I'm up early

I get up early every Christmas that I can remember.  I've always been the first one up in the house, always.

When I was a kid I would be up at like 4am, I'd tip toe quietly downstairs and snatch my stocking from on top of the TV unit where we hung them and take it back up to my room to examine the booty that I had received.  That was the rule, I could open up my stocking whenever but we had to wait until mom was up to do presents.

The contents of my stocking were similar each year, candy..  jube jubes, willowcrisp, chocolate rosebuds, gum and then typically practical type items...  I don't really recall what those items were as a kid, as a teenager it would be like deodorant and razors and stuff.  But I'd sit in my room, eat some candy, look at the things.  then try to make myself go back to sleep to pass the time until it was actually reasonable to be awake.

It usually worked and I'd wake up at about 7ish.

That was not the end of the wait for the real presents though.  Because my mom had to be "ready".  So we'd all eat breakfast, watch TV (if there was anything on - we only got 3 channels when I was a kid).  It always seemed like an eternity, like mom was just finding things to delay with to make us wait.  Eventually mom would be ready and we' get to the presents.

I'm up now, being mature, and waiting for Amber even to open my stocking.  I realize that the joy of giving is seeing how much people like what you got them, I also realize that the stocking is clearly an invention of parents to delay the wake up time for them and occupy children in the early morning.

When Amber and I have our own children I intend to still be up early (like I have a choice really), my rugrats won't have to wait till I eat breakfast, and brush my teeth to open presents.  We'll get to the good stuff right away!

Everyone should get a 6am wakeup call on Christmas day.