For this year's family Christmas party, I was tasked with organizing the music. I decided to use iTunes to download songs since we do not own many Christmas CDs other than the Looney Tunes Kwazy Christmas and John Denver's Christmas. I download what I though was the best version of every Christmas song I could think of, such as Elvis Presley's Blue Christmas, Johnny Cash's Little Drummer Boy, and the McKenzie brother's 12 Days of Christmas.
I also looked for original music, such as The Waitresses' Christmas Wrapping and John Lennon's Happy Xmas. However, one song changed my perspective on Christmas this year, and made me rethink the amount of money we spent on the kids.
Continued...
The song that changed the holidays for me was The Kink's Father Christmas. I had heard the song before, but never really payed attention to the lyrics.
Father Christmas, give us some money
Don't mess around with those silly toys.
Well beat you up if you don't hand it over
We want your bread so don't make us annoyed
Give all the toys to the little rich boys
The lyrics got me thinking about my two boys, whom I love dearly. They have no idea how lucky they are. Here is a quick list of some of the gifts they got this year:
Nick
- $500 in Best Buy gift certificates
- 4 Korn T-Shirts
- 5 Korn CDs
- 2 Korn DVDs
- 3 Sets of Legos
- Several Playstation and PSP Games
- At least $200 worth of clothes
Sam
- A dirtbike
- 5 Sets of Legos
- A radio controlled car
- Heeley Shoes
- Clothes ($200)
- An electric drum set
- A synthesizer
Each of them got a couple thousand dollars worth of presents from us and the extended family. And to top it off, Sam told us that he didn't think he got enough presents this year. I was furious, but not because he did not appreciate the money we spent on him. I was angry because I recognized that he was the rich kid from Father Christmas. He doesn't have to worry about the house being heated, or where he will find his next meal... or what to do if he gets sick. My wife and I are fortunate to be able to provide them with everything they need. However, we are clearly doing a lousy job of teaching the kids about having compassion for other people and being thankful for what they have. I think Sam is going to be mad next year when his big present will be a donation in his name to the local homeless shelter. But hopefully he will appreciate the lesson when he gets older.
To quote the Kinks:
Have yourself a merry merry Christmas
Have yourself a good time
But remember the kids who got nothin'
While youre drinkin' down your wine