It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

Last week it hit me that Christmas will soon be here. Was it the Christmas Carols on the radio? Was it the holiday lights on the trees downtown? Was it the Salvation Army volunteer ringing the bell outside of Target? No, it was none of these traditional signs. What reminded me of Christmas was the fact that three of my children already announced that they have their Christmas lists prepared (two weeks prior to Thanksgiving).

In our home, the usage of a formal Christmas list was first done by Bryan. Around the age of 12, shortly after getting our first home computer, Bryan thought he would help Mr. and Mrs. Claus by typing up a list. The concept caught on and soon all the kids began preparing formal lists. Over the years, the lists have evolved to include detailed photos, complete descriptions of the wanted items, and even web links so the items could be bought with one click of the mouse.

My favorite memory of the Christmas lists is the year Mrs. Claus (Brenda) took the list to Best Buy. It was a week day morning and the numerous Best Buy holiday workers had nothing to do. Upon entering the store and showing her list, the workers just told Brenda to have a seat while they went through the store and grabbed all the items. 90% of the Christmas shopping done in 15 minutes.

So to keep up with the family tradition, here is my Christmas list:

1) Play games with Dad including pool, pinball and ping pong (watch out, I was 8th grade champion).

2) Itunes gift cards

3) Tweakers Mini speakers for my iphone http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102923161&pnr=M53&cm_mmc=Shopping-_-Google-_-M53-_-102923161

4) The game of Ra

5) Really good winter hiking socks (for when I snowshoe)

6) Loose leaf teas (mainly herbal)