Santa Claus Came to Town

Last night, I was all ready to write about how I had officially become Santa Claus.

After the myth of old St. Nick had been frankly dispelled around the age of 6, my parents still managed to play the role with an uncanny ability to get me just what I wanted, many times without me even asking. (Of course I can be a master at leaving strong hints: "Mommy, aren't these boots fabulous? They would look great in chocolate brown, size 7 and on my feet.") Unlike my sister, who always knew exactly what her mother was going to put under the tree for her because my sister had picked it out, I live(d) for the surprise. For years, it amazed me how, even though there weren't too many hiding places in our house (and as I got older I stayed up later and later) overnight gifts would appear under the tree.

This year, I got myself into thinking I was going to Brazil. And I did manage to work it out so I could go, with some serious financial help from my parents. That's my Christmas present so I wasn't expecting much under the tree because in just a few days I will be in warm sunshine below the equator.

What is more, my mother is currently in a sling (rotator cuff surgery - a story for another day) which put me in the position, this year more than ever, of helping my parents play Santa Claus to one another. (Mommy: When you go to Macy's get something for your father from me. / Daddy: Do you think she'll like this? Try this on so I can see what it looks like.) Last night, I was all ready to write about how I had officially become Santa Claus. I was wrapping all the gifts: for him, for her, for my sister. I felt like I was the overnight magician creating bunches of surprises. Then we opened gifts this morning, and look what I got...

The Complete Series DVD of Gilmore Girls.

This, as my dad said, was the holy grail of Christmas gifts. Gilmore Girls is my absolute all time favorite tv show and I have been plotting, planning and organizing to purchase this expensive dvd set for over a year now. It had almost become a moot point since I just didn't have the cash no matter how you looked at it. I had essentially put it on hold until my current income multiplied by at least 2.5 times.

But this is not just about Gilmore Girls, DVDs, or gifts.

This is about how even though every year since I went to college my parents say they can care less if we put up a Christmas tree, but then after I put it up, they leave the lights on all day. And my daddy sometimes falls asleep gazing at the them.

This is about how yesterday I spent 8 hours in the kitchen perfecting my sugar cookies and making my first Christmas Eve lasagne.

This is about how my mother and I popped popcorn and watched White Christmas on dvd (singing all the songs of course) on Monday night, only to watch it again with the same enthusiasm when it came on television the very next day.

This is about how my daddy baked two batches of oatmeal raisin and nut cookies, ate a few of them, and still didn't realize he forgot the raisins, until I ate a couple and asked him about it.

And this is about how my parents are still the best Mr. and Mrs. Claus. After 23 years, they still bring surprise, amazement, magic, laughter, good food and good times to the Christmas holiday. It seems there will still be quite a few more years until I am officially wearing the Santa hat, or maybe I never will...