Presents

I have said this many times.

I have heard this many more times.

This is a common phrase in America as Christmas approaches. Christmas is the most important holiday of the year. There is a simple reason: presents. We get a lot of presents.

A small disclaimer: every family has their own Christmas style. I will share my families style but, it would be wrong to assume that it is ‘common’ or even ’ normal’.

At Christmas I usually got 10~12 presents!

It is not just that I was spoiled rotten (although that is probably true too), but you must take into account the different types of presents. Not all presents are as good as others. Sometimes a present only has some new clothes, toiletries, or other boring supplies.

Presents from siblings:

Every year my mom gave me 100 dollars. I have to use this money to buy presents for my siblings and parents. Mom, dad, brother, sister. On average 25 dollars per present. We have to wrap these presents ourselves and put them under the tree. These are not the best presents, but they are usually interesting and often nothing we were expecting.

Presents from Santa:

During the night of Christmas Eve, Santa brings many many presents and leaves them under the tree. probably 5~7 presents. One of these presents is the special 'good' present.

The one good present:

Each year each child gets one really good present. This is the thing we begged mom and dad for. This is the present we thought about a lot. This is probably the only present we really want. It is usually around 100 dollars, but it could be even more depending on our persuasion skills. I usually got Lego's, but one year I got a radio controlled car.

The ‘other’ presents:

The rest of the presents were usually clothes. My reaction to these presents was lukewarm at best. Something along the lines of ‘cool!… what’s next!’

The stocking:

On the fireplace we place a stocking and Santa fills it up. There is usually a bit of candy, but mostly it is full of a new toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, etc.

I really miss the presents of American style Christmas but now, as I get older, the thing I miss the most is the warm feeling of home and spending time with my family. I hope I can recreate that feeling here with my family in my new home of Japan. Even if we don't have a lot of presents.