The Christmas Lists of Old (and New)

Are we seriously 9 days away from Christmas?!

Why does this time of year have to go by so fast?

Every year, I tell myself I'm going to slow down, enjoy more cups of hot chocolate, watch a few more Christmas movies, and just enjoy everything that Christmastime brings.

Every year.

And every year, I look back and regret that I didn't do it. I didn't slow down, I have a box of hot chocolate still in the pantry, some movies are still in the original wrapper, and Christmas is gone for another 365 days.

It's just so sad!

So, I have 9 days to make the most of this 2013 Christmas season. And, believe me, I WILL make the most of it!

Get ready Chris, we're about to go Christmas-crazy this week.

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I have been asked quite a few times what I would like for Christmas by my family.

I feel like this was such an easy question when I was a kid. All I had to do was look through the JC Penney's Christmas catalogue, the Toys 'R' Us wish book, and watch a ton of TV to see what the new toys were. Toys 'R' Us even included little stickers I could place on what I wanted!

Toy retailers sure knew how to hypnotize and convince us children to NEED these cool toys. Not want, NEED.

Everywhere you looked, there was a Nintendo GameBoy or a Furby being shoved in your face. You couldn't help but feel like you weren't cool if you didn't have what they were advertising.

And our poor parents, who had to endure long waiting lists and Black Fridays, just to get that stupid toy we played with on Christmas morning, then put it in our play room to rot away.

Don't lie, you played with the 'got-to-have-it' toy for an hour or two, then completely forgot about it. We are all guilty of it.

I remember I wanted a Barbie doll that had a purple stand for selling your cute little bubble gum creations. You used large bubble gum pieces, pressed them in a mold, stuck a stick in it, and voila, you have a little terrier-looking dog bubble gum pop that you could place in the stand for all to see.

I didn't know this little fact of using already-made bubble gum. I thought you made the bubble gum, too.

I was, like, 5. I was naïve. Don't judge me.

But I HAD to have this toy! My Christmas would not have been complete if Santa did not put this Barbie out for me to see when I walked in our living room Christmas morning. I would have been heartbroken if Santa forgot it.

Santa definitely didn't forget!

I can still picture exactly where it was at when I walked in. That's probably because I've watched the home video of it several times, but that doesn't matter. It was to the right of our entertainment center, all set up and looking absolutely wonderful.

Then I noticed the pre-packaged gum.

What the heck?

At that moment, I realized this beautiful bubble gum stand was just that: a stand. It didn't make the delicious gum. The Bubblicious and Bubble Yum factory did.

If that wasn't crushing enough, the awesome molds that were used to make the amazing shapes were pieces of .... poo. They barely worked. The little terrier dog came out looking like a blob.

Talk about not living up to the commercials of the perfect bubble gum pops!

I think I played with it until I ran out of bubble gum, and then to the play room closet it went, never to be played with again.

I'm sure my parents can tell you of PLENTY more times that this happened, but this is the only one I can remember so vividly. Probably because it was such a disappointment.

Why must they make the commercials look so awesome, yet the actual toy is so not-good?

I finally left the toy catalogues to my sisters and moved on to CDs, movies, and clothes. They usually didn't let me down like the toys did. Although, there we a couple of CDs that ended up in a drawer or on our kitchen desk after I listened to it one time through.

This year, though, my Christmas list has changed quite a bit.

It's non-existent.

Up until last night, I really had no clue what I wanted! I mentioned a thing or two to my husband and my mom, but I honestly could not come up with what I wanted.

Then it hit me.

A trash can!

I want a nice trash can.

Got to love being an adult, huh?

We have a plastic one that we bought when I moved into our house back in June. It serves its purpose, but just isn't cutting it anymore. So, I text my mom last night and told her that's what I want!

I also want kitchen stuff. Cook books, cooking utensils, towels, whatever I can use to make my life easier while I'm whipping up some food.

I never understood why my mom would get so excited about things like a Dust Buster or a bunch of Pyrex dishes.

I get it now.

It's funny to think back on the toys that I had to have, or else my Christmas was ruined, and now to look at what I really do have to have to make dinner happen every night!

Oh, how I wish I enjoyed my childhood Christmases just a little more.

I'm glad I finally thought of something to tell my mom that I really could use, not something that's going to end up in storage somewhere. The luxury of putting Christmas gifts in a closet or in a play room just isn't there anymore.

******

It's crazy to think back on all of the Christmases I've had (24, to be exact) and how much my viewpoint on December 25th has changed. It's no longer about what Santa has left under the tree, but the time spent with my loved ones and enjoying each other's company.

I'm really excited about waking up for the first time in our own home with my love on Christmas Day. Since Santa will not be visiting our house this year, we will be able to take our time getting up, open some gifts, eat some breakfast, and spend sweet time together before the crazy-awesome day gets started.

I still can't believe it's only 9 days away, though.

I better get on the ball and wrap up the gifts! I want to be able to enjoy looking at them under our tree before they're ripped open :)