Probably my worst Christmas ever - and no, it isn't this one!

I remember one Christmas, I can't even tell you how old I was, but it had to have been the worst Christmas I ever had. I have to say, along with these Christmas memory, that neither my mom or dad probably ever heard of Dr. Spock, and surely didn't get any child-rearing lessons from anyone who liked to enjoy the holidays with their kids! ;-)

I know however old I was, I was past the age of peeking in my presents. I totally admit to doing my share when I was younger, but I was seriously getting to the age where I liked to be surprised, so I didn't want to know what I was going to get. We always got presents from mom and dad, but usually one really cool present which was from Santa - although why his present was under the tree for the week before Christmas with all the others I'll never know. Anyway, this one particular Christmas we had gone out driving to look at Christmas lights and I made the casual comment that I wish I had a camera to take pictures of the lights. Oh my heavens! That was the wrong thing to say... Little did I know that Santa had brought me a Polaroid Swinger camera. (Sorry, I tried to insert a link to the YouTube commercial, but I can't get it to work.) Anyway, mom and dad immediately thought I had been snooping through my presents so when we got home they opened it and told me they were taking it back to the store because I had peeked. I was soooooo disappointed. Then I was sooooo mad because they didn't believe that I didn't know I was getting it.

So, Christmas Eve night comes and everyone is over and we opened all our presents and of course I had no Santa present. I was so upset - I must have been to have such a vivid recollection of it this long ago! I finally got the camera the next morning - apparently I had been sufficiently disgraced the night before that they felt I deserved it. I've never forgotten that and reading in our paper today that Polaroid has stopped production of their film and the supply should be exhausted by the end of 2009.... I have to say, I had fun taking pictures when I was able to get film, but they sure didn't last very long! Most of them faded out within a year or two at the most... Probably why my Swinger is a distant memory.

I have to laugh when I think how times have changed. The commercial says the Swinger was $19.95 - and I know at the time that was an expensive present!