Bucketfuls of Kitsch & A Merry Christmas to All!
Posted by erin at December 24, 2003 01:21 PMTwo family Christmas gatherings later and N. is still alive. I keep telling him that after tomorrow morning it will all be over, but I’m not sure he believes me. He hates Christmas, and he hates getting gifts. However, so far my relatives have given him surprisingly restrained and practical gifts, like a tasteful jogging suit, socks, and a handy desk-reference book.
N. was freaking out a bit at my aunt’s house, though, which was decorated to the hilt with some cheesy Midwestern Christmas decorations, including a knee-high sculpture of half-a-dozen Santas climbing out of a giant stocking.
Mercifully, only two of my aunts were at that gathering, and they gave each other the kitschiest gifts, which they seemed to really enjoy. A bunch of my cousins (six of a possible 15) were at that one, and I was surprised to find that the hyper (and possibly crazy) 9-year-olds I remembered had all turned into (relatively) calm high-schoolers or college students.
Last night we went to my mom’s side of the family to have our traditional gift exchange and dinner. This was preceded by a weird bought of family photos, wherein I discovered that the girl who lived down the road from me who used to be my best friend in preschool now has a small child of her own. That girl did get married during college, and she is a year older than me, but still! Scary scary! My best friend from high school is getting married next year (Jen) and another friend (Robin) has a kid, and Troy and Lauren got married… what’s up with people getting married and having kids? When did everyone decide to grow up?
In my continued efforts to act like a kid, I intend to do what I have always done on Christmas Eve, which is this: Wake up extremely early (around 5am, down from 3:30am when I was 10), sneak downstairs and examine the gifts, but refrain from opening them as per our family rule, then fall asleep while watching a Doctor Who episode with my brother and wake up when our parents get up, and then, and only then, open our gifts. We all take turns opening them, too. This slows the process, as in recent years our gifts are fewer but more expensive things.
All of this freaks the hell out of N., of course. Maybe he can sleep through most of it.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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December 31, 2003 02:42 PM, N. said:
I will admit that I spent a little bit of time freaked out, but not much.
I admit this only so I have an excuse to post this link, as contrast to my own holiday experiences.
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