It all happened when I was 14

Published 1:31 pm Saturday, December 13, 2008

Most of my family goes overboard when it comes to the holidays, and I tend to do the same. We break out the Christmas movies in November, take in the parades and the live nativity scenes, and drink enough eggnog for a few small towns.

As I get older, I enjoy giving gifts and cards much more than I do receiving them, and I can probably trace that all the way back to the Christmas when I was 14.

When I was growing up, it seemed like every Christmas I had my heart set on one special gift. It wasn’t a lot of gifts, just one that I would ask for each year.

Email newsletter signup

One year it was a pair of state-of-the-art walkie-talkies from Radio Shack. Another year it was a drum machine, and another year, it was a portable CD player, the kind that can probably only be found now on the Antiques Road Show.

When I was 14, it was a pair of Oakley sunglasses, the ones with the interchangeable frames.

I knew they were expensive, but in addition to having two parents, I also had three older sisters who usually had good jobs. I figured between all of them, I should get my wish no problem.

Christmastime grew closer and closer and then came Christmas Eve. In our family, like in a lot of other families, we have a tradition of opening one gift each on the night before Christmas.

In his book, “The Shepherd, the Angel and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog,” humor columnist Dave Barry writes that Christmas Eve is the best night of the year because everything is about to happen, but it hasn’t happened yet.

I tend to agree.

So on that one Christmas Eve, my sisters arrived at my parents’ house with a car full of presents. My sisters placed them under the tree one by one, and it didn’t take me long to find the present I was going to open that night. I knew it was my sunglasses. My sisters didn’t even bother to put them into a box, as I could feel the frames through the wrapping.

Once dinner had ended, I dashed through the dining room and snatched my gift. My mom said I could be the first one to open a present.

My face was glowing. But I should have suspected something wasn’t right because my sisters kind of had these odd looks on their faces as if they were going to burst into laughter. I didn’t pay any attention and tore open the wrapping.

I would have preferred itchy socks and a Bedazzler.

What I opened was a pair of brand-new sunglasses, but they were Newport cigarette sunglasses, the kind you get free with the purchase of two packs.

No one in my family smoked, but my brother-in-law worked for the company that made Newport cigarettes and was in on the prank.

When they realized I wasn’t laughing, they brought out another present, which this time came with a box. I opened it and waiting inside were a pair of Oakley sunglasses.

It was a very mean trick to pull on a 14-year-old kid, but it taught me a pretty good lesson too. It’s OK to have a wish list for Christmas, but it’s also better not to expect any one thing in the chance that you don’t get it. There’s also a lot more to Christmas than receiving gifts.

I know it’s easier said and done for smaller children, even 14-year-olds, but once you learn those lessons, you can focus on more important things during the holidays, like giving presents to loved ones or to those less fortunate than you are.