Christmas is about the toys for some kids

When I was a child, I was probably like most other kids. I was a bit materialistic, since children tend to see things in more simple eyes.

Christmas was about the presents under the tree; the new toys and so forth.

Our Christmases were simple, but the new toys, that we had, were still fun.

Today, my Christmas isn't about shopping, but more about parties. Mingling with friends I haven't seen for a long time. It's about socializing.

I'm no longer in a family with kids, but I do remember mother saying, after I went off to college and was back for Christmas Break:

"Christmas is not about the presents, but it's about our presence;" the presence of the people around us.

Problem, today, is that families seem to be spread out across long distances and Christmas Vacation is way to short. To do "family time;" it becomes a traveling nightmare. One must hit that one day, on the calendar, with the same accuracy that the Apollo 8 spacecraft was able to achieve with it's "orbital insertion burn;" Speaking of my 1968 Christmas Eve memories.

I don't travel for Christmas, so, for me, it's about the mingling of local people. Reaching out on Facebook and so forth.

One nice memory I do have, from childhood, was the long, long Christmas and Summer Vacations we got from school. Today, there is the phrase, "shop till you drop." I'm no longer in a family setting, with kids, though I get along well with my siblings in distant places.

Now, being retired, It can feel like that long vacation. My last days, at work, did bring back those childhood feelings of anticipation about the last day of school.