Some Random Stuff I Like About Christmas

• The Glowing Potential of Packages Under the Tree—Sure, I like ripping into my Christmas presents as much as the next maturity-challenged 40-something, but even more than the gifts themselves, I like seeing the packages under the tree, reflecting the warm glow of the multicolored lights, smugly taunting me with their promise of riches to come. When my brothers and I were kids, my parents had a strict do-not-wake-us-before-7AM Christmas morning policy, and no one was allowed to open anything until they came down from on high. Since the anticipatory adrenaline coursing through our greedy little veins generally woke us up no later than 6:00, we’d have to just sit and stare at the loot that had appeared in the night. And if you actually enjoy creating a prettily wrapped package like my wife and I do, the accumulation of colorful papers and ribbons is a joy to behold. Until you rip it all to shreds, that is.
• Fruitcake—I’m sick and tired of lame fruitcake jokes. The only people who joke about how awful fruitcake is are the people who have never had a fruitcake made by someone who knows how. Real fruitcake does not include those awful bits of bright red and green plastic that grocery stores try to sell you when they create the display of fruitcake ingredients. Real fruitcake requires real fruit: dried apricots, figs, dates, pears, golden raisins, cherries and citron. And good nutmeg, vanilla and cinammon. And hazelnuts. And maybe some orange zest and even a bit of orange blossom water. And of course, rum. Lots of rum. Real fruitcake is absolutely delicious—and nobody’s doorstop.
• Digital cameras—OK, maybe digital cameras aren’t exactly a Christmas thing, but they allow you to take as many Christmas pictures as you like without worrying about how much film you’re wasting. Digital cameras give you a chance to stumble into cool shots like the one here—the ghost hand in the glass ornament.

Well, I thought it was pretty cool.

• Stockings Stuffed to Bursting
• Donna’s Christmas Dinner
• Dogs and Cats Sleeping Peacefully Together in Front of a Crackling Fireplace
• Hearing my father-in-law go off on football’s “breaking the plane of the goal line” rule for the 6,437th time—“That’s not a touchdown! You used to have to carry the ball and your whole body into the end zone; now all you have to do is wave the ball at the pylon. That’s not a touchdown.” In a world of change and uncertainty, it's an oddly reassuring reminder that at least some things will go on forever.
• Antique Ornaments
• Making a Harried Store Clerk Smile or Laugh--maybe by cracking a joke, or by helping to bag my own stuff, or by simply not being a total asshole.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!