When my kids were little (many, many years ago) and still believed in Santa Claus, I would wait until they were asleep and put out most of their presents so that when they woke up they would see what Santa had left them. However, on Christmas Eve, they had trouble falling asleep with anticipation of the next morning's surprise, and, they would get up Christmas morning at daybreak. So, most times I would only have a few hours to assemble Santa's gifts; and, that included assembly required gifts.
On one particular Christmas Eve, I had two Green Machines to assemble for Santa. Green Machines, if you don't remember them, were one of those toys that you wished were around when you were a kid. It was a Big Wheel type plastic tricycle, only they steered with tillers instead of a handlebar. They had been hidden away in the closet for about a month, and of course, I hadn't opened them ahead of time.
So, on Christmas Eve around 1 AM, out they come to be assembled. I open the first one; take out the parts; read the directions (yes, I read the directions first) looked to make sure I had all the parts; hey, where are all the nuts and bolts? Yup, you guessed it; missing! Even Home Depot isn't open on Christmas Eve! After further investigation, even one of the steering rods was missing.
I knew that being a packrat all these years would pay off one day! So, out to the tool shed I go. Out come the coffee cans, jelly jars, and old toolboxes filled with junk. With the help of an old steel rod that I had been saving for some reason,and a bunch of nuts and bolts, after about two hours, Santa saved the day. Both Green Machines were together.
But, its now about 3 AM. Daybreak is in about 2 or 3 hours. It seemed like I had just laid down when....
" Mommy, Daddy! Santa Claus has been here!"
Was it worth it? YOU BET!! |
