Remember Ralphie in the movie A Christmas Story? His, as my readers point out, Aunt Clara sent him a bunny costume. Yeah, it sure sucked to be him.
Hey sometimes Christmas doesn't work out for some of us. Look at my grandsons last Christmas. Things went from this...
...to this...
Heh, heh. That's one picture my daughter doesn't want to share too widely. So keep quiet about it, okay?
When I was a kid, Christmas was such a special time. The snow outside, the tree, the lights, the food, visiting relatives and neighbours. And of course the presents.
My own kids loved Christmas too and would pore through the Sears Wish Book Catalogue as soon as it arrived in the mail, dog-earing pages upon pages of pictures of gifts they wanted for Christmas.
And they were pretty lucky. They usually got most of what they asked for. Today the grandkids are luckier than ever, although the twins last year had more fun with the boxes their presents came in than with the presents themselves.
Myself? Not so lucky. You know there should be a ban on certain items that parents get their kids for Christmas. Yeah, you know. The stores should stop selling certain things during the month of December.
When I was a kid I'd ask for a tricycle, or a wagon, or a Meccano set, or some such thing I'd have my heart set on.
I'd be up ahead of everyone else Christmas morning to see what Santa had left under the tree. I'd check out the name tags to see what presents were for me and I'd even shake a package or two to see if I could guess what was inside.
Slowly but surely the rest of the family would start to stir, and gather around the tree. I'd be so anxious I'd almost wet myself. C'mon guys, let's get going.
And then I'd be given the honour of opening the first gift. I'd tear the pretty bows and ribbon to shreds and rip off the wrapping paper to expose a medium sized box.
What the heck could it be? I hesitated. Was it the toy truck I'd asked for? Maybe it was a Davey Crocket hat - cool. I slowly lifted the lid of the box and peeked inside to see...sox and underwear!
"Um, ah, gee, guys, er, thanks a lot. It's, ah, just what I wanted."
And I must have sounded pretty sincere, because I got that same gift almost every year until I left home at the age of 20.
But I never ran out of sox...or underwear.
Just what he wanted?
Or click on this link The Worst Christmas Present Ever by Babs at Beetle Blog for a gift from one of my fellow Tribal Bloggers. Tell her dufus sent ya.
Comments
Ohh, and Ralphie actually got the bunny suit from his Aunt Clara. His parents got him the Red Rider air rifle.
SD
simpledudecomplexworld.blogspot.com
Aunt Clara? I stand corrected. But that's gotta be my favourite Christmas movie.
I mostly got money for Eid - it was natural - just call it protection (for love and respect) money.
Years ago, I told my kids that children on Santa's naughty list got socks and underwear for Xmas. I bugged them about it so much, my mom went and bought ME socks and underwear to prove the point. It's now a family tradition.
It isn't Christmas without the Wish Book!
AND...so are those adorable grandbabies, whining and all! *grin*
Yeah, it was Aunt Clara who bestowed the bunny outfit.
Hmm. I've been wondering to give my 13 yr old boy. Hmm.
*wicked grin*
When I was a kid, I was always losing the match to a pair of socks to our cat who loved to drag them around and hide them. Then, of course, I'd lose another to the black hole in the dryer. Getting socks for Christmas just replenishes your stock for the upcoming year.
But I *totally* remember going through the Sears catalog marking what I wanted. I don't remember if I did get anything out of that catalog but I had fun looking through it for hours on end.
In my case it was a 50s thing. (Yeah, I know I look much younger.) You may be right on the affordability thing. Heck, we didn't even have a car. Um, and I had to walk 30 miles to school barefoot in the snow...so those socks sure came in handy!
The year I asked for Barbie my father had back surgery and money was tight. I didn’t get a Barbie, or any of her “Mattel” friends. My sister and I got “Mini-Mod” dolls.
1960's Mini Mod 11.5" Fashion Doll
“Mini-Mod” dolls were cheap, vinyl Barbie knock-offs that had arms and legs that weren’t articulated like Barbie’s and if you pressed them too hard, they dented.
Reminds me of Christmas growing up.
Socks and such should never be given to children, although girls seem to appreciate them more than boys. I myself liked toys, and still do.