A Thank You for My Wife

Christmas is much more to me than presents, but I wanted to use this post to thank my wife. Being unemployed limits most non-essential purchases on my part. So Christmas is also the one time of year (other than my birthday) where I might receive some of the things I wasn't able to purchase throughout the year.

My wife did an awesome job this year. I know it's hard for her. She hates getting a list from me. She'd rather come up with original, surprise treasures.

I've always been a collector. Some would correct that statement and say I'm a hoarder.

When I was eight years old, He-man toys hit the scene, followed shortly thereafter by the cartoon series. Both were firmly cemented into my childhood. Nothing makes me as effectively nostalgic as Masters of the Universe.

A few years back, Mattel announced an adult collector's line that is only available online for one day a month offering only one or two items per month. Little did they know, the one day time frame would shrink to around one hour due to demand. Most of these action figures sell out in about 45 minutes, and getting on Mattel's website during that time is a nightmare. Add in my before mentioned unemployment, and any hopes I had of collecting this new line quickly vanished.

Heidi stepped up and bought me two of the lynch pin characters for Christmas this year with He-man and Skeletor.

I also received the Wolfman remake on Blu-ray. As a fan of the original Universal films, I was skeptical when I heard they were remaking this one. I was surprised to find it was appropriately updated with effects, small story adjustments that made total sense, and the acting was spot on. The film stars Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins.

I finally have a Joe Hill novel in my possession. Hill is a pen name. He didn't want his famous father's name to drive his career. I'm not so sure you can escape a name like Stephen King however, especially in the horror novel business.

I also have Stuff Christians Like, a funny look at stereotypical Christian behaviors.

Our parents and siblings went a bit overboard this year too. The best part about the special day was getting to spend time with everyone. No one had to work. We didn't rush from house to house. There was warmth and familiarity.

Horror Fans and the Holidays

There are tons of Holiday themed horror flicks out there, but few are actually worth watching. None work on both levels, though some of the holiday movies being produced today could easily qualify as horrifying (Santa Paws anyone?).

If the monster in a horror movie is a snowman, Jack Frost, or Santa Claus, prepare yourself for the silliest wastes of time you've ever encountered. Some folks are into that type of thing, movies that are fun to watch for their unintended laugh factor. The movie where Michael Keaton plays a deceased father that turns into a snowman enabling him to learn the value of his surviving son is scary in description alone.

If I had to recommend a few movies, I'd have to push the following:

1972's Tales from the Crypt features a young Joan Collins in its first segment. She plays a wife and mother who gets away with the perfect crime… in a way. This might make you think twice about teaching your kids about Santa Claus or teaching them how to open doors and windows.

The original Black Christmas from 1974 is a perfect horror movie. Pre-dating the slasher onslaught of the eighties, the film avoids most of Hollywood's trappings and delivers a film that's not afraid to leave a bit of mystery in its mayhem. It's also a great 'who done it.' More holiday chill than cheer and full of seventies Christmas decorations and fashions. Avoid the 2006 remake at all costs. They attempt to take all of the mystery away in a very, very lame way.

Let the Right One In isn't exactly a holiday themed film. I caught it in the summer of 2009 at my local Art Institute. The beautiful Winter cinematography plunges you into the film's stark setting perfectly. If you haven't caught this one yet, wait for the rumored upcoming DVD re-release with the original subtitles. They add a little nuance that might be lacking from the current DVD. Note the photo of the fire angel - ouch.

I've tried to start a yearly tradition of illustrating my kids as a gift to my wife. I don't think she's really that into it, but I am.

I went for a Charles Schulz inspired Peanuts like theme. My kids love Charlie Brown, especially A Charlie Brown Christmas. They watch it year round. Whenever they hear anything similar to music from the soundtrack, they beam with recognition. It seemed like a logical choice this year.

Hope you enjoy it. Hope my wife does too.

Mission Santa

Owen was ready this year. He was determined to sit on Santa's lap without being shy or afraid. He even rehearsed what he wanted to ask for.

