The true meaning of Christmas...

~ No one has ever become poor by giving. ~


Anne Frank
 
 
Ahhh Christmas...How does that song go?"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"Is that right?You better believe it is!Those of you who know me well enough know that Christmas is pretty crazy around the Klaff household.It's unanimously our favorite holiday and has slowly become something of a phenomenon at my casa every year!A time for crazy, gi-normous amounts of online shopping, lots of crafts (yep, that's right Martha Stewart ain't got nothing on me.I'm like a tattooed Martha Stewart/Betty Crocker!LOL!), unbelievable amounts of baking and cooking (like a mad woman actually), holiday decorating, and of course lots of present wrapping! (And once the boxes get too big, I call in some back-up for help!That being my Mom or my Dad who have several years on me in the wrapping department!)
 
When I was little I thought Christmas was all about the presents.I couldn't get enough of 'em!I'll admit, I was a greedy little beotch at a young age!If my brother had more or if more attention was paid to him I'd try to steal the spotlight.One year my parents thought it would be funny to put up 2 tents in the living room and when we awoke on Christmas morning all we saw was 2 tents sitting there.Well naturally my brother being the perfect little angel was stoked because he got a G.I.Joe tent and I did get a pretty rad looking Barbie tent but the first words out of my mouth were: "Where are all the presents?" (See, a perfect example of being a greedy little beotch!LOL!)Well much to my happiness the presents were all nestled perfectly inside the tents for us to open.They were some sneaky little bastards weren't they?So at a young age to me it was all about the gifts and the materialistic things.You always want to have more Barbies then your neighborhood friend. You always wanted to have the newest and best Cabbage Patch Kid that not only could you curl her hair with a "fake" curling iron but you could crimp it too!(Gotta love the 80's!) As a kid it was never enough and you had to face some disappointments, but your parents always said there's always next year right?
 
Well as I've gotten older Christmas has definitely taken on a new meaning.I spend obscene amounts of money on my family and friends and now that I have the luxury to do it, sometimes I get a little crazy about it!LOL!But to me I would rather give give give all day long then get anything in return.Sure, as we all know, I love spoiling myself and indulging in my Victoria's Secret addiction, but given the choice I'd give everything I have to the people I love and care about it.There's no greater satisfaction in the world then giving something to someone that they normally wouldn't buy themselves!Sometimes it could be as simple a gesture as a Christmas card or as extravagant as a diamond bracelet but I love showing that other person that they truly matter to me.
 
We all have our traditions.Some are crazier than others!LOL!We make the same sugar cookie recipe that I've helped make since I was born in the same cookie pan that I know they don't make anymore.Our big meal is on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas day.We always watch a Christmas Story on Christmas Eve and slowly Bad Santa has been brought into the mix.(I only watch that alone or with my brother because it's inappropriate humor for my parents!LOL!)My parents ALWAYS wrap the kids (me and my brother) presents Christmas Eve night.They usually stay up until about 3 or 4 in the morning wrapping all of them.Also my brother has this weird ritual that they always have to use new wrapping paper and we're not allowed to see what it is.I mean we probably have about 40 rolls of Christmas paper that have to be used up but nope my brother likes the new stuff!LOL!(He's totally weird like that although it's a tradition I've held onto as well!) And there's always a person playing Santa on Christmas Day.(That's also an on-going argument every year because my bro and I go back and forth as to who was it last year and we always fight about it!But pay attention to this now, it's in writing:Next year I WILL BE Santa!LOL!) And my Dad always leaves a note posing as Santa Clause and talking about the updates on the world in a very politically incorrect way usually strewn with a crap load of obscenities!
 
So see we all have our quirks and our traditions and some of us have had to add new ones.This year we were blessed with a a new addition to our family Christmas and that was my niece Layla.So usually it takes us quite awhile to open gifts but this year it almost took 5 hours because we had to open everything for her and make sure it sang, talked or made noises.I cannot even tell you how exciting it was to share this amazing event with her for the 1st time.There was so much stimulus to look at and there's nothing more special than seeing the joy on a little one's face when they receive a special gift.There is nothing more precious or more innocent in the world then that and I was happy to be a part of that.
 
I think as our world is evolving we're rapidly moving away from what the real meaning of Christmas is: GIVING!Who gives a crap if your boyfriend didn't propose to you at Christmas and you didn't get the un-Godly expensive diamond ring that you've been pining away for.So he gave you gloves instead!Big deal!At least you have that person in your life.It's not about the next generation I-Pod touch or the newest Blackberry or those ridiculous bunny costumes that Aunt Clara keeps sending you.It's the togetherness, love, and friendship that you get to share with people you love and care about.
 
It has become abundantly clear to me this year that if you keep giving giving giving and never receiving anything in return that karma has a great way of coming back around to you.Somebody out there is watching out for ya and wants your utter happiness.I'm a giver and I give give give in my everyday life whether it be family, friends or romantic relationships.Sometimes I think that I'm a giver to a fault!It's something I definitely need to work on in my romantic relationships so that I'm not taken advantage of.But it's who I am and it's NEVER going to change.We need to take a step back and realize that it's not about us anymore.It's not ME ME ME!It's about showing the people who we love and care about in our lives that we have so much love for who they are, what they do and what they represent.
 
It shouldn't take one special day like Christmas for you to express how you feel about someone or show them that you love them.You should show that person every day.You don't HAVE to get someone a Christmas present you should want to.Also you should know that you don't have to spend a lot of money to make someone happy.Sometimes the best Christmas present can be non-materialistic such as a phone call from a friend you haven't heard from in ages, or just a simple Merry Christmas.
 
Everyone needs to take a step back and realize what the true meaning of Christmas is!Sure that Victoria's Secret gift card was AMAZING and yes I will do a lot of damage with that, but the action behind it was what really mattered.My incredibly anti-social, crowd and yuppie hating, grumpy ass Dad ventured into Arrowhead Mall, by himself and braved the overly female populated Victoria's Secret to get me some gifts. That gesture alone made the present more than worthwhile!All I know is that I'm incredibly blessed to be surrounded by some truly INCREDIBLE people who I am so lucky to have.I'm so happy that I was able to share a little part of my Christmas craziness and love with them and I sure felt the love in return.
 
Thanks to my AMAZING parents for an incredible Christmas and to my brother and his new family who are trying to set some of their own traditions in stone and to my INCREDIBLY CUTE AND PRECIOUS niece who I got to experience her 1st Klaff family Christmas, and finally to my WONDERFUL group of friends who make me feel so loved and I'm honored to be one of your friends.It's totally bittersweet that it's over and now I have to wait 363 more days until the next one, but it was INCREDIBLY FABULOUS while it lasted!Hope you all had a nice holiday as well!
 
 

 
Take care!
 
<3 Stacey <3
 
~ The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving. ~


Albert Einstein