I asked our boys, 9 + 7, to start pulling their Christmas lists together the other day. This is a ritual that every kid under 12 looks forward to and as a parent, it’s so satisfying to see them sit down to prepare their lists to Santa. My little guy knew everything he wanted and crafted a carefully written note to St. Nick with drawings of reindeer and the fat guy in the red suit himself.
My older son is a bit more tech savvy and instead of scribbling down every toy or gadget he could find, he led me to the family computer to share links to toy websites he had bookmarked over the course of the last few months. The kid’s pretty resourceful that way.
When I was nine years old, to put together a kick-ass toy xmas list was to wait for the Sears, Service Merchandise, and JC Penney catalogs to come in the mail. Or to take notes on the commercials that ran during Saturday morning cartoons. I vividly remember the theme song from Hungry Hungry Hippos and Connect Four’s “Pretty sneaky sis’” tagline.
Both of my boys are asking for Ipod Touches this year which are some pretty pricey items, but when I remember back when I was 9 during the winter of 1981, the big item on my wishlist was a stereo system which was an AM/FM, cassette, with a turntable. In what was probably the most memorable Christmas ever, I not only got a brand spanking new Emerson stereo, but a bunch of my all time favorite albums – Van Halen’s first four albums – Van Halen, Van Halen II, Women & Children First, and Fair Warning, AC/DC’s Back in Black, and a Black Sabbath Greatest Hits Album “We Sold our Soul to Rock and Roll”. Thinking back, I wonder what my parents wound up spending on these things and if they had the same bit of joy watching me open those gifts as I get watching my boys open theirs.
As the years went by there was always that one big gift that you couldn’t stop thinking about, the holy grail, like Ralphie’s wanting for a Red Rider BB gun with a compass and a stock and a thing that tells time. Our parents always seemed to come through on whatever it was we wanted. There was the year of Atari, the year we got an NHL Stanley Cup Table Hockey, the Nintendo, Commodore 64.
Looking back, I’m was not unlike my own kids. My brother and I were always excited about getting our hands on the newest technology. While I wouldn’t dare compare an Atari Game system or Commodore 64 to an Ipod touch, at the time it sure felt like the wave of the future was upon us each and every time we opened that giant box on Xmas morning. A part of me was leaning against getting the boys the ipods this year, but when I reflect on all those xmas’ mornings where my brother and I were never disappointed, I want to be like Ralphie’s dad in A Christmas Story and point out that last gift hidden away behind the desk. I will watch in anticipation as they hurry to tear open the package and jump for joy at the the gift inside. These are the joys of parenthood no one tells you about and virtually no gift on earth can compare to the happy feeling you get inside when you can provide these memories for your kids. Happy Holidays everyone!
