Kids, parents, and all I want for Christmas is...
Bryce Main
Multi-genre author, mostly Crime fiction. Scottish. Been writing longer than I’ve been wearing big boy’s trousers.
I come from a generation of kids who weren’t encouraged to expect their Christmas wishes to come true. Not the ones that might cost an arm and a leg, anyway.
You could secretly hope they would. Without the necessary amputation.
You could drop gift hints galore to either parent.
But, generally speaking, you kept your trap well and truly shut (until you were asked) and you hoped that their ideas lived in the same territory as yours.
Parents decided Christmas gifts for kids.
Not the other way around.
Well…that was then. This is now.
And now, kids have the power.
They make the lists…and, in general, they have parents by the short and curlies.
Keeping everyone satisfied when Santa comes to town has become a global obsession…and BILLIONS of pounds and dollars are spent every year on festive merchandise by parents, companies, and advertising/marketing agencies.
Just to make sure that mums and dads the world over can think of themselves as good parents. Or sons. Or daughters.
The latest toys.
The latest electronic gadgets.
The latest kitchen equipment.
The latest fashion.
The latest computers.
The latest thingummyjigs.
After all, nothing says “I love you” better than a mountain of lovingly-wrapped gifts sitting under a large, glittering, decorated, artificial tree. (No pine needles to sweep up).
It’s our own fault.
We have nobody to blame except ourselves.
Somewhere along the way, we took a wrong turn, and ended up in Albuquerque.
The days of parents deciding what the fat guy in the red suit will bring for kids on December 25 are long gone.
Santa is just another name for dad. And the older he gets the more he weighs and better the suit fits.
Well…that’s one way of looking at it.
For the other way, we have to go back in time.
Back to the days when Christmas wasn’t just a big fat money-making machine.
Back to the days when the lure of the unknown made us rip away the wrapping paper…instead of folding it carefully to re-use next year.
Just like we were told.
Back to the days when we still felt the thrill of being surprised.
Back to the days when parents didn’t reach January with a large hole in our bank balance.
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But…
It’s only damned money after all…and if we can’t spend it on those we love, then who the friggin’ hell can we spend it on? Right?
It’s a whole lot easier to just hand over the dosh and make folk happy, including ourselves
If we look at it like that…then everybody wins, don’t they?
Nobody loses, do they?
Except maybe those who don’t have anyone to share Christmas with.
Except, maybe, those who don’t have a bed to sleep in on Christmas Eve.
Except, maybe, those who don’t have a home to go to.
Except, maybe, those who don’t know where their next meal is coming from…and it sure as hell ain’t gonna be turkey.
The earliest Christmas I remember was about sixty-five years ago.
I was five (I think) and Dad/Santa got me a Corgi toy replica of a James Bond car.
The golden Aston Martin DB5.
I got a few more things…but that car was everything.
It was all I wanted.
It was a real stoater…and I played with it till the paint wore off.
Looking back, I think it was my best Christmas ever…
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The above is an extract from my as yet unpublished (and mostly unwritten) book Ad Interruptus.
Like its sisters Ad Lib, and Ad Infinitum (NOW AVAILABLE), it's about creativity, advertising, life, and lots of stuff in between.
You'll find Ad Infinitum, Ad Lib, and Ad Hoc on Amazon, along with my other books, Love & Coffee and Heaven Help Us. In print and ebook. Waiting for you.
And the wonderful thing about all three Ad books is… it doesn’t matter where you finish any chapter or episode.
Because it will always be pretty damned close to where you started it…
Ad Infinitum: https://amzn.to/3pof7Uq
Ad Lib: https://amzn.to/2kd4LKf.
Ad Hoc: https://amzn.to/2Nx8GL8
Love & Coffee: https://amzn.to/28IWaHq
Heaven Help Us: https://amzn.to/2nkQ1Jk
Grab a coffee, grab a chair, and grab a sneaky peek.
Then grab a copy...(for Christmas).
Manager Graphics Design and Production
3 年What a nice Christmas story for the perfect time of the year. I spent most of yesterday wrapping gifts that my son and daughter already know what’s in the nicely wrapped packages. As for Christmas when I was growing up, it’s the same deal here. You liked what you got. All I wanted was a cowboy hat, gun and holster and I was the happest camper in town. Nice read this morning Bryce, brought back lots of fun memories. - Thanks