This year was a bit different so I got my gift bag on Friday. We had a small gift "opening" for the wee little kids. We weren't suppose to get gifts for all the grownups but some of us did anyway. I was not aware of this change in plans and only had my Wawa grab bag.

My brother got a single serving can of Chef-boy-r-dee Ravioli. Brother in law #1 got work gloves. I gave a lock defroster to brother in law #2. One nephew got a single serving box of Honey-Nut Cheerios. His older brother got the other can of ravioli and a pack of Q-Tips (no one wanted the Q-Tips and they were left over). I gave my parents a set of disposable salt and pepper shakers... because we can never find theirs whenever I go over. It is always in a different spot. One time I found the salt shaker in the cushions of the couch. What's up with that? I gave my younger sister a resealable pack of baby wipes. She still has small messy children. I gave my older sister a car air freshener. She has two older teenage smelly children. My oldest nephew (who had the unfortunate incident we can't talk about) got a pack of playing cards. I suggested he could use them to pass the time if he gets arrested at a protest or whatever. One of the younger nephews got chapstick. His younger brother got a roll of scotch tape. He is the youngest of my nephews. I think he is four years old but I am not positive. How do you check that anyway? Something about counting their teeth? I always forget.

So anyway. I get a call today that my young nephew has played with his roll of tape from Uncle Vern more than ANY OTHER TOY HE GOT FOR CHRISTMAS! They never let him play with the tape. I gave him his very own roll of tape. He took an empty spaghetti box and built an airplane out of it. He spent all day on it and was filled with great pride and accomplishment. I was told that he was saying to himself "I am very creative" the whole time.

I spent under $20 for that whole bag of goodies and they are all practical useful items that my family will cherish.

I got a pair of slippers. Unfortunately... my sister bought me size 10... WOMEN's slippers. They were a bit small... and... very pink. I have to have a talk with my family to make sure they know I'm a man... and NOT gay... not that there's anything wrong with that which there isn't... it's just not my cup of tea (Saying things like "not my cup of tea", no wonder they buy me pink slippers). Good grief, the color choice aside, there was a big "W" clearly visible next to the size.

Overall it was a fun Christmas. Except for the incident with battery powered very realistic 6 pound replica machine pellet gun my nephew got for Christmas and wanted to shoot off the back porch and I said ABSOLUTELY NOT ARE YOU FREAKING CRAZY! He just didn't see how this might be a problem IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD WITH SMALL CHILDREN PLAYING OUTSIDE. My parents house is against a large... forest. There is an old fashioned western style train that gives rides through the woods right behind the house and is all lit up for the holidays. I could just imagine the reaction of all those people looking at the decorated houses as the train goes by and seeing some nut with a gun on one of the back porches. He got over that one eventually.

I think I was right about that one wasn't I? All the other grownups were sleeping off the turkey or out "shopping" (euphemism for "I can't stand all the children! Let me go!").

-vern

My goodness.....everything sounded so practical until I got to the replica machine gun. What madman got a kid that!? Yes I think you were right not to let him shoot it off the porch. In fact don't let him shoot it anywhere. BTW I take size 8 shoes though I think the US sizes are different to Europe. Maybe she wanted you let her try them on.

You can tell the age of a child by the length of their hair. I think four is about down to their navel.

You DO do things weird in Europe... (I just said do do, didn't I?)

Over here you count the toes, and divide by the number of teeth.

Vern, I am touched by your story. God bless. I don't have a big family. Well, not around me or close by to have large get togethers like yours. That scotch tape story hit home. When my kids were little I bought them state of the art toys. They never relate to my childhood when I used to play with my dad's shoes pretending they're cars or trucks. For some reason the foot odor in the shoes never bothered me, I was too busy being...creative.

A pair of pink slippers? Hey, pretend they belong to your imaginary girlfriend or wife. You never know who may fill them one day

Happy New Year.

Sounds like "regifting" to me

One thing that I was amazed at this Christmas was a conversation I had with my 18 year old nephew. Apparently we agree on so many things we both think are "wrong" with society.

For instance I am "against" video games. Not because of violence or whatever. I don't buy into that. I just think they are a total waste of time. It's just my opinion... based on years of video game addiction. I still have that problem. I begged all my siblings NOT to buy video games for their kids long before they even had kids. I did suggest they buy them computers or software to MAKE their OWN video games as an alternative, or encourage them to play a musical instrument or find some OTHER way to fill spare time. My nephew agrees 100% with me on that one even though he grew up with video games, he rejects them now the same way I do. It was funny, he said what I always thought; "If I play a stupid video game for hours and hours, I have nothing to show for it." This is JUST AN OPINION. No flame wars are necessary. I am in the minority.

Another thing we both agree on are cell phones. Cell phones are a great tool and in todays world probably a necessary "evil". But we do agree that most people take them way too far. Cell phones have separated us from the people around us. I was amazed when I discovered how we both agree that talking to a complete stranger in line at a store or on the street or for whatever reason can be an uplifting experience. Before cell phones I could do this more. Now, rarely do I see someone who isn't permanently attached to their cell phone talking to someone they already know. They are cut off from the world around them. Every free moment, shopping, waiting in line, crossing the street, etc etc, must be filled by calling someone. They will never have an opportunity to interact with anyone but those on their phone list. Not all "strangers" are lunatics who want to kill you. That's what is lost these days. If you don't know someone they are evil and bad and should be avoided at all costs even though the odds would reveal this is far from reality. Some people are actually frightened or annoyed even in a public place with dozens of people around if you say ANYTHING to them. How sad. It is a "cliché" now to be the "weirdo" who talks to people they don't know. I find myself not even trying much anymore.

Both my nephew and I have the EXACT same experiences when having a short friendly conversation with a total stranger. We go away with a good feeling about the world. We both commented on the "happy" feeling you can get when this happens. Considering I am twice his age I was very surprised to find so many of my "old fogey" ideas were part of his philosophy. I thought I was turning into one of those old farts who just hates "the young people" and the changes in the world. Who knows? Maybe my 18 year old nephew is the first wave of a generation who might start rejecting some of the technologies that totally take over our lives and cut us off from society. I can only hope.

p.s. My young nephew had a PSP with him. I got addicted to "Transformers" and we fought over whose turn it was to play.



Maybe video games do make you mean.

-vern