Well, it’s almost time for everyone’s favourite holiday – Boxing Day!  This year I’m holding out for the 90% off sales.  Somehow, 60% off just doesn’t do it for me anymore.  I want to feel like the retailer has completely given up all hope and is desperate to unload inventory at any cost before I fork over my hard-earned cash.  Until I can pick up a 40-inch LCD TV for $59.99, I ain’t buying.

On a more positive note, I do wish everyone a very merry Christmas.  Yes, Christmas.  Not Xmas.  Not a big fan of the “X”.  I’m not religious, but I do think it would be nice if people made a bit of an effort and wrote out “Christ” instead of an X.  I know everyone’s in a hurry these days, but somehow those six letters strike me as being kind of important.

This is the first time in a while that we’re staying home for Christmas.  It’s been great visiting family the past couple of years, but I have to admit that I’m really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight and going downstairs to open presents with the boys in the morning.   While I’m not a big fan of the whole turkey dinner thing, I am going all out – we’ve got a little 6-pound turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberries, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, bread, and wine…lots of wine.

To my wife, I promise to remember the words of that great thinker, Andy Rooney:  “One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas Day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.”  I will try to restrain myself.