I got a guitar and the year after my brother and I got cell phones. However, when my parents stopped getting along, my brother and I gave up hope on getting much for Christmas. My mum doesn’t make a lot of money, so with my dad out of the picture I never expected much. The first year that money was really tight I obviously wasn’t expecting much. When I saw one gift for me under the tree, I tried my best to not be disappointed about not getting the new camera I wanted. Imagine my surprise when I open the gift to find out that is EXACTLY what it was. It was a budget camera, a little over a hundred dollars, but it meant the world to me. Even though it was the only gift my mum could afford it was easily my favourite gift ever. I think that accepting that you aren’t getting much and then getting what you want makes a gift very special.

I don’t mind not getting gifts if money is tight, but it feels horrible to be seemingly left out. I’ve taken to not going to Christmas celebrations put on by my Dad’s side of the family due to this feeling. One year I actually got nothing but a card because I had asked to borrow some money for a trip. I wouldn’t have minded so much if I had been told that money would be my gift, but it doesn’t matter who you are; the anticipation of a gift without getting something is always disappointing. It even worse when you spend 2 minutes opening three cards and get three 25 dollar Walmart gift certificates then watch others open up expensive crystal figurines and 3 piece luggage sets for the next hour.

Don’t get me wrong, gift cards ARE great…if you run out of time or ideas. I guess I do have a beef with gift cards. If you spend time looking for something or can’t decide what someone wants, by all means buy a gift card! But a gift card bought without spending SOME time and effort is lazy and it has no thought whatsoever. I’d rather get something someone took a bit of time picking out than a generic gift card. Hell, I’d rather a handmade gift over a gift card! I love gifts that I know someone put a lot of thought or love into and gift cards don’t usually fit into that category.

The gifts definitely don’t top my list of my favourite things about Christmas. The number one thing would be spending time with my family. I know it sounds so cliché but it’s true! My favourite part of the Holidays is going to my aunt’s place. At some point during the Holidays my aunt and uncle have everyone over and we set off fireworks, have a bonfire, and when everyone needs to warm up, we go inside for snacks and play board games; often until midnight. I love spending time with my family and all of us only manage to get together 3 or 4 times a year, so when we all manage to get together I really cherish that time

I will end with a short account of Christmas 2010. The only thing I really wanted for Christmas was a new cell phone. I broke my old phone and it needed to be replaced, but the warrantee was expired so a new phone would have to be bought out of pocket. I wanted a BlackBerry, not exactly in our price range to buy out of pocket. So I wasn’t expecting much, but I knew it would be something I loved. So on Christmas morning I let other people open their gifts first, giving me time to make sure I wouldn’t show disappointment when I didn’t get the one thing I really wanted. When the time came to open my gift, I took a deep breath. No amount of lifting and shaking gave me any clue as to what it was. I opened my gift and it was the BlackBerry I had asked for. It was entirely unexpected, as was my reaction; I cried. I didn’t cry because I got what I wanted, I cried because once again my mum did the unexpected.

It was a great Christmas, not because of the gift, but because I spent so much time with my family surrounded by love. I am still kind of bitter about the lack of snow though :P