Observations on Christmas (All truth, no lies, guaranteed. tm)

Never wrap late into the night before. It's always painful, knowing you're going to be awakened at the crack of dawn. I remember this every year, just after I've done it again.

The Night Before Christmas never mentions Santa flying. He's clearly a tiny man with miniature reindeer riding in the snow along the ground, who rides up the side of a house and onto the roof. The more I read this each year, the more I wish there was one illustrator who'd get it right. Which clearly shows I have too much time on my hands.

Brothers know brothers. Big T gave Lil T a Nintendo DS game (Catz), with his own money, while we had no idea exactly what Lil T wanted. It was the only gift Big T purchased this year (pricey). And it was Lil T's favorite gift, this year.

Slow is the way to go. If you can extend the time for kids opening their presents beyond the first four hours after waking, they will lose interest in the opening in exchange for interest in actually playing. This way, when they become bored of playing with a given toy, they have new toys to open. In this manner you can extend the opening throughout the day. It's 2:00 and my kids still haven't opened all their presents, opting instead to play with their favorites-so-far.This can usually be accomplished by a one-person-at-a-time, one present-at-a-time, turns rule.

The elitist media hates Santa. New kids television shows all play off the theme that kids eventually stop believing in Santa Claus. This is especially sucks when you have kids who still do believe. Or adults like me who do, for that matter. I wish they'd get another Christmas idea. (BTW, the elitist media jibe is tongue-in-cheek. In case my sarcasm comes off flat.)

There is no legal, herbal, non-toxic equivalent for the euphoric effect that catnip has on cats. Dammit. Could use that, especially around the holidays.

Lego Systems, Inc. does indeed provide extra parts in their kits, bless their hearts. Yay.

If you buy a special toy on Ebay in the summer to hold onto until Christmas, put the damn thing together in the summer, so you can tell if they left out a key piece. Blast.

Putting together big Lego projects for your little kid does suck, when they lose interest and walk away to leave you to do it yourself. But what sucks more is the year when your big kid asks you to walk away, because he wants to put it together himself. Boo hoo.

Cats prefer batting wads of wrapping paper to any purchased toys. Cats are simple that way.

It doesn't feel like Christmas if you can open the door to let out the issue from a smokey pan, and forget to close it because it's so warm outside. In New England. I mean, if the Pilgrims had to bear this, they would've skipped Thanksgiving Thursday all together, in favor of Luau Tuesday. Sheesh.

True story 1: Top of the Christmas list to Santa this year was a "bag of Christmas magic." I'm not sure what he wanted it for, but I purchased some polished glass and plastic stones and glitter and filled a felt bag with it. The key component was to leave out any instruction manual. When he realized that, after an hour of trying to figure out how to make it work, we came to the conclusion that maybe next year he'll ask for that instruction manual. Does he think there might be one? "Maybe..."

Favorite things about Christmas so far:
Mom: Waking to the sound of kids romping down the stairs, seeing the new (foil wrapped) gifts from Santa. Big T: "He always wraps them in red foil, did you notice?" Gee, I never did...
Lil T: "Being with each other."
Big T: "Truthfully, it would have to be that warm feeling when Lil T opened my present and said he loved it...the warm feeling when you give things to others."
Okay, you could make this stuff up, but I swear, I didn't.

Kids can't tell the expensive gifts from the cheap ones. Measure toys by the fun factor alone. The cheap-o rainbow-colored bag to hold portable art supplies was as big a hit as the (more expensive) Gears block set. Who knew?

Bad: Videos on Christmas. Inhibits play. TV is the screaming baby in the room, demanding all attention and sucking it into its glowing void. Except for Studio 60 on Sunset Strip, of course. (Highly recommended).
Good: Books on Christmas Day. Reading while the kids play allows them to be creative, while you're entertained in a non-intrusive way.
Forgot to stop at the Library on Friday, though.
Best: Play with the kids. Then play some more.

True Story #2: Would you rather be a kid or...a Doctor?" On hearing this, I'm prepared for some in-depth psychological insight into my child's 5-year-old mind, balancing innocence and freedom against responsibility and the desire to help others. Then I realize he's just finished putting together his new Lego characters, and has a doctor and a kid character, and is asking which character I'd rather play.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. 0 days. Seven days until New Years. Dun-Dun-Duhhhhhh.