As we get older Christmas seems to become so much more complicated — too much to do, too many demands and too little time.
All I want for Christmas is to be a kid again.
When I was growing up Christmas seemed so simple. There was no stress, no deadlines, no budgets, no dinners to plan, no schedules to make.
The biggest issues for me during the holidays were getting my hands on the Christmas Wish Book before my brothers and somehow convincing my parents sleep on Christmas Eve was optional.
On Christmas Eve I was that kid. I was Ed Grimley excitedly bouncing around my bedroom or tossing under my Charlie Brown sheets looking at the clock every 10 seconds. I was anxiously waiting for the time it was safe to escape the dungeon which was my room.
I would sleep for what felt like five minutes before crawling out of bed to go and find my stocking. Like a dog who found a new toy I would drag my stuffed sock back to my room and quietly unload the newfound treasures onto my bed.
Of course there were the stocking staples like a Christmas orange and chocolate, but I eagerly dug through looking for G.I Joes, Matchbox cars and Lego.
We had a strict rule in my house, we were not allowed to wake mom and dad until 8 a.m., but that left plenty of time to build a Lego plane or have epic battles between Darth Vader and Snake Eyes on my floor.
When we could no longer contain ourselves my brothers and I put together a reconnaissance team taking turns sneaking into the living room to see what was beneath the tree. Under the cover of darkness we would quickly rummage through the gifts to find ones unwrapped (Santa was smart that way) and run back to the bedrooms to give a detailed report on what was discovered. Of course there were issues if we did not see whose name was on the Millenium Falcon.
Finally, mom and dad would stagger into the living room and the free-for-all would begin.
It was followed by a cozy morning in my pajamas, a big breakfast and, eventually, an afternoon nap. A nap with my arms wrapped tightly around whatever was my favourite toy that Christmas.
Savour the season and wrap your arms around your loved ones this Christmas.
