2010-12-23, 03:59 AM
Frankly the only thing that hasn't changed about Christmas for me is me watching all the Christmas specials on Nickelodeon.
When I was a kid, I was probably Santa's #1 fan. I don't really remember any Christmases before age 6, but all I know is that Christmas 1997 is when I got my first Hot Wheels set. I started to worship Santa at that point. I remember waking up pretty early that morning with my mom rushing me downstairs to have me see what Santa got me; it was a big box sitting in the living room, curiously wrapped in the same wrapping paper I saw in the other room the night before and with a cheap 5 cent bow on top. I tore all of the gift wrap off and saw a Hot Wheels set with a "REAL WORKING CAR WASH". I think I played with it for about 2 days then went back to watching Rugrats until New Year's, but boy was I happy when I got that present. I started writing the most extraneous wish lists from that point on; when I became a fan of Tekken around age 9 or so I wished for every Tekken game out there, including ones that I already had and ones that didn't even exist (Ultimate Tekken, Tekken Showdown, Tekken 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc).
As far as I can remember, I've always loved Christmas because of the atmosphere. It hasn't changed for me yet; Christmas lights and music and everything else have always kind of uplifted me. Every year my family has a party, which consists of generic Christmas stuff (or rather, Filipinos trying to be American stuff) and me playing [most recent first-person shooter of that year] with my cousins. It's always been genuine though; there's never anyone that doesn't want to be there, and everyone's cheerful and appreciative of the lame presents they get, plus the money from my aunts who have way too much income and nothing to spend it on. As much as I hate my family sometimes (particularly my mom's side), it's hard to be bitter about anything when it's your favorite time of the year and you're surrounded by people who you (mostly) like to be around.
It's gotten dull over the years, though. My dad stopped putting up the Christmas tree and lights when I was 13, since he would get mad when my mom never took them down until like February. Personally, my wish lists dwindled from every variety of Tekken ever conceived to two new video games to some clothes (Except for this year, I'm hoping for a watch...). I try to keep the Christmas spirit alive by doing some little things around the dorm I live in. I planted a tiny holly tree in the corner of the room and put Christmas lights in the bathroom where the toilet is, but it's hard to recreate the bliss that I felt when I was a kid; things get a lot more complex when you're older. I've come to the realization that it's the people you're around that make Christmas, though. Thanks for making this thread, your stories really cheered me up.
It's two days until Christmas and I haven't watched a single Christmas special. I'm think I'm gonna be busy all day tomorrow.
When I was a kid, I was probably Santa's #1 fan. I don't really remember any Christmases before age 6, but all I know is that Christmas 1997 is when I got my first Hot Wheels set. I started to worship Santa at that point. I remember waking up pretty early that morning with my mom rushing me downstairs to have me see what Santa got me; it was a big box sitting in the living room, curiously wrapped in the same wrapping paper I saw in the other room the night before and with a cheap 5 cent bow on top. I tore all of the gift wrap off and saw a Hot Wheels set with a "REAL WORKING CAR WASH". I think I played with it for about 2 days then went back to watching Rugrats until New Year's, but boy was I happy when I got that present. I started writing the most extraneous wish lists from that point on; when I became a fan of Tekken around age 9 or so I wished for every Tekken game out there, including ones that I already had and ones that didn't even exist (Ultimate Tekken, Tekken Showdown, Tekken 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc).
As far as I can remember, I've always loved Christmas because of the atmosphere. It hasn't changed for me yet; Christmas lights and music and everything else have always kind of uplifted me. Every year my family has a party, which consists of generic Christmas stuff (or rather, Filipinos trying to be American stuff) and me playing [most recent first-person shooter of that year] with my cousins. It's always been genuine though; there's never anyone that doesn't want to be there, and everyone's cheerful and appreciative of the lame presents they get, plus the money from my aunts who have way too much income and nothing to spend it on. As much as I hate my family sometimes (particularly my mom's side), it's hard to be bitter about anything when it's your favorite time of the year and you're surrounded by people who you (mostly) like to be around.
It's gotten dull over the years, though. My dad stopped putting up the Christmas tree and lights when I was 13, since he would get mad when my mom never took them down until like February. Personally, my wish lists dwindled from every variety of Tekken ever conceived to two new video games to some clothes (Except for this year, I'm hoping for a watch...). I try to keep the Christmas spirit alive by doing some little things around the dorm I live in. I planted a tiny holly tree in the corner of the room and put Christmas lights in the bathroom where the toilet is, but it's hard to recreate the bliss that I felt when I was a kid; things get a lot more complex when you're older. I've come to the realization that it's the people you're around that make Christmas, though. Thanks for making this thread, your stories really cheered me up.
It's two days until Christmas and I haven't watched a single Christmas special. I'm think I'm gonna be busy all day tomorrow.