One week from today is Christmas

One week from today is Christmas.  Yes, the big day.  The day in which we try to remember why we celebrate the day.  Yes, one week from today, I will probably be up (it is actually very early in the morning as I write) putting out Santa gifts.  And in just a few short hours, Christmas will be over in all of about two seconds.  Literally.  Two seconds.  Why?  Because for the first time in my married life, Christmas has been funded by cash and not the likes of VISA, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover.  And it is being done a la cheap.  Well, sort of.  Cheaper than is has been done in probably a decade or more.

I'm looking forward to the excitement on kids faces as it quickly turns to disappointment.  NOT!  I think my younger kids will be fine.  It is my older kids that I'm afraid may be disappointed.  They have been warned that Christmas is going to suck be scaled back substantially this year and to not expect much.  I tried to talk my wife into giving each kid like $50, but she didn't go for it.  She likes buying the gifts for the kid.  She considers cash a cop out.  I beg to differ, but the "do I gift or give cash" debate isn't one I wanted to get into this year.  So lame gifts it will be.

So what do I want for Christmas?  Stuff I can't possibly afford.  A Canon 5D Mark II camera ($2,700 for the body only) for starters.  Or a 2010 Mustang GT ($30k) with a 3.73 rear end and a manual transmission.  That car hauls some serious .... serious .....  OK, it accelerates quickly and is FUN to drive hard.  A lot more fun than my boring and reliable Camry.  The 30MPG the Camry gets is a lot better than the 15MPG I would get if I had a Mustang GT.  Or the Camry is just a bit over 1/2 the cost of the Mustang.  I just need to keep telling myself that.  Maybe some day I'll actually believe it.  I don't like hearing it, but I can always hope and dream.  (Note to self...   I can't believe I'm actually complaining about owning a Toyota Camry.  It really is a nice car.  But the mid-life crisis part of me REALLY wants something fun to drive.  And the Camry just doesn't have the acceleration oomph that I crave...)  Or I'd like a new widescreen monitor (24") for the home PC.  The 17" is nice, but it is just kind of small, especially when I work on a 28" screen every day at work.

So Christmas is going to suck be the best I've ever had.  The best part?  I won't be paying on this year's Christmas next year.  Yea!