Memories of Xmas Past: Silliness, Embarrassments, and Randomness

I have a love/hate thing with Christmas...I like presents, but I hate waiting for them. I have fond memories from childhood, but nasty ones from adulthood. Oh, and I fucking hate winter, which kills a lot of the joy from the season for me. But I thought I'd share some random things 'cause I just don't have anything else to blog about...

* I didn't really believe in Santa, but I liked leaving carrots for his reindeer just in case. And FYI: I don't think parents should tell their kids that strange men come into their houses at night. It certainly affected my ability to sleep.

* There is only one photo of me with Santa when I was three or four, and I'm crying and screaming in it because I had no idea who this weird guy was that my mum had just given me to. Another FYI: parents, that's totally not cool to do to your kids.

* In the first grade, I accidentally put "Love, Skyla" on all the Christmas cards I handed out at school. I say "accidental" because I didn't really love everyone, but I wrote it for my friends and didn't realize I was doing it for everyone else. And then I got made fun of severely.

* I STILL do that kind of thing. I make out all my Christmas cards at once, and usually write "Love, Skyla" without even thinking about it. As a result, I'm certain that all my acquaintances, employers, and neighbours from the past several years think I'm overly emotional or perhaps a little creepy.

* I care more about wrapping than the actual gift I'm giving. I figure it can be the crappiest gift in the world, so long as it looks pretty. Thank you, innate marketing ability, for that valuable lesson.

* Christmas Eve and Day were always spent at my grandparent's place when I was a kid. This meant that I didn't always get to peek at my presents early because they wouldn't be put out until later.

* The years when we didn't do that, I almost always unwrapped my presents early, saw what they were, then rewrapped them and feigned surprise later.

* I once got a giant She-Ra pillow-y toy that was almost as tall as me. I wish I still had that.

* I was very disappointed every year as I grew up and got fewer toys. Even as a teenager, I secretly hoped I'd open my gifts and find Barbie dolls.

* I have the uncanny ability to guess what people purchased for me using very few clues. And before I open things, I like to correctly guess what's wrapped up.

* Both Aunt Judy and I got my dog presents this year. She's so spoiled.

And now for some She-Ra: