All I Want for Christmas is.....

Over the years we received some very interesting Christmas lists. One was written on an entire ream of computer paper in 1977, and I still occasionally pick it up for bedtime reading. It's a challenge like War and Peace. Someday I'm going to plow my way through the whole thing.

One year our kids all approached their Christmas lists quite differently. I guess they thought the standard line item list wasn’t garnering quite the response they were after, which means they didn’t get everything they requested. Perhaps they thought a clever approach might work better.

The one we got from our second son was written like a business letter, complete with address, date, salutation and ended with "Sincerely Yours." He forgot one basic rule of business letters, however. Brevity is a good rule of thumb. (But at least it wasn't another novel.)

Our older son took us at our word when we said to keep it short and reasonable. His merely read:
LIST
              1.    a VCR.
              2.    a stereo.
              3.    a radio-powered car.
P.S.  If there is room for more, see me.

Our oldest daughter got very creative with her Christmas list. It was a work of art, complete with decorative pictures and her own brand of humor:
MY CHRISTMAS LIST
                1.    Ferrari
                2.    Mink coat
                3.    Ruby ring
                4.    Arabian palomino
           ** 5. Patrick Duffy! (I think the stars meant she was really serious about this request.)
P.S. If you can't get those, I guess I could live with:
           ** 1.      A canary (I wondered if this was her concession to probably not getting Patrick Duffy.)
               2.     Wicker cage. (At least she's practical),
               3.      Yellow Izod sweater
               4.      Two western shirts and western boots. (Maybe that meant the horse would be at the top of her list the next year.)

When I asked the twins what they wanted for Christmas, they merely handed me the Christmas Wish Book from Sears.

"Do you want me to help you make out a list?" I asked.

"No, just tell Santa we want everything."

I guess they figured why waste your time making out a list while you're still young enough to believe that Santa has an unlimited bank account.

Personally, I never make out a list.