What's On Your Christmas List?

This year my Christmas list is seriously minimal. Sure, I'd love a laptop of my own or a diamond engagement ring that's bigger than the one I already have. But let's be realistic. You reach an age where your lists are just that, realistic - maybe it has to do with the whole being married your money is my money type thing.


I think most people my age don't ask for much. Does anyone really expect a Lexus with a big red bow on it, sitting in their horseshoe driveway? That's a bunch of BS. Then again, I've never been wealthy nor will I ever be wealthy, so maybe it's just hard to visualize my hubby pulling the blinds open to reveal a brand new silver Lexus with a huge red bow on it.

About two weeks ago, my mom and I were discussing what hubs and I needed for Christmas and what we should get our family members, etc. We both agreed that when hubs or I need or want something, we typically just get it for ourselves. Sure there are luxuries, but I'm not really into expensive shoes and purses. I wanted a BlackBerry this year. Like most people, I waited for my free upgrade from Verizon. When it comes to footwear, I still wear Doc Martens. I won't lie, they run at least $100 on Zappos but I get about three years out of each pair. They're like indestructible.

This year, my list consists of Bath & Body Works hand soap (it's always on sale), anklets for the gym and a mani/pedi gift card. I'd love some Jadite or fake Jadite because I collect it, but I don't expect to actually get it. It's too much work, it has be purchased on eBay and who would bother with all of that? My husband is that guy who shops on Christmas Eve morning so it has to be quick and easy.

I looked back at a diary entry of mine from December 26, 1985. At thirteen, I received a "toasty warm electric blanket," Apple IIC computer and printer and "Summer Games" for the Apple IIC. Another gift which actually made me giggle reading about was... wait for it...  a White Nights soundtrack on tape! White Nights was this movie starring ballet sensation, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines. My childhood BFF Serena and I LOVED Mikhail Baryshnikov! He was so handsome and muscular. We also especially loved seeing him in his tights. Ha ha!

According to my entry that day, Serena got a Ouija board and of course we had to ask which boy in class wanted to be more than just friends with us. I was hoping it would spell out D-A-N-N-Y, but good ole Ouija was speechless. Maybe the spirits were off on Christmas Day?

Sadly, Serena ended our friendship soon after we graduated 8th grade which was devastating to me. Nearly every seventh and eight grade memory involves her in some way. We were inseparable, but her mother loathed me and at thirteen it's basically your parents way or the highway. She was a really good student and her mom was concerned that I was a distraction because I liked to call her on the phone, hang out, meet up with boys and see PG-13 movies.

Anyway, that pretty much sums up Christmas of 1985. It was an awesome year. A year when I had never heard of layoffs and furloughs. My parents were teachers - teachers always had jobs back then. 1985 was an innocent time. Long before September 11th. Long before my parents split up. Long before I lost both of my grandpas. Long before Grandma's memory decided to take an extended vacation. Yeah, 1985 was a really good year.

In case you care to view the White Nights trailer... Here it is.

The Christmas Wish List That Never Was

There were three items lots of kids in school had that I never had. Although I really wanted them, the weird thing is, I never asked for them!

Today I bitched on Facebook that my Christmas list is always so shitty and lame, consisting of crap I basically need. I think it has been that way for a very long time. The other day, I told you guys I had a thing for pen pals growing up. Well, get this, I recall stamps being on my list! For real. What kid asks for stamps?

So what are these "three things" you wonder? Now, don't all rush out to find me these treasures, trust me, we haven't an inch of space in our apartment. And although I admit I still love juvenile stuff, they must be useful and practical.

For example: I love Hello Kitty but only when she's gifted to me in the form of like maybe a kitchen towel, a mug (still using my Chococat mug from Aunt Sue from like six Christmases ago!) and ice cube trays (still using the ice cube tray Aunt Chris gave me back in 2005!) ... Get the idea? Like I'd go gaga over a Hello Kitty baking mitt or washcloths.

So anyway... back to the three items.

The Barbie Dream House and Barbie Townhouse... I need to get my mom on the phone and find out why the hell I was the only kid in kindergarten and first grade that did not have one of these lavish luxuries. I'm left to wonder where the hell did my Barbies live? They were totally homeless.

Did I store them in one of those pink travel cases? That's so uncool! Geez. Here are some photos of the girly real estate which I believe was from the late '70s-early '80s time frame. Funny my Barbies weren't homeowners and to this day, neither am I. It's like a sign. It's as if I'm seriously cursed on the housing tip!





Final item, which my younger readers won't remember at all... Freezy Freakies! These were the coolest! They totally mystified me the way Shrinky Dinks (those I had!) did. They were like scientifically engineered gloves adorned with cool characters such as The Groovy Ghoulies and Transformers.

The thing was, they only appeared when the temperature dropped. So you'd see the images on your gloves while freezing your ten-year-old ass off outside waiting for the bell to ring. However, when you came into school to warm up, the images magically vanished! Totally amazing! Where the hell were mine? Man, was I deprived! Just kidding Mom and Dad if you're lurking :)




Freezy Freakies, so freakin' cool! I found 'em on eBay for $10, but what good'll they do me now with my big fat grownup hands :(

My 10 Most Favorite Childhood Gifts Ever!

