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Aw, so you’re wondering where the word ‘sleepyface’ comes from. HA. Well, that was my husband and I during the early years of our marriage and our first attempts at playing “SANTA” for our two little ones. Naturally, I have tons of Christmas memories but the one that stands out in my mind and gives me plenty of eyerolling moments is the year my son wanted lots of Ghostbusters stuff from the Big Guy. Yes, I realize I’m seriously dating myself. As an empty-nester, I soooo miss those early years of setting out cookies and hot chocolate for Santa, sneaking around hiding presents, and the eventual assembly thing.
Well, maybe I’m not missing the ‘assembly thing’ so much.
That particular Christmas Eve, after family had left and our kiddos were in bed we mentally rub our hands together and get down to the business of playing Santa. Our little girl was easy that year. No assembly required. Then we get to our son. Whew boy! The Ghostbusters ‘hearse’, action figures, etc. were a snap. Everything was rockin’ and rollin’ until we got to the damn Ghostbusters firehouse. Don’t know if you remember it from the movie but it was a renovated firehouse (two stories) complete with a pole so the Ghostbusters guys could rush out to nab the paranormal critters. We knew we were in big, big trouble when we open the box and find not only a gazillion plastic pieces but a roll of stickers that could lead all the way to China AND BACK. Lordy! I think there were probably 500 stickers that had co-ordinating numbers to show you where to apply them on the house. Our eyes got HUGE. We were already exhausted of course because like a couple of dumbasses, we’d saved this for last. As I recall, sticker number 289 was an itsy bitsy doorknob that wouldn’t fit on the paw of a mouse. Before all was said and done, we were snapping at each other, positively freaked at the sheer time-consuming nature of this project.
So finally we get the damn thing done. It looked cute. The stickers were all in place and it was just a bit after 2:30 am. I apologized for being bitchy. He apologizes for being an irrational grumpy-head and we stumble off to bed only to be awakened at four am by our wide-eyed sprites. Four AM???? Seriously??? What could we do in the face of all this excitement? I stumbled out of bed and put on a pot of very strong coffee while our urchins played with the stuff. My husband and I were troopers and not about to spoil Christmas morning by sending them back to bed where they belonged. Nope. We stumbled through the rest of that day and I recall now that we took long naps the second our company headed out the door after Christmas dinner. Kind of reminded me of finals week in college. Yeah, that bad!
The moral of this little Christmas tale? When ToysRUs offers a $25 assembly fee, don’t be proud. Don’t say…aww, I can do THIS. Believe me. You are only fooling yourself. Pay the bucks. Save yourself some grief. Get a good nights’ sleep knowing that the price of a pleasant Christmas is a mere pittance in comparison to an all-night assembly fest.
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20 comments:
*Snicker* GREAT post. Yeah, I've been there. Merry Christmas, Regina and hubby!
Great post. I always try to buy stuff already together. My husband is pretty handy with tools so he is generally able to put together anything. I love putting the toys out and then having the kids wake up that way. I will probly only get this for a couple of more years. My kids are 6 and 9 and still believe. I will be sad when they do not believe in santa anymore.
Regina you are a new author for me and would love to win and read your book. I love to read and always looking for new books and authors to check out. Thanks for the giveaway and the chance to win.
christinebails@yahoo.com
Damn, I wish I had known about the assembly thing at Toys R Us. Would have saved us last Christmas. Great post.
Merry Christmas!
Marika
LOL:) My parents never assembled anything for us BEFORE Christmas; it was always done AFTER we'd opened our gifts:)
Except for Mom's gifts...the new grill, the TV, the stereo...anything electronic.
And Reg, if you pull my name out of the hat, send it to Chrisbails. I've read many of your books; she has not and would LOVE to introduce her to your books!
Toys R Us toy assembly totally rocks! Bought our granddaughter a Dune Buggy motorized ride-on car and my hubby didn't blink an eye when I added on the $25 to have it assembled at Toys R Us. It's the only way to go with some of these things. Of couse, "back in the day" when my children were little, we didn't need Toys R Us to assemble. We had PopPop (my dad who was a whiz at assembly and really enjoyed it) - my hubby, not so much.
Love your books, Reg and love ya too, you super sweetheart.
Margie
HA. I'm sure you have, Anny, with that big brood of yours! LOL. Happy Christmas to you too!
Hi Christine! Good luck on the contest. Seriously, I MISS those days. My kids are 20 and 25 now so no more Santa.
Yeah, Harlie, definitely let them put the stuff together. It'll save your sanity. We did the 'sticker' thing on our son's JEEP one year. A mess. Not as bad as the Ghostbusters deal though. Later when our daughter got the Barbie jeep we gladly paid the assembly fee. Bike assembly? GAH. Forget about it!
Kenzie (Happy Release day, btw), I've always thought assembly beforehand was the best idea because Christmas Day can be so hectic.
((((HUGS)))) Margie! Love you too, babe! My husband THINKS he's a whiz at this. Part of the problem. But then frustration sets in and things can get a little hairy.
I paid to have bikes put together and it was SO worth the money. I miss playing Santa but next year will be so different because there will be a granddaughter!
Loved your post, Regina. Those are the special memories that will always make you smile.
caity_mack at yahoo dot com
I enjoyed the post; it was fun and entertaining.
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
Awwww GRANDCHILDREN...one of these days I hope to have a few of those. LOL. I DO think my playing Santa days are over though. Have fun with the little grandaughter, Eileen.
Glad you liked it, Cathy! :-)
Ha. Thanks Tracey D!
Haha, wow! When Santa comes around me, the children get the present in the box and the assembly comes later. I guess that could be considered lazy, but Santa physically comes to my house at 4 or 5 a.m. and we celebrate Christmas morning watching him put our presents from our hiding spots.
That sure brings back memories! We are empty nesters too. I remember the lego doll house. Ages 6 and up. It took my husband, his brother and his mother six hours to build it. Some kids toy. But on the plus side, the girls loved it. Thanks for the Christmas smile.
This year, I'm making all the presents, so ALL assembly is required. WHAT WAS I THINKING? :D
I remember staying up all night Christmas Eve putting together a Lil' Big Wheel for my oldest niece when she was little. Hard to believe she will be 18 in February. I still see her in my mind as a little chubby faced 3 year old instead of the beautiful young woman she is. Oh great, now I am getting depressed, lol.
Hope you have a wonderful holiday!
June M.
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
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