Christmas stuff

Last night there was a brand new Peanuts Christmas special, All I want for Christmas is a Dog Charlie Brown. It was the best of the modern specials I have seen. They got people to do the voices that sound very close to the originals. It’s funny, entertaining and all around very well done. The only knock is it really isn’t a Christmas special. Christmas is an afterthought in the cartoon. It’s all about dogs. 🙂 Still a strong effort after a string of subpar specials.

Last night my wife and I were discussing how Christmas and what it means to us has changed over the years. First of all, moving to Florida obviously changes the holiday season dramatically. The warm weather makes it feel more like Memorial day. The 1200 mile buffer from our friends and family makes the friendly holiday visits no longer possible. So obviously that takes some enjoyment out of it. Then we talked about the gift part of it. When I was younger, Christmas was pretty much the only time I cashed in. If I wanted something big I better ask for it for Christmas because otherwise it wasn’t going to happen. The older I have gotten the more ability I have had to buy “presents” for myself whenever I want to. (to a degree) Plus I seem to get more of a kick from giving than receiving gifts anymore. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still fun to open presents, but it’s nowhere near the excitement level that it brought in years gone by. Another old age reality, deck the halls….