I was in Target the other day when I realized Christmas is sort of approaching slowly, but surely. OK, so blame it on the fact that next to the Halloween costumes were aisles filled with Christmas wrap, cards and ornaments just itching to take over the Halloween section.

I love Christmas, it's one of my favorite holidays to reflect on years past. I could probably write several posts about my holiday memories. One thing we all remember are those three-page Christmas wish lists filled with games and toys which transformed into fancy electronics once we hit our teens.

For me, the "18 and over" Christmas lists became more mature and modest and included boring items like socks, gloves with postage stamps and deodorant as stocking stuffers. Once I hit 30, other than my Wedding Registry, I quit the wish list biz. These days, it's more like a mental note and a hint to Mom or DH, "I'd really like one of those Snuggies" or "Gift cards are nice and maybe a new frying pan."

But thinking back, there are gifts I'll never forget. Though I'm not sure if they were actually Christmas gifts or Birthday gifts - they were gifts I loved so very much I figured I'd share them with you. Maybe some of them were on your list once as well.

1. The Famous Holly Hobbie Oven
Every girl born in the early '70s had to have one. I loved that it was my favorite color, blue! Like most kiddie ovens, it came with the two signature cake mixes, one chocolate and one yellow. Funny thing is, once I ran out of cake mix, I think that oven just sat in my room. But whatever the case, I loved it anyway. It's amazing to think a high powered light bulb could actually bake a cake. Too bad it always took, what felt like, two hours to go from a watered down, sweet liquid to a minuscule cake that took all of two seconds to devour.




2. Barbie Hair Salon
Like most little girls, I loved to style Barbies' hair. A snip here, a snip there. Sometimes, I would get a little wild and color their blond tresses with blue, red or black markers. That kinda sucked since the marker didn't easily wash out and usually stained the hair. All of my little friends had the Barbie head that came with the powdery makeup. I bet I told my parents how much I wanted one and by accident they picked up the Barbie salon, not knowing. To this day, I have never owned a Barbie hair/makeup head and no, that's not a hint that I want one today.

3. Cocoa the Hamster
In third or fourth grade, I became obsessed with the idea of owning a hamster. I must have seen it on an episode of one of my favorite shows, because in Catholic school, I never had a class pet. You know how schools have that class gerbil and every weekend a different kid gets to take it home? I've actually never experienced that. We had plants instead. After weeks of begging, drawing pictures of mouse-like pets in cages and insisting I would feed and take care of it, my parents took me to a pet store and I soon became the proud owner of Cocoa.



4. Run Yourself Ragged
There was something about this game, Run Yourself Ragged, that I adored! I loved the colorful oranges and greens. I could play it for hours, yet when I look at it now, it's the type of game that seems like after ten minutes, I'd put it on a shelf and never play it again. Snooze, right? But in second grade, I loved Running Myself Ragged. I think it may have been a Christmas gift from a relative.




5. Kabangers
Ah, yet another dumb toy that kept me occupied for hours. I don't know what it was about these rock-hard balls that I loved so very much. The sound of that clacking and the agony of the pain I felt if my finger got caught between them. They were a staple amongst my toys for at least a year or two and were probably the dumbest item I ever owned. I remember standing on my lawn Kabangin' like a fool, what was I thinking?



6. Anything ET, Smurfs, Strawberry Shortcake & Cabbage Patch
'Nuff said, a poster, a shirt, sheets, dolls, stuffed toys, if it was one of the above characters, it was heavenly.


7. Atari
Can't create a list of favorite gifts without old school video game platforms now, can we? Thinking back now, I feel like that was a gift my dad may have bought himself and we took it over. I remember hours spent playing Kaboom, Asteroids, Space Invaders and Pac-man and never being able to figure out how to play ET. Years later as we know, ET had a glitch in it.




8. Popcorn Popper
Man, there was something about receiving a popcorn popper Christmas of '83 that was really exciting to me. I'm not quite sure what it was, but I loved it! I remember inserting half of a block of butter into the slot at the top. I especially enjoyed watching the melting madness go down while freshly popped corn would get stuck in greasy pools of butter trying to make its way to the bowl. Fun times!


9. Retro Pink Sharp Boom Box
One hot electronic item will always have a tender place in my heart. My bubblegum pink '50s style SHARP brand retro style tape player/radio. I'm not sure what the occasion was, but I received it from my parents in 7th grade. I absolutely loved blasting my Monkees tapes on that thing, it was the coolest radio ever! I'd bring it by our pool and enjoy fun in the sun while listening to Tears For Fears and Howard Jones.




10. Colors, The Benetton Perfume
This was the first perfume I ever really NEEDED to have. It wasn't cheap by '80s standard and I remember hinting to my folks for months that I needed to have this perfume. I believe it was Christmas of 1988, I received it. Purchased from the Benetton store, it was beautifully packaged and I wore it sparingly for months as not to waste it.