Toys of Christmas Past

The stockings were hung with care and the tree was trimmed perfectly. I took a moment and sat back to appreciate my hard work as I rubbed my eyes wishing my day was done. I stared blurry eyed at the sea of action figures, remote control cars, dinosaurs that walk and roar, Lego’s, hand held electronic devices with their games, along with various holiday jammies and sweaters that surrounded me. I wasn’t getting ready to wrap these items; I was organizing them for a charity drop. The heap before me were presents from Christmas’ past that no longer worked properly, were missing pieces or simply were no longer cool; sadly, some of them stopped being interesting/cool only moments after they were ripped from their packages! So I attempted to organize these misfit, unwanted toys the best I could, until I could press on no more. Exhaustion overcame me so I closed my eyes. That was all it took, I was quickly whisked away into a deep sleep and a most peculiar dream…

Teddy the Bear, who had to have a sports outfit for every season, woke my 11 and 5 year old sons from their bunk beds, “Do you remember me? I was on your Christmas list to Santa when you were 3.” He said to my oldest. “Six years later I was cleaned up, restuffed and wrapped in a new box along with a skateboard and several new outfits and given to you.” He pointed one fuzzy, brown paw to my little one. “You both loved me once, held me close, we were all pals, and then you threw me away! I’m not the only one you boys have done this to; there have been so many others. You will be visited by three toy ghosts this night: Toys of Christmas Past, Present and Future. When this night is done you will see the path you are on is sad, lonely and destructive! You must change your ways!”

The boys sat there looking at Teddy, mouths a gap. My oldest son says to his little brother, “Go back to sleep, it’s just a bit of undigested brownies we scarfed down before mom sent us to bed.”

Tickle Me Elmo showed up as the Ghost of Christmas past. He showed the boys an image of me fighting the crowds at Wal Mart on Black Friday twice, one for each boy six years apart. They chuckled at this and the oldest said, “Mom loves to get up at 4am and go shopping! Wow! Look how scrappy she is!”

Then he showed them using Tickle Me Elmo as batting practice after his batteries died, laughing out loud as they asked him, “Does this tickle?”

Next, Optimus Prime appeared as the Ghost of Christmas Present. He showed the boys surrounded in all their new toys and gear, as each one complained: “This already broke!” “Seriously, there are no batteries?” “I asked for a green car, not blue!” “Do I have to wear this?”

Finally a tattered, mangled soldier from Black Ops Modern Warfare 25 visits as the Ghost of Christmas Future. He showed the boys sitting in our basement sucking back Big Gulps and playing video games. I, grey headed now, walked unsteadily down the stairs carrying a platter of taquitos and bagel bites. My youngest, sporting a comb over, hollered, “It’s about time!” They were grown, all alone, with no friends or family of their own.

One of the basement walls disappeared into a misty fog. My little boys ran hand in hand into the mist as they cried out “We must be more responsible and appreciative, responsible and appreciative, responsible, appreciative….”

I awoke desperate to make a change! Instead of wasting tons of money on future misfit toys and enabling rotten behavior I decided this year was going to be different! I used the money we saved and I loaded the family, along with a Charlie Brown tree and the a few presents, three small ones each, into the car for a family ski trip. We spent three days making wonderful memories that will never be unwanted, break, or lose their cool, (because it was freaking cold that year!).

The trip changed our lives. Occasionally they still treat their toys like crap and believe they’re entitled to just about everything they set their lovely little eyes. But that year they learned sacrificing things for experiences and making memories can be just as, if not more valuable.

Maybe it wasn’t a dream after all, I did find Teddy the Bear locked in a suitcase a few months later…