I always dreaded the gift part of Christmastime when it came to the boys. I never knew what to get them. They weren’t interested in playing with toys much when they were young. It was all about the electronics from the get-go. Though we did play a lot of board games together. Pushing the Trouble bubble was their favorite. And when we’d play Connect Four, I had to really pay attention because they’d beat me. A lot. Putting together that Mouse Trap was aggravating but watching that metal ball go through the obstacle course was somewhat mesmerizing. We never actually played that game, just farted around with the obstacle course. Monopoly and Life, both had to be the classic versions. The new versions are too complicated! But overall, my boys’ focus was primarily on the video games. Whether it was a game app or playing that Nintendo Wii when it first came out, they were hooked from the moment they started. And when my husband and stepson joined us, the boys were like the three amigos when it came to gaming.

And I get it. From Pong to Atari’s Pitfall to Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo, I was hooked. The moment I was sucked into the Mario world, there was no stopping until I completed the entire game, three times! But that’s pretty much where it ended for me. College and dating in my twenties put video gaming on the back burner. Then getting married and starting a family expanded the distance even more. During that time, more and more new gaming systems came to be, until I could hardly recognize what was happening when I’d see my kids playing. What in the heck is up with all of those squares in Minecrap? Sorry, Minecraft. And the game controllers now are so complicated. I tried to play a Call of Duty game with my husband and the boys because I do like shooting games. It turned out I made a great target for them since pretty much all I could do is run while looking at the sky and get stuck in corners. I kinda felt like a fish in a barrel. I also found myself telling the boys they were not allowed to stab me. How weird is that? I did manage to shoot my stepson once. It was purely by accident and we were all shocked. I think he shot me like 20 times after that. But, so did everyone else, even my darling husband. (Personally, I don’t think they wanted to risk getting shot by me, even accidentally. Men.) We bought a new Call of Duty game that the boys will probably play tomorrow. I think I’ll pass. But I may slip into the Mario world on the Switch for an hour or two. I’ve come to love that Mario Kart. The only time I drink and drive!

So, what’s Santa bringing the kids this year? Cash. It’ll be tucked in their stockings amongst the Burt’s Bees lip balm, chocolate gelt, canes filled with candies, and phone chargers. Out of all the weird stuff I’ve stuck in those stockings year after year, those things have been the most successful. So, HO, HO, HO y’all!

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

_{FYI: I have not received any compensation for the product(s), store(s), and/or link(s) mentioned in this blog. This content was written purely from my perspective for informational purposes only.}