Merry Xmas everyone.
PS1 has got to be my most memorable gift. That loading screen is burned into the OLED of my subconscious.
I like how jakebasile put it though:
> Some of the finest memories are just a jumble of similar situations though.
Archetypical Xmas AM is me, my brother, and my mom. It was always a huge exercise of my willpower to wait for my brother (5 years older, lifelong night owl) to wake up. My single mom would always lavish us in gifts. We were relatively poor in our area; Xmas was the day she made us feel as wealthy as kings. I later learned that she sometimes racked up huge credit card debt to give us this experience. I haven't done an Xmas tree for myself in years but when our baby comes I will for sure revive that magical experience for her. In the late AM we would drive over to my aunt/uncle/cousins and enjoy bagels, talk about the gifts we got, and watch movies. Everyone stayed in cozy pajamas all day, I think that's a small but important part of why this day often felt different.
In later years Xmas Eve is now my fondest jumble of memories. Growing up, we did not have people at the house. I resented my mom's antisociality a bit. But then one year, the family member who usually hosted Xmas Eve said they were tired of it. Quite the surprise to everyone when my mom said she would host the next party! She's now been hosting it for 10+ years and it's always a good time every year. I'm very proud of her for coming out of her shell and being the sturdy/reliable anchor that brings the family together every year.