I think I've been pretty public and vocal about my disappointment regarding the cost of visiting Santa. The various malls in our area don't allow you to take your own photos, and then charge an arm and a leg for the photos they take. I'm a photo guy. I want to have a visual record, a keepsake. I'm also unemployed and not really big on the idea of paying for something I can easily do myself - often just as good as the "Santa Photo Professionals."

Lapeer's Chamber of Commerce Santa is usually a good value. They do charge $4, but you get a 5x7 photo with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. You can also take as many photos as you want with your own camera. This year, Lapeer's Santa wasn't as available as we needed him to be. We promised Owen he could see Santa on Tuesday. Lapeer's Santa was out for the day.

We found a Plan B at Bronner's. Tony July had mentioned that they had a daily Santa, and he was likely free to the public. He was correct.

It was a long drive on a snowy day, but it was well worth it. Bronner's is usually a mad house. They claim to be the biggest Christmas store in the country. If you've ever been to Canterbury Village in Lake Orion, I think Bronner's might be claiming size (square footage), not necessarily selection. But, I've gotten off topic. It wasn't a mad house on Tuesday. It was busy, but not 'weekends just before Christmas' busy. There was maybe four kids in front of us in line.

Owen hopped up on Santa's lap without hesitation. He was a little shy, but he still launched into his list. To our astonishment, he started telling Santa that he wanted Power Rangers. He's never watched the show, and really doesn't understand what the show is about. My jaw dropped as he told Santa he preferred a purple ranger. What?

Gage watched from the sidelines. Just before Owen hopped down, Gage acted like he wanted to go up, so we let him. As soon as the big man put his arm around him, Gage started to bellow. Too strange of a situation I guess.

We spent another half hour touring the store, which is fun for the kids and the kids in all of us. We didn't even break down and buy anything (they did have an awesome green Christmas monkey). The entire trip only cost us the price of the gasoline to drive that far. It was a snowy mess on the way home, but that only added to the realization that Christmas is not far away.

Crying Out to Santa Claus

The following was actually part of a scrapbook/journal I keep for my kids every month. I thought I'd share it.

We took the boys to Genesee Valley mall Wednesday. Heidi had a day off. They played in the play area for about an hour. Then we set out for lunch in the food court.

We came upon their Santa set up. No one was there at that moment. Santa and the photo lady waved at us. Then Owen noticed Santa. He immediately started straining against Heidi’s grasp, stretching as close as he could. We were about 25 feet away. He started shouting his Christmas list at Santa, “I want a square Bakugan. A red one and a brown one. I want a Megatron and Bulk Head.” We couldn’t help but laugh. We explained to him that he needed to actually sit on Santa’s lap, but we couldn’t do it that day.

The malls are another example of a dying business model that doesn’t seem to want to change to save itself. They still charge way too much to visit Santa. They ban taking your own photos. They almost insist on the purchase of their photos. The cheapest mall photo we found was a 5x7 for $13. No thanks.

Even if saving their own image were off the table, they could be kind and take into consideration that many families are financially strapped this year. No such luck.

We’re planning on a Santa visit out in Lapeer this coming Tuesday. For $5 both of our kids can see Santa and Mrs. Claus. They take a 4x6 photo for us, and we can take as many other photos as we want.

It was fun to watch the other kids sitting on Santa’s lap. We had a good view from the food court. They’d shyly share their lists. You could see how timid each kid initially was. Santa would set them down, hand them a coloring book, and this love would break out over them. You could see it physically happen. They’d lose all fear. Their arms would fly up to hug Santa. It was great.

It finally dumped snow on us Wednesday night. I decided to take the boys out for a few minutes Thursday afternoon. It was cold though, about 15˚.

Owen tried to do all of the warm weather activities he had been doing in recent months, often sitting on snow covered riding toys. He was wet and cold very soon.

Gage refused to wear his mittens. He slowly walked around the backyard. He grabbed a few bare handed scoops of snow, clearly disliking it. After about five minutes, he walked into the middle of the grassed portion of our backyard, looked up at me and started crying.

I took him inside, where he started to cry harder. He wanted to be outside. It was like he was protesting reality. He was told he could go outside, but the outside I had taken him to was a harsh, cold place that wasn’t fun to be in.

I tried to calm both kids with some hot cocoa, but it was too hot. I just couldn’t win.