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| Me in front of the Ram Charger circa 1984. |
Flash forward to 1985 when all I wanted was the cassette tape by The Jets. I loved "You Got It All" and "Crush On You". As my family and I were riding in the car one night, "You Got It All" came on the radio. I told them, "THIS IS IT! THIS IS THE JETS! This is the tape I want!" I had to be sure to let them know. They said they would remember. Then the radio played another song by The Jets and then another and then another and then...I realized it wasn't the radio. They were playing the tape they bought for me. YEEEEEEEHAW!!!! If I could have managed to do a flip-flop inside that car, I would have, except I didn't know how to do a flip-flop and I was inside the car, remember? Anyway, my day was made. My day. Was. Made.
There was also that one Christmas when I asked for an electric keyboard/synthesizer and got an electric organ with a Pat Boone songbook instead. Miscommunication with Santa was all that was about. So glad Santa didn't see my face when I saw Pat's.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of all, however, was the Christmas morning I woke up extra early to see my parents and grandmother arranging gifts in the living room "from Santa". Dagnabbit. Dag. Nabbit. Now, granted, it was last year, but still! Santa wasn't real??? Seriously, I'd be the kid you would NOT want to have. I wanted to go to sleep on Christmas Eve practically right after lunch so that I could wake up and see what Santa had left. Once I fell asleep as early as my parents would let me, I would wake up around 3 a.m. to see if Santa had made it. My younger sister would always still be asleep (LAME!), so I'd have to wake her up before going into the living room. Three a.m.! My poor parents had barely gotten into bed from setting up Barbie mansions and whatnot and there I was- wide awake- ready to play with all of the Christmas toys.
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| I look a little deranged, don't I? |
They never complained.
My parents love for us and the way they loved seeing joy on our faces is something I carry with me all the time. It makes me want to do things that catch my kids off-guard in a good way. I know I could do better,too. Like, I could stop forgetting to move that dang Elf on the Shelf. I keep having to come up with reasons he's still dangling on the wrought iron Christmas tree decoration thingy. If you have kids or around kids, I know you want to make happy memories for them, too. I'm hoping my kids forget the not-so-good moments where I lose it after seeing all the couch pillows all over the floor..again. Also, the one where I yell "STOPITSTOPITSTOPIT" and contort my face in an odd way when I see them tackling each other in the middle of Best Buy or in the grassy area outside of Chili's or by the Christmas tree or near the...
Do you have any Christmas surprises you want to share? I'd love to hear them!
22 people eligible for free Pepto Bismol:
It sounds like your folks did a good job with Christmas all the way up to your unfortunate identity discovery of Santa. I was once mistakenly given a Barbie doll meant for my sister. I'm not going to lie. I was a little disappointed I didn't get to keep it.
Your parents rocked it.
My sister wanted a Cabbage Patch so bad one year, but my mom couldn't find any red headed girl dolls. So, she bought a boy and a change of clothes for it. She changed the doll, stuck it back in the box, and my sister never knew.
I found a bike that I wanted SO BAD one year. It was perfect. Blue, shiny, 6 speed (WTF who makes a 6 speed?)...I thought I would die if I didn't' get it. But on Christmas morning there was no bike. Until after all the presents were opened, I had a note...that let to another note, and another and another until it FINALLY led to the bike that my dad had hidden on the side of the house! I was so happy.
I love this! That picture of you is adorable.
My parents were so lame. Nothing surprising. However, one year my father and uncle assembled the swing set IN the empty dining room...and had to disassemble it to get it out to the yard. I heard the name "Jesus Christ" a lot that day, but I don't think it was in a good Christmas way...
How cute --Love the way your parents surprised you. Last Christmas I bought hubby one of those one-cup coffee makers and he was floored. (we had looked at them and agreed they were way to expensive!) He loves that thing more than he loves me, I think!
What wonderfully imaginative parents! It sounds as though your Christmases really were made extra-specially memorable with the things they planned. I loved Christmas as a child and we tried to make our own children's Christmases special, but none stand out as particularly remarkable in a surprise-factor way :)
What nice memories! I remember wanting a Cabbage Patch Doll so badly, and somehow, my mom managed to have my aunt, who lived in the city, wrestle one from a lady in a department store brawl, to have Santa deliver, I was so crazy, happy - my poor mom kept apologizing that it was a boy, Santa must have been mixed-up; but I didn't care, I loved Geoffery Serge the moment I saw him sitting under the tree, in his Cabbage Patch box!
My dad totally bought my cabbage patch doll on the black market (seriously). And when he gave it to me, I was all, "Oh. Ok. Thanks. Bring on the next toy!"
