It's magic. (My Perfect Christmas)

Member Name: MorganaDQ

Product:	My Perfect Christmas
Date:	07/11/01 (64 review reads)
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Imagine...

... Your tired eyes force themselves open and gaze at the clock. You can vaguely make out where the hands are, and it's something like 4:30. It's still dark outside, but you just know it's gonna be light soon, and you get that wonderful butterfly feeling in the pit of your stomach when you remember what day it is.

You lay there, snuggled up tight under your duvet, but you have to lie on your back now that you're awake. Because you're listening. You're listening for any little noises that mean Mum or Dad are awake. You peer through the darkness to see if your twin brother is asleep, or is listening too. And then you lie perfectly still again, just in case you miss a sound.

You realise, eventually, that no one else is awake. Or are they just doing the same as you? You decide you'll just get something thrown at you, or mumbled at to go back to sleep if you get up, so you let your mind wonder at the surprises that lay in store for you when you go downstairs, and eventually you drift back to sleep.

"Are you awake yet?" It's your brother whispering from the other side of the bedroom, but he whispered loud enough to wake you up. On any other day you might have minded, but not today. His eyes are glistening, even in the darkness you can see it, and he's leaning up on his elbow, watching you wake.

Then the butterflies start again. "Go and see if our Mam's awake yet.". He tries to make you do it alone, but you convince him if you're gonna do it, you're gonna do it together. You've always been partners in crime, why should today be any different?

You both creep slowly down the hallway to their bedroom door, trying not to giggle. There's a different smell to the house this morning. You don't know what it is, but you'll remember it for years to come. You stand, side by side, listening at their closed door for signs
of life. "You go in first.". "No, you!". You're trying to whisper, but in the still of the early morning, you may as well be shouting.

You open the door together, ever so slowly. Your faces appear in the tiny gap, and you realise you've been sprung! Looking back at you from their warm and cosy bed, are your Mum and Dad, laughing at you. They've got that same glint in their eyes as you have, and you wonder if they have butterflies in their tummies, too.

Suddenly the whole house seems to wake up, and there's electricity in the air. Your sister grumbles a bit, 'cause it's too early. Your big brother wanders out of his bedroom, and even though he's still sleepy, he's almost glowing, too. Then Nana finally appears from her bedroom and laughs with you, because she's excited too.

But you're not allowed to go downstairs until everybody's ready, and Nana has to put on her corset first. So you wait on the landing, hardly anyone daring to say a word in case the day suddenly disappears, but you can see the anticipation in each others eyes and it just makes you all the more excited.

Finally Nana's ready and you all want to race downstairs. But you can't, because first Mum has to sneak down to see if Santa came. You peer over the banister to try and see inside the front room, but it's just out of view. She opens the door a crack and switches on the light. "No, Santa's not been this year. Back to bed!". You all know he's been really, because she does this every year.

She laughs at her own little joke as she hears the words, "Oh Muuuuummmm" from the four of you at the same time as you race downstairs.

And then she opens the door.

It's magic. Everything you'd dreamed about the night before couldn't make this sight any more wonderful. The whole room is filled with presents, of all shapes
and sizes and colours. Four pillow cases and four giant homemade stockings with your names all in glitter are scattered around the room, just where you put them before you went to bed. The chistmas tree is all lit up with fairy lights, and there are piles of presents underneath it, too.

You look to see if the mince pie was eaten and the sherry drunk, and they were. You wouldn't believe Santa had really been here if it weren't for the footprints, all silver and glittery from the faery dust, by the fireplace. You go to unwrap all your wonderful presents, because each one of them IS wonderful, even if it's just underwear. Because this is Christmas, after all.

And when all the presents are opened, and all of the thanks made, and kisses given, you sit and watch your Mam and Dad and Nana open all their presents, too. And you don't realise it at the time, but the excitement and the anticipation is inside them too, and you're watching it in their eyes. And it doesn't matter that what you bought or made for them isn't big, and isn't expensive, or didn't take weeks and weeks to make, because they love it just the same because it's from you.

You sit and eat sweet waffles and drink orange juice with the bits in it for breakfast, and by the time you've all put on your new, posh outfits and done the silly little fashion show for everyone, it's properly light and you can smell the turkey start to cook.

You empty the contents of your stocking onto the floor and swap the chocolate bars you don't like with your brothers and sister, then proceed to merrily munch your way through them as though they'll disappear at midnight. You feel a bit sick, but it doesn't matter because it's Christmas, so you keep munching.

The rest of the day is spent playing with your toys and seeing what everyone else got, while Dad clears up the rubbish from the wrapping paper and the boxes, and
Mum makes the dinner. Nana sits and watches you play, or she helps with dinner too. Eventually Nana will fall asleep on the sofa, after dinner, with her paper hat still on and her legs crossed and arms folded. And you'll sneak up and take a photo, because she looks so funny.

And the magic lasts all day. And for all the years to come, you'll always remember your childhood Christmas when Santa was as real as the Tooth fairy was. And you'll smile while you think about it, as I've smiled while I've written about it. If you're lucky, you might even get a little lump in your throat, too, doing all of this remembering.



A perfect Christmas is one you're planning to have, or one you had last year, or even when you were six years old. But if you're lucky, the perfect Christmas will be all of them rolled up into one. But you have to remember, and it's not easy sometimes.

My hubby, bless him, is an only child. He never had any big family Christmas, never anyone to share the mischief and magic with. So three years ago we went to stay with my Mum and Dad on Christmas Eve. I'd told him about Santa's footprints and he loved it. So my Mum did it for him, those three years ago. She made us wait at the top of the stairs, too, while she went to see if Santa had been. And she gave him the magic he'd never had. And all the while his eyes were glistening, and if I could have looked inside, I bet I'd have seen butterflies in his tummy, too.

I don't celebrate Christmas now, I celebrate Yule. But I know when the day comes that we have children, I'll make sure they get some magic, because it's important. Even for us big, cynical adults, you still need magic sometimes.

Don't fret about the dinner cooking right, or worry about who to seat next to who when the in-laws come to visit. Don't spend weeks panicking because you've not found the perfect g
ift for a long lost Aunt you never see. Don't rush around on Christmas day, chasing your own backside and trying to please everyone, because you won't. Just enjoy it. Let yourself relax, watch (and I mean reeeeally watch) your children's, your partner's, or your in-law's eyes. Give it a chance and you might see it in them, too. And if you don't, but you feel it, some's bound to rub off on them if you let it.

I know, I'm gonna get comments about it being a Christian festival and where's the religion gone from it, cries of commercialism and children expecting more and more every year. But this is MY perfect Christmas, not yours.

And it's magic.

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