Best Christmas Presents

I am determined not to lose the Christmas spunk this year, aren't I?  Don't worry, we only have another week and a half, and then it will be back to our normal lives, but until then, it's my mission to make sure you keep the Christmas zest along with me.

Raise your hand if you're done Christmas shopping?  Guess what?  I am!  Isn't that exciting?  And the majority of my presents are already wrapped too.  I told you years ago, greeting Christmas unprepared is one of the things I used to dislike the most about it, but I have spent the past several Christmases extremely prepared and very happy with my present selections, thus alleviating the only issue I had with Christmas.

I never thought I would enjoy the giving aspect of Christmas as much as I did the receiving, but I guess being a parent helps you change.  However, I'd like to take a step back and remember some of my favorite Christmas presents over the years, and I'll even throw in some of Ryan and Alli's as well.

• Nintendos - At my house, Santa sets up the Christmas presents so that they are ready to go when you walk in the room in the morning.  For example, if Santa got you a dollhouse, it would be put together and ready for immediate playtime.  Santa has given Lindsey and I three gaming consoles over the years (a regular Nintendo, a Nintendo 64, and a PlayStation2), and each time they were hooked up to the TV with a game inside ready to go.  I think it goes without saying that my favorite has always been the Nintendo 64.  I will whip you in MarioKart 64- you name the time and place, and all I ask is that I be Peach.

• Billy Ray Cyrus cutout, horse grooming kit - You read that right.  One year, Santa left me a fantastic grooming kit so that I could finally stop using the old stuff at the barn and had all of my own curry combs, dandy brushes, and hoof picks to use.  Big stuff for a young rider.  Next to that was a giant cutout (like the ones you used to see in the CD section at Best Buy or Wal-Mart) of this.  Seriously, he has to be the most underrated hottie of the 90s, mullet and all.

• Diamonds, diamonds, diamonds - Ryan tends to overdo Christmas a little bitsy bit, and in our eight Christmases together, he's given me three diamond rings.  Two more and I change that verse in the Twelve Days of Christmas to "Five diamond rings!"  I do love a good rock or two or three, and I've been shocked beyond belief each time he's done it.  We like to joke that we did things a little backwards - first comes baby, then marriage, then wedding band, then engagement ring...

I checked with Ryan, and his favorite Christmas present was either a Nintendo or the year he got all of the Ninja Turtles.  Alli said hers was last year when she got her Lego village (short memory).  My favorite for Alli was when we got her the giant horse, which is still holding over until that real pony shows up...