The Christmas Thread

[Donf]

It's that time of year again. I don't know about the rest of you, but about the later half of every December I consume a lot of hot chocolate, watch "A Miracle on 34th Street", "White Christmas" and even "Christmas Vacation". I also like to stoke the fire and reread "A Christmas Carol" and "The Night Before Christmas" is a tradition around my house. I get all mushy just hearing everyone's special. personal Christmas Stories.
So dig deep, don't be afraid to show your Santa side.

I'll start with my next post.

[Donf]

I had a few hours to kill as well as some last minute Christmas shopping to do so I headed over to the mall. Took forever to find a parking space and my trek to the mall took me through the underground garage beneath Nordstrom's. As I was walking through a strangely quiet garage, I heard - so quietly I had to stop walking and cock my ear to be sure - the sound of someone softly sobbing. Looking around I almost missed him, a young boy, maybe 10, sitting in a dark corner. Thinking he must be lost, I went over to see if I could guide him to his parents. When I got closer I noticed that, despite the cold weather, he had on only an old wind-breaker and next to him on the ground was an old aluminum crutch, rags and duct tape making the armpit cushion, the foam hand grip cracked, hard, and filthy with age. I reassured him that I wanted to help and asked if he was lost. He explained that no, he was not. As he spoke I could barely hear him and, pretending I was hard of hearing asked if he could speak up. No, he explained that he had a nerve dysfunction that prevented him from speaking any louder than a quiet whisper or walk at more than a slow pace, even with the aid of the crutch. Apologizing profusely I told him that my name was Don and asked his. Now, I'm a “Christmas Carol” junkie and could have fallen over when he said that his name was Tim. He looked, and acted, the part better than any child actor ever could.


When prompted as to why he was 'upset' he told me the following story. He lived with his mom (no father or siblings) who worked for a janitorial service. New shoes were hard to come by and his mother usually bought him shoes first (which he wore out fast because of his dragging gait). He wanted to get her a brand new pair of Nikes because the cheap, used, shoes she bought at Goodwill made her feet hurt at night. So he had hatched a plan last Christmas. He would save the 50 cents that his mother gave him for his lunch everyday (we have a subsidized lunch program here in Texas for the poor) and, in a year have the $100 he needed for her shoes. Wasn't he ever hungry, I asked but he explained that his best friend hated to eat the crust on his sandwiches and would cut them off for Tim to eat everyday. I don't need much food because I can't run or play much he told me. The tears started again as he continued in his muted whisper, this morning he had taken his sock full of nickels, dimes, and quarters, to a nearby Wells Fargo to exchange for “folding money”. He had miscounted but the teller had actually chipped in a few quarters of her own to give him two spanking new fifties. He shoved them deep in a pocket and he got on a city bus. But somehow, when he checked before entering the main entrance, one was missing. He was suddenly shaken by a crying spasm, made all the more poignant by the fact that, due to his infirmity, it was almost silent.


The little Dickensian apparition before me held out his remaining fifty as if to say It's not enough now. Quite honestly I was racked with indecision. Certainly I could just walk off, he wasn't my problem after all. On the other hand I could give him a fifty out of my own Holiday funds. Looking at him, and with the full parking garage devoid of people, I knew that no one else could hear him, and he was in no condition to get up and follow me.
So I kicked him in the nuts, snatched the fifty out of his hand, and ran like Hell.

As the other Tim said, “Merry Christmas, every one of us!”

[Nokie]

Very nice.

[Raza]

I love Christmas. I'm not a Christian, I didn't grow up Christian, I don't decorate anything, but I've celebrated Christmas my entire life. It's such a nice time of year.

[Dan R]

I've always loved Christmas. But as I get older, the magic seems to run out of it more each year.

YMMV,

Dan

[Raza]

I've always loved Christmas. But as I get older, the magic seems to run out of it more each year.

YMMV,

Dan

It may sound after-school-special, but since I moved into a position to give gifts, I always like to see the reactions they cause. That really is my favorite aspect of Christmas.

[CanadianStraps]

Just cut down my tree for this year a few days ago, a tradition I am a big fan of. Normally would do it closer to the beginning of December, but I went on holiday instead. But I found a nice 8' spruce for this year and it fills the whole front window.

Love the matrix of Christmas. Drinks by the fireplace laughing about Christmases of yore, all kinds of good food, and I enjoy the gift exchanges when you give and receive thoughtful and surprising things, not just stuff you said you wanted. This year I commissioned a fairly large painting of my & the wife's first house. It's going to come way out of left field for her, and it is those anticipation and reaction components that I love about the gift exchanges.

A few years ago I was given a gift by a oldest friend, it was sitting on a table and I was told it was to fragile to pass around and just asked that I open it as it sat. He is an amazing artist and I assumed there was something incredible inside. There was a cocktail: made, in a glass, just sitting inside the box. When we were roommates a dog's age ago, we used to drink rye manhattans like our lives depended on it. He eventually moved out west for a few years, being a bit nomadic as artists can be. We kept in touch, but he had only been back in ON for a while and we hadn't had a chance to do much catching up since. I picked up the drink and he was holding one. It had been a long time since I had a laugh over a Manhattan with a good friend.

[Dan R]

It may sound after-school-special, but since I moved into a position to give gifts, I always like to see the reactions they cause. That really is my favorite aspect of Christmas.

Well, it is true until you've lived long enough. Not harping on the age thing, but I used to give my Mom a kaleidoscope each year. Each one different and unique. My Dad asked that we stop as they had enough nick-knacks and couldn't really deal with any more. My wife won't ask for anything but gift cards and the one time I got her nice jewelry, she said I spent too much (not like it was more than half a paycheck for one of us) and returned it.

Now my son-in-law still acts like a kid. But we won't see him this Christmas.

I do agree with you, but YMMV.

Dan

[Vincent Vega]

For me it's watching, "Badder Santa" (the uncut version - as if the released one isn't nasty enough. Huge Billy Bob fan!) and, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (a little more mainstream).

Have a great Christmas all and... "Don't shoot yer eye out!"

[Raza]

For me it's watching, "Badder Santa" (the uncut version - as if the released one isn't nasty enough. Huge Billy Bob fan!) and, "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (a little more mainstream).

Have a great Christmas all and... "Don't shoot yer eye out!"

For me, it's Bad Santa, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard. Every year.