Christmas Bonanza

Among other gifts, I received a 60 gb iPod, an extra-large Ronco Showtime Rotisserie, a food processor, bedding, boxes of wine, and lots of other goodies.

Christmas has always been a big deal in my family, and, frankly, my parents consistently spoil us kids. This has similarly led to us kids going large in terms of what we buy each other. My brother lives with his girlfriend who was born and raised in a lesser-developed Carribean nation. She finds the extravagance shocking, bordering on the obscene. She's right, too. Looking at the stacks of presents that were piled under their tree for three siblings and one girlfriend was enough to make me realize that it was just too much -- not that I'd have it any other way. When mom apologized and explained that two boxes filled with gifts hadn't even made it through the mail yet, it was just another exclamation point at the end of excess!!

Here are the presents I gave. It may appear that I had help from some Special Olympians wrapping these presents, but I actually did it all by myself.


Here's a peak under the tree. The bigger presents (electric guitar, gas grill) are hidden outside of the room, two boxes of presents have yet to arrive, and the camera angle doesn't quite capture all of the boxes.


See, even the dog knows there's lots of good stuff.

(This is a good shot too of his 3 missing front teeth. When you're blind, you run into stuff. Good thing he doesn't drink too.)

Here's my brother playing with the new gift that I bought him. I never really got him anything for his birthday this past year, so I upped my limit on him a bit.


Here was our Christmas evening meal. Since we exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, I was able to cook this 4+ pound New York strip roast in my new rotisserie. More excess.


The wine? Some sort of Latin tribute to the day, I guess. 1989 Franciscan Magnificat Meritage and the 1994 Dominus. Everyone preferred the Franciscan but me. My sister flat-out disliked the Dominus. It was 100 point wine, for goodness sake. I thought it was still amazingly deep and complex. It's good for at least another 5-7 years and continues to get better. I find it hard to imagine a much better steak wine. The Magnificat was drinking well for a 16 year old bottle. It was still showing fruit, and it had a very refined, if somewhat aged, structure about it rather like the dapper old gentleman in the light blue suit, grey bowler, and smart tie that you would've seen in church had you gone. It began to taste a bit oxidized after about half an hour, but the others didn't find that a flaw. That bottle traveled here from DC with me, so if nothing else, the condition of the wine validates my storage system. Kathleen provided Inniskillin Riesling Icewine as the after dinner treat.

I am not a religous man, and it is difficult for me to square the gift giving festivities with the day when I don't place any significance on the underlying nature of the celebration. I wonder how I would deal with the day if I were a parent. I like to think that I would refuse to participate and explain away both the religous and secular festivities. I realize, however, that it must be next to impossible to raise a small child and to explain to it why Santa Claus visits all of its friends but not our house. Still, despite my atheistic disinclination to participate, I am thankful for what I have received. I am thankful for parents that have always heaped presents under the tree. I do recognize how lucky I am to have been brought up in such abundance. And I do enjoy the gift giving.

Merry Christmas.

Jonathan 12/27/2005 07:48:00 PM