I don't think he will ever forgive me.
I'm older than you ~ so when you were asking for Cabbage Patch dolls from Santa, my friends were getting them from their boyfriends as Christmas gifts.
Seriously?
What kind of weird gift is that?
At the time I was so jealous, though. Of the dolls. And the boyfriends.
In fact, I think my first boyfriend was really just a veiled attempt on my part to score a Cabbage Patch doll on Christmas.
But instead I got an REO Speedwagon album.
Oh yeah. Who's jealous now?
Well, I wasn't allowed to have a Cabbage Patch kid. My sisters and I are adopted and my mom thought CBK were really ugly, and therefore made fun of adopted children.
Yeah.
She also told me that the gifts from Santa weren't free and she had to leave a check.
I am pretty sure this could make a fabulous Christmas movie, eh? ; )
When I was about 5, my older brother & I made a plan to wake up at 5 AM, which became a lasting tradition until we were out of the house. But that first year, we decided that we needed to let our parents sleep in, so we didn't wake them when we got up and started tearing into our presents. I guess our excitement woke them though because they were up before we finished unwrapping and oh boy, were we in trouble for not waking them up before we started unwrapping.
Now that my nephews are about the ages we were then, THEY have started getting up at 5 AM to open presents. My 4-year-old only child hasn't caught on to that yet (and if her cousins ever tell her, I might have to kill them), which drives my brother insane when he is awake at 5 AM. So now he calls me every Christmas morning when his kids wake him up and tells (yells at...whatevs) me to get up too. My new tradition is to cuss him out and hang up on him.
See? You're never to old to start new holiday traditions with your siblings. ;)
Cassette tapes, Cabbage Patch dolls- wow- a blast from the past! I really laughed hard about the Pat Boone book- so funny!
I remember the Jets! Ah the memories... However, I hated Cabbage Patch Kids. Maybe it was their cleft palates and squishy faces. Maybe it was because my parents refused to buy me a real one and I got a generic one from Walgreens? Who knows, but I loathe them still.
I was so little, but I remember this so well. I swear I was so young I dind't even have sisters yet, but that would have made me 3 and that's unlikely. But I remember thinking that if Santa saw me at all between going to bed and Christmas morning, he'd take everythign away. And I realllllllly had to go to the bathroom early Christmas morning. So I opened my door so quietly and crawled to the bathroom, hoping he couldnt' see me. My vision was that he was sitting in the kitchen with his milk and cookies (I can still picture the glass!) and that he'd look up and there I'd be, scurrying to the bathroom and he'd take it all away. What torture kids go through over Santa!
We also wanted Cabbage Patch Kids and my mother thought she could make some knock off versions of them. She didn't knnow we were smart enough to look for the special signature that made them real. DUH. She was so mad that we did that !
My parents had a rather opposite problem with me. Since I've committed partial blogicide, I wrote about it on my lame Associated Content thing: http://voices.yahoo.com/how-tease-late-sleeper-christmas-10631039.html?cat=43
I guess technically it's "Yahoo Voices". Sigh. It will always be Ass Content to me...
Awww it sounds like your parents really went out of their way to make Christmas special for you!
--Kelley,
You are Soooo damn adorable :))) Xx
I remember wanting nothing but a cabbage patch. I got one and it was everything i had ever dreamed of. She was a corn silk, actually. Remember those? I still have her.
Now my kids look at cabbage patch dolls and say they are ugly. WHAT?? They are NOT! They are darling and I will love them forever.
I absolutely adore this post. The Pat Boone Song Book is HILARIOUS!!! Especially coming from the girl who goes all gangsta. The look of joy on your face, and you getting up at 3 AM.
And the outrageous things our kids do that (rightfully) cause us to LOSE it because, well, face it, they're behaving like little pagans, and they actually NEED for someone to look at them and say, "Are you CRAZY??? We don't ACT LIKE THAT!!!" (as we ourselves go crazy acting like that...).
It's a great post, and my prayer for you is that one of your Christmas wishes come true. You pick which one. Blessings on you, my friend!
I just stumbled upon your blog today, it looks very professional.
I enjoyed reading this! My parents were always big on surprising me.
One year I wanted a "five speed bicycle" which was pretty amazing at the time. Christmas morning arrived and no bike under the tree :-( I dutifully opened my gifts but was crushed at the no-bike scene (I was perhaps 12). My dad then asked me to go out into the laundry room for a large trash bag for all the shredded wrapping paper.
Head hanging I trudged out there and lo and behold there in the laundry room was a brand new "five speed bike" with a big bow!
Oh yeah......it really is about surprises.
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