Why I Don’t Receive Christmas Gifts

The last time I got a Christmas gift, I was 12 years old.

I was sitting at home, very excited on Christmas Eve, waiting eagerly for my brothers to reveal what my gift was. After all, I had asked my parents for a Nintendo 64, which was quite expensive at the time, and I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to afford it.

When the time came though, my brothers didn’t disappoint. They came downstairs with a giant box, and I was thrilled to see it actually contained a NINTENDO SIXTY FOUR! AAARRGGGHHHH!!! IT’S SO AWESOME!!!

I ripped the packaging open, plugged that sucker in, and played games all night on that glorious happiness dispenser. Oddly enough, I don’t remember much else about that Christmas.

Just Mario 64.

Time flew by, and all of a sudden my grandma was gone. It happened in April of 1997. I think I grew up a little at that point, because as the year passed, and  Christmas neared, I realized there wasn’t anything I wanted.

I got my weekly dose of comics, my brothers bought me the occasional N64 game, and whenever I wanted to go out with my friends, my parents gave me some pocket money. Knowing that we weren’t going to have a big Christmas that year, and seeing how much my mom missed her mom, I decided I was satisfied with what I had, and didn’t ask for a gift.

Neither did my sister, but it was harder for her. She actually wanted a present, but was too in tune with everyone else to ask for one.

So my brothers and I put our money together, and got her a nice watch.

I think that was the first time I began to understand what Christmas was all about.

Nothing is the best gift

Every year since then, my friends ask me what I got for Christmas. Every year, my reply is the same: nothing.

The gift, that my family and I share, is that we all get together.

Over the years, we’ve all dispersed across the globe. From my teens through to now, my siblings, parents and I have been dispersed across 3 countries, as we studied, worked, and tried to make it in this funny world.

As such, when the holidays approached, we all bought plane tickets, and met up in one place, so we could spend two weeks together as a family.

Who gives a shit about toys, when we all finally got to wake up in the same house, and have breakfast at the same table, grumble about the same things, and enjoy each others’ company?

Ironically enough, once the focus moved away from gifts, each Christmas became more memorable than the last.

On the 24th and 25th of December, we don’t buy each other gifts, and we don’t stress about the material things. All we think about is getting together, eating until we can’t breathe, then laughing and dancing the night away, as a family.

Each year, we build beautiful memories.

Being Together

In fact, the only Christmas we didn’t all get together was in 2006, when I lost my passport and couldn’t get it renewed on time to get a visa to see them. We were all very sad, and my mother took it especially hard. I assured them it would be fine, I’d come visit them in a few months.

Deep down though, I was a little bummed out.

That year, my friend Adam did one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me.

“Dude, what are you doing for Christmas?” he asked.

“Nothing, I guess. I’ll probably stay home and watch TV.”

“Fuck that!” he exclaimed. “You’re coming to my house.”

And so, even though my immediate family wasn’t around me, my adopted family took me in for a few days and nights, and I had an amazing Christmas. Although they got me a present, and I in turn got them chocolates and flowers, the real gift to me was that I was invited into someone’s home, to become part of their family, if only for a night and a day.

As it turns out, besides the gift giving, they did the exact same things my family did. Drinking, dancing, and eating ’til you can’t breathe.

And so, to all my beautiful readers, family and friends out there, I wish you a Merry Christmas. Enjoy spending time with your loved ones, eat and drink and be loud and happy. And the next day, when someone asks me what I received for Christmas, and I reply “nothing”, ask yourself if that was really all I got.