Dan's Papers -December 19, 2008 - Twentysomething... All I Want for Christmas is Gift-Giving Respect

I don't care what anybody says, Christmas time is stressful. The transition from Christmas being a fun and joyous holiday into a stressful holiday is slow, and my guess is that it peaks when you have children at the age of 16 and 17 years old, "Dad, I'd like you to get me a car."

It's all relative I guess, but you are either the provider or the provid-ee around Christmas time. It does feel good to give a present to someone you care about. But it does not feel good when you want to give someone a present you know that they want, only to accept the fact that you can't afford to give it.

I have a very big family, filled with step- and half-brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews. Every one is special to me and every one needs to get a Christmas present. This year alone, I've acquired three new step-siblings. Do you get step-siblings presents when your Dad remarries at 69 years old? Yes.

What ends up happening is that I spend an enormous amount of money on gifts, but it's spread so thin that nobody is very psyched about what I've given them. It makes me nuts.

I'm a big fan of the secret Santa system that we have at the Dan's Papers office. You pick a name out of a hat and you get that employee a gift for $20 or less. You can't look cheap or bad because there are rules. It's a beautiful thing.

I'm considering proposing this idea to my family in a pathetic attempt to save money on Christmas presents and still get Christmas gift respect. My guess is that the suggestion will just turn into a very big fight among all of my siblings who will no doubt attempt to mastermind a way to have their name drawn by Dad.

Because I'm half Jewish and half Irish Catholic, Christmas time never ceases to cause such joy, stress and weirdness. It is arguably the most flagrant holiday where the difference between the Jewish and Catholic religions are paraded just about everywhere.

When you break it down to fundamentals, there is practically no difference between being Jewish and Catholic, except at Christmas, which is really the main reason why I accept both as my personal religion. I'll go to Temple, I'll go to Church and I'm fine with both. I'll also celebrate all of the holidays equally as long as there is a significant amount of food involved. Take out where you go to pray and who you listen to, it's all about being a good person and doing the right thing.

However, the Catholic side of me can't help but think that Christmas really is the ultimate, most awesome holiday. Even the Jewish side of my family, and many Jewish people I know, celebrate Christmas because it is so much fun.

Most years there's something specific that I would really like for Christmas. I think the most significant Christmas gift I ever received was a Sega Game Gear hand held console. But this year, one of the main things I want for Christmas is a little gift-giving respect.