Every year on December 25, people celebrate presents. Not Jesus’s birth. Just presents. This is because humans are greedy by nature. Is this a bad thing? Probably. Does this matter to anyone? No. I think the reason that Christmas is the most popular holiday is that it’s the most generous one. Your birthday or Halloween are probably your second favorite because you also receive things on those days. St. Patrick’s Day or Thanksgiving are far less popular due to the simple fact that you don’t get much on those days. Of course, I’m not suggesting that people only care about the commercial side of Christmas. Getting school off is always something to celebrate. I’m simply saying that giving presents are the main point of Christmas, and is something you should not disregard as simply spoiling others. You can probably see where I’m going with this now.
I think I make my interests very clear. I like video games. I also like sports and reading. But ask anyone. They’ll say that video games are my main interest. So for Christmas, here is what I want:
I don’t actually know what I specifically want. Video games, obviously, but I don’t know which ones. People always say something obnoxious, like “Wow, look at that big present you got. How lucky are you?” Yes, they’re right. The present is big. I am lucky to have a big box. But I know very well that the contents inside are something along the lines of clothes or a Lego set. Before you say that I’m an ungrateful brat, I’d just like to point out that Lego sets cost just as much (some even more) than a video game. I saw a Star Wars Lego set online that costed somewhere in the seven hundred dollar range.
Of course, I’m being hypocritical. I do not know what any of my relatives’ interests are, besides Khoi. So when I was sent to buy some Christmas presents, I bought the lamest things imaginable. If you’re one of those pretentious people who pretend to care about the “surprise” of finding out what your presents are, you better stop reading now.
While I was walking near the back of the store, I saw something that caught my attention. It was a little key chain. Actually, it was a Tamagotchi. Actually actually, it was a Tamagotchi knock-off. If you don’t know what a Tamagotchi is, it was this really popular toy in the 90’s. It was a tiny device where you had a digital pet to take care of. You had to check on it every once in while, or it would die. Anyway, the thing I was staring at was a copy of that. It was called Digipets or something. I’m 99% sure that it does not work. I’m 100% percent sure that if it does work, it will not be fun to use at all. In other words, it was a perfect present for any of the Thucs.
Near the front of the store was another item that caught my eye. It was a Gameboy. If you do not know what a Gameboy is, it is also another popular digital 90’s toy. For a moment, I thought I would be able to buy an actual Gameboy, and at such a low price, too. Then I looked at the box closer. It was actually an alarm clock that looked like a Gameboy. There was also a watch that was designed to look like a Gameboy. If this was a regular looking watch, I wouldn’t have bought it. However, it had the video game aesthetic and I figured Bien would like it, not because he needs to check the time, but because he’d like fiddling with the buttons on the watch.
After stalking around the back of the store again, I saw something that really grabbed my attention. It was a Pro controller. A Pro controller is pretty much a controller for the Switch, but it looks like an actual PS4 controller instead of a red and blue stick. Pro controllers are about 60 dollars, so I knew the chances of me ever getting one were slim. But here it was, standing right in front of me, with just a 15 dollar price tag on it. At first, I was excited, but then that quickly turned into suspicion. I began to wonder why it was so cheap. It had pictures of Pokemon on it, but there was no way they would lower the price just because it looked ugly. I read every single word on the box to figure out what was wrong with the controller. It was an official product from Nintendo, so that meant it wasn’t some cheap off-brand controller. Then I saw it. “Wired controller.” Wired controllers have a wire connecting it to the system, so you have to sit pretty close to the TV. Wireless controllers, on the other hand, allow you stand way further, and it also eliminates the chances of some idiot tripping over the wire while you’re playing. I can guarantee you that at least one of my cousins will in some way accidentally touch the wire. Even so, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get an actual controller. This wasn’t my first choice of controller, but it’d have to do until I got a Pro one.
It was at this point that I met up with my grandmother. She had bought socks for someone. Imagine receiving socks for Christmas. Waiting 364 days and getting socks. Of course, I didn’t say anything about it because that would be rude. She also bought this beer thing for my father. I doubt he’ll do anything with it. We then walked to the far side of the store where my grandmother found this sketchbook that had a black zipper case and several different colored pencils. I figured either one of the younger Thucs would want it, though they’re not exactly what you’d call artists. My grandmother bought Vinh a giant Tic-Tac-Toe board. She thought it would be a good gift. I feel bad for Vinh.
We didn’t buy much else. All in all, I think the present I got were pretty lame. I think I’ve learned my lesson. Christmas isn’t about getting presents, not at all. What it’s really about is giving. And by giving, I mean giving your relatives cheap and lame presents just to fill your quota for the year. Now I finally understand why I never get video games for Christmas.