A Very Geeky Christmas

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When it comes to my favorite holidays, there's a tie in my mind for the most awesomest of holidays between Halloween and Christmas. Halloween is a favorite for obvious reasons, I love horror, but I also love Christmas because of the story I'm about to share with all of you about my geekiest and best Christmas memory. 

The year was 1983. We had just welcomed my little brother Daniel to the family earlier that year and well...it was also the year of Return of the Jedi. I had seen ROTJ twice that year, because well...it was awesome and because they put it into theaters twice. At this point in my life, all the geeky things that would stay with me forever were everywhere. I was discovering re runs of Star Trek about this time as well. But, when it comes to young kids and toy stores, there was of course display upon display of Star Wars toys and damnit...I wanted them all. So naturally Santa got a letter from me asking to have that entire galaxy, far, far away to make an appearance under my tree...and the man did not disappoint. 

That Christmas morning was epic. As you can see from the pictures, and they are just a sampling, it was a very Star Wars Christmas. Boxes, upon boxes of figures and play-sets from the movie were under the tree and well...I screamed a lot in pure joy. It. Was. Awesome.

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​It is a Christmas I will never forget, and quite frankly it is this memory of the holiday I always refer to if I'm feeling down during the season. Simply because, at the time all that mattered were the toys, but now I understand what Santa, with help from my family truly managed to accomplish. This was the Christmas that taught me the meaning of the holiday.  

I learned on this day, that the gifts do matter. Not because of materialism or consumerism. I too went through that phase, especially after witnessing people fist fight over DVD players on Black Friday. No, the gifts matter because of the joy and because the hunt for the perfect gift, is all about bringing joy to the person receiving it and for a brief moment, we are forced to think outside of our own world and think about what excites our friends and family and what will make them smile.  

That's really what the holiday is all about, sharing in each other's lives, and enjoying the gift of life we have all been given and sharing the things that make us happy, if only for a moment. And it was a lesson I learned all because my father and mother wanted to see their son smile. Merry Christmas everyone, I hope it's a wonderful one for you and your family.

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