Rumour has it that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.  As far as pre-fab holidays go, this pretty much tops the list of uselessness.  Wouldn’t be so bad if it translated into a day off, something we are in desperate need of at this time of year.  But no…  no day off. 

But for those people who do enjoy this day, there is no shortage of ways to express their undying love for their significant other.  Cards, chocolates, candy, flowers, maybe a dinner and/or movie.  And don’t forget the bling!  Nothing says “I love you” quite like a sparkling diamond.

So here’s this week’s poll… Quite simply, what are you hoping to receiving from your significant other on Valentine’s Day?  Feel free to choose more than one selection, as package deals are popular.

Then sit back and see whether Cupid agrees with you on Sunday.

Well, I finally did it.  I’m the proud new owner of an artificial, fake, lifeless Christmas tree… courtesy of Zellers’ after-Christmas blowout.  I still ended up paying $150 for the thing, a far cry from the $350 it was selling at originally.  I don’t know who Alfred Sung is, but apparently he designs everything from wedding dresses to sun glasses… yeah, I can see how a Christmas tree fits into that portfolio nicely… 

Right now it’s sitting in a box.  Maybe next year I’ll take it out of that box.  Or maybe I’ll just tack a couple of ornaments to the box and stand it in the corner!  This thing had better be simple to put together, or else it’s becoming someone’s new gift!

I can remember one of the great Christmas traditions that our family had when I was growing up.  Christmas crackers at my grandfather’s house on Boxing Day.  No, not the crackers that you eat.  Those Christmas crackers that are wrapped up, with a snapping stick thing sticking out of each end.  You held one end, and got someone else to hold the other, and then you pulled, and most times you heard a loud popping noise.  Then you’d open up the package and see what was inside.

Even as a kid, I remember the adults mentioning that the “prizes” inside were getting cheaper and cheaper.   You always got a brightly-coloured paper crown hat to wear.  (I think I still have a picture somewhere of Grampy wearing his, and a huge grin on his face)  You always got a joke, or riddle.  And then you got some tiny toy, or something interesting.  I can remember a puzzle, a large rubber fly, tiny magnifying glass… they were never extravagant items, but they were something to keep the interest of the kids.

Well… the times are certainly changing…

We had Christmas crackers when the kids were out a couple of weeks ago.  They look like the ones that I remember from when I went to my grandfather’s.  The popping thing is a little different now.  Instead of pulling the end of the little stick, the stick is now glued to the inside edge, so you press your thumb against it and pull.  And inside, you still have the coloured hats, and not-so-funny jokes.  But the biggest change is the toy prize.

My 6 year old was the first to get his open (of course).  He held a tiny little plastic bag in his hand and said “Is this all I get?”  The bag held about 6 tiny rubber bands.  Wow.  Then I opened mine.  A hair elastic?  Like I need one of those.  What happened to the fun stuff?  You don’t have to spend a fortune to put a decent toy in there.  A hair elastic???  Not even a scrunchy.  A hair elastic!  I can picture a factory worker

A couple of years ago my mother made her own Christmas crackers.  I really think that’s the way to go.

I’ve always thought of Boxing Day as a Canadian holiday only.  My American friends think of December 26th as just another day.  The day after Christmas.  The day before December 27th.  But here in Canada, it’s a national holiday, although no one I asked really seems to know why.  So I looked it up in that great online braindump, Wikipedia.

The name derives from the tradition of giving seasonal gifts, on the day after Christmas, to less wealthy people and social inferiors, which was later extended to various workpeople such as labourers and servants.

Wow.  We made a national holiday based on that? 

Even better, apparently it’s not unique to the Great While North at all.  In fact, some of the other countries that celebrate Boxing Day include the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Macau. 

Here it’s become equated with Boxing Day sales, something akin to the American’s Black Friday shopping blitz in November.  I don’t bother going anywhere near the stores during the Boxing Day blowout.  I simply don’t have the patience to fight crowds of people for the chance to save a few dollars.  I say “chance” because far too often I’ve heard people complain that the door crasher items shown prominently on the front page of the flyers are available in such ridiculously low quantities that it’s not even a realistic sale item.  You’re not going to get your hands on one of them, so don’t fool yourself!

But that’s another rant for another day.  Instead, kick your feet up, take another sip of your Bailey’s, and enjoy the second paid holiday of the season, if it was originally created to celebrate your social inferiority! 

I either slept or worked most of what would be considered the 24 hour period that is December 25th.  It was pretty much uneventful, and unexciting.

I did enjoy watching the kids open their gifts, though.  This truly is a time for them.  They’re so full of magical energy.  I’ll be sad to see the day when that wears off. 

It didn’t take long for them to get guck on one of the new netbooks.  I’m beginning to wonder whether I made the right decision with those.  I talked to them, and explained that they aren’t toys, but I’ll be surprised if they were actively listening.  I have a natural upgrade/replacement path in mind, and if they kill off one of those netbooks prior to it being time, then tough.  They’d better learn to take good care of them.

So apart from the 45 mins or so that I was awake with the kids this morning, and the time spent with my parents for a fine prime-rib supper, it’s basically been just another day.  Sad, really.  I guess that’s part of getting older.  Maybe.

Last year was the first Christmas where I truly felt “separated”.  This year felt even more so.  It’s just the nature of what is.  Something tells me that this is the last year that we will do even the little family things.

Christmas 2009 was not the way that I envisioned it.  Christmas 2010 will probably be drastically different as well. 

Only another 365 more days to find out…