It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

"Ho ho ho! Merry everyone!" - Homer Simpson

Sometimes all it takes is the excitement on a child's face to put your life back in order.  Those of you who know me probably know that this year hasn't been the greatest year for me.  These last couple of months of 2010 especially.  Except for my published article, this year has been pretty whack.  But seeing the children happy at Christmas made it all seem better.  Let me set the table for you.  Usually at our Christmas parties my family that that live in this area get together to celebrate.  We usually do a gift exchange and at this gift exchange someone plays Santa Claus.  I've done it in years past, so have my brothers.  It's often a long and sweaty ordeal, but this year it just seemed a bit more special.  This year we had a lot of young kids that still believed in Santa.  My cousin Justin took the reigns this year and the reactions were priceless.  He entered through the front door, ringing the doorbell, the parents gathered the kids around the door and when he appeared...the reaction was just awesome.  One girl jumped up and down like those screaming Michael Jackson fanatics.  Another girl stared at him for a second, then jumped off her bike and ran to give him a hug.  It was awesome.

Needless to say I had a very good Christmas.  I got some great gifts for my family that I'm sure they'll enjoy.  And I got some really awesome gifts myself.  I got some much needed BluRays: Scott Pilgrim vs.the World, and Avatar: Collector's Edition, a very classy new wallet (my old one is in tatters), a great set of dryfit workout shirts and some black socks, and last but not least: the Mass Effect 2 N7 Armor hoody.  You guys already know that I"m a huge Mass Effect fan, and I think any fan needs to own this hoody.  Not only does it look extremely badass, it is also very well made and seems like it will last quite a while.  It does feel a little tight for being an XXL but I think they made it that way...that or my brother accidentally got me a woman's XXL.  In any event I absolutely love it.

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday.  What'd you get for Christmas?  What were some of your favorite gifts? Let me know.

Merry Christmas.