How many gifts do you really remember?

A friend of mine, and we all have one of these, was saying how worried she was about Christmas. She would not be able to give her kids everything they wanted. Her husband had a downturn at work and they just didn't have enough money to buy the kid's everything they wanted. She did not like my answer. I said, "Then don't". She looked at me like a pig looking at a wristwatch.

Kids should learn early on just like The Rolling Stones so intelligently said, you can't always get what you want. I'm pretty sure that there has never been a documented case of anyone dying from not getting everything they ask for at Christmas. Pretty sure. I'm willing to bet money on it. I'm not being like Scrooge but I don't think it's a good idea for parents to ruin themselves financially to buy gifts that will only give a few moments of joy.

Enough of that PSA.

This got me thinking about how many Christmas gifts could I really remember? My 1st 2 Christmases are a blur. I do remember for my 3rd that I got my play kitchen. I played with it for years and so did my sister. It might be the last documented case of me liking to be in the kitchen. I then just remember certain toys like Hungry Hungry Hippos and the Mickey Mouse roller coaster. I remember this game I got called Mousetrap. I think the memory is more of my Dad cursing about how GD hard and what SOB thought of the no less than 1 million pieces it had to be put together. Good times.

I really remember when I was 10 or 11 getting my Cabbage Patch Kid (CPK). I was on the fence about Santa Claus. I was pretty sure there wasn't one but I didn't want to ruin it for my younger sister and was afraid if I said it out loud & there was one, I could get nothing. I wasn't risking it. I hadn't asked for one because I had seen the people on TV waiting in lines & fighting over them. My sis started asking for one & my mom is saying sure honey & what do you want it to look like. Later on I tell my mom, "Are you crazy? you can't just go buy one of those!". She tells me that of course she can. She can just go to the store & get one. Oh you silly, silly woman!

Fast forward to Christmas morning. I think I remember getting the talk about you can't always get everything you ask for, Santa can't always make enough, etc., etc. I remember going down the hall & turning into the living room to see a CPK for me & my sis. For that moment & on that Christmas I believed in Santa again. It was awesome!

Years later I found out my mom had waited in those lines and slept in toy store parking lots to get those dolls. Maybe I love that part of the memory more now. That silly silly woman.

And yes Virginia, I do still have that doll. I really do. She's priceless.