It's not that I really needed to talk about Christmas. It's not like it was super amazing or anything. I just wanted to bring it up because I don't get it anymore. People make SUCH a big deal about Christmas...about the holidays in general, and I find it so confusing...and obnoxious, now that I really think about it. My mom was in a panic about what presents they were going to get for Zeb (as usual, my parents were strapped for money), about how they were going to afford presents for him and for the girls. I explained to her, repeatedly, that it is not that big a deal to young kids. They just like presents. And it's not like Zeb was particularly deserving of any expensive gifts ($3K 46 in LCD television, anyone?). I mean, what is the point of making a big deal out of bribing kids to behave so that Santa won't leave them a lump of coal (or a bundle of switches and a rotten potato, so the saying goes in my family), if you are just going to go all out and blow a fuck ton of money on presents for them? What Zeb NEEDED from my parents for Christmas was clothes, and thank god Samantha, Liz, and I went with her Christmas shopping to make sure she got him some. But she still wanted to get him presents. The boy is NINE. It's not like he needed a car, or a computer. He likes toys...he is just a kid! It's not like my mom needed to go all out for him. He's got PARENTS for god's sake.
I guess the point I want to make comes down to this: one year for Christmas, all Samantha and I got were matching Tinkerbell caboodle boxes with lipgloss and nailpolish. One present each from Santa, plus whatever our Grandma sent us (I think that was the year she sent arts&crafts stuff, but my memory is pretty foggy), and we were totally okay with that. There was fruit and candy all around the tree, and it looked magical, and we were happy. And it's not like we were BAD, we were just POOR. It didn't ruin Christmas for us, we still believed in Santa, and life went on.
You can't BUY love. So, pay for what you can afford, get the kids what they actually deserve, and chill the FUCK OUT!!!!!
3 comments:
All of our Christmases were like that. Our Parents had a $40 limit per child. I hated it.. not so much the lack of presents, but the back to school let's all talk about all the stuff we got. I was always embarrassed when people would rattle off a ton of expensive stuff and then ask what I got. It definitely made me realize Santa was not real.
In Austria, if you're a bad child, a demon... A DEMON shows up at your front door and hits you in the face with a rusty chain...
Just sayin'
I think we should instill fear back into the hearts of our children :D
if I have kids, I am going to do give them bundles of switches and rotten potatoes for Christmas when they are bad. For real. Like, if I were running things, that is what Zeb would've gotten for Christmas.
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