Christmas Spirit Tough To Warm Up To

It's beginning to look a lot like winter. When the thermometer dips below 40 degrees, I'm a happy camper. Don't get me wrong, I can get into the cooler evenings at 65. Those are nice. But it's the cold weather I miss, being in Florida. Very rarely do I get to pull out sweaters and my leather jacket...heck, it's a rarity for me to wear long sleeves.

I find it harder to get into the Christmas spirit lately and I think at least some of that is due to what has thus far been an unseasonably warm season. The few Christmas cards I've filled out and sent have a snowman on the front. Yeah, right. Lots of snowmen in Sebring, right? Enjoy the cold weather before it goes bye-bye. Think hot chocolate, extra blankets, and Santa Claus. I only hope we can get some cold weather for Christmas next week.

Yes, hard to believe, but Christmas is only eight days away. I've spent a good portion of my time the last few days wrapping presents in preparation for the holiday. Come next Monday, I should be heading to Boca Raton to spend a few days with my sister, brother-in-law, nieces, and dozens of other family members. And my brother is making a guest appearance this year, so that'll be really cool. I don't get to see him very often.

I've been thinking about holiday traditions and I realize that my family doesn't have many of them. Yes, we get together for Christmas and eat way too much for dinner, but that's about it. I know lots of families that open one present on Christmas Eve. Not me, I've always been a strictly-Christmas-only guy. We used to hang out stockings when I was a kid, but we don't do that any more. We also used to create a "wall O'Christmas" by taping Christmas cards to the wall. Now I don't get many Christmas cards, so it really wouldn't be worth it.

Really, though, Christmas nowadays is all about the kids. Watching my 12-year-old and 5-year-old nieces with all their new swag is loads of fun. You know, until my little niece asks Uncle Karl to get her Barbie doll out of the box. Holy smokes, how many twist-ties do we need to keep Barbie from slipping out of her box prematurely? It's obscene, the amount of restraints that Mattel slaps on Barbie. Is this somehow for children's safety? What about the choking hazards posed by 83 twist-ties?

Yesterday I received a few shirts that I'd ordered online. They came individually wrapped in clear plastic. No problem, right? Except that there's a warning label a mile long. Yes, on the bag. It reads: "WARNING: To avoid danger of suffocating, keep this plastic bag away from babies and children. Do NOT use in cribs, beds, carriages, or playpens. The thin film may cling to nose and mouth and prevent breathing. This bag is NOT a toy. Tear up bag before throwing away."

Darn, just when I was about to line all the cribs I could find with plastic bags, they tell me that they're not healthy to use around babies. Why, I've been known to carry babies around in plastic grocery bags. It's so much easier than using a sling or a stroller. What next? Are they going to tell me keeping a baby on the counter next to the stove while I'm cooking is bad? Just kidding. I don't really cook.

Karl Erikson lives in Sebring and can be reached at karlerikson@yahoo.com