The Christmas Mega-Blog! Part One - Christmas At dankempster's

by danielkempster

I am dankempster. I am feeling festive!Hey guys, DanK here with the first part of a tantalisingly ginormous Christmas mega-blog! I was originally going to post this as one enormous "mega-blog", but I decided to split it into three separate, normal-length blogs instead. Why? Because I am a comment-whore, naturally. This here, as the name would suggest, is the first part of that mega-blog, which focuses on my views on Christmas and how I'll be spending my day tomorrow. Think of it as a starter - the prawn cocktail of this three-course Christmas mega-blog. To continue the festive dinner analogy, the roast turkey dinner will be in the form of a Discovering Gaming Greatness blog (haven't done one of those in a while) on The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Finally, the Christmas pudding and custard to finish off will take the shape of a blog musing about the role of storytelling in games. I hope that's intrigued you enough to stay tuned to this blogspace!

Right, I think that's enough preamble. Let's get into the meat of this mega-blog!

...Yeah, I like the phrase "mega-blog". So sue me.

Christmas at dankempster's

Everything I hate about Christmas... Although turkey is damn tastyIt's that time of year again. The trees are up, the houses are decorated, and people are running around like headless turkeys doing last-minute shopping and making their final preparations for the big day. All that wrapping of presents, and writing out of Christmas cards, for what? A heated half-hour at most of frenzied unwrapping. All that fuss over cooking a turkey, just for a glorified (albeit very tasty) roast dinner. A lot of people get the impression that I don't like Christmas, and I've gained a reputation as being a bit of a Scrooge, but that's not true. I actually really love Christmas. I just can't stand the commercial side. Sure, it's nice to receive gifts, and to gorge yourself silly on very tasty food, but that's not what Christmas is about for me. In my eyes, Christmas is about waking up in the morning and gathering with the rest of the family in the dining room for breakfast. It's about the aunts and uncles and grandparents and family friends who visit during the day for a cup of tea and an exchange of festive greetings. It's about staying up till 1am getting pissed on cider and playing boardgames.

What I'm getting at is that for me, Christmas is a time for families to come together. I'm not a religious guy, but at the same time I'm not a fan of the way things have become so secularised. If you could strip away all the commercial aspects I detest so much, my Christmas would be nothing more than a normal day spent with my family. And that would be awesome. Considering I don't see my family much at the moment due to University, that side of things means more to me this year than it's ever done. I can't wait to go out to my local pub tonight, have a few drinks with the guys and play some darts. I can't wait to wake up tomorrow morning, put my arms round my parents and sisters and wish them all a Merry Christmas. I can't wait for Boxing Day, when my grandfather will be staying all day and we'll most likely play Trivial Pursuit until some ungodly hour. I can't wait to experience that side of Christmas, to the point where I really couldn't care less about the gift-giving side of things.

One half of my Christmas listHowever, that side of things will still exist. I'm not big on gift-giving, and when that fact is combined with my student's budget it means I've only bought gifts for my family and close friends this year. I don't really feel bad about not being able to buy for everybody that deserves something, because it's encouraged me to focus on spending time with my friends this Christmas. Rather than calling round to drop off a present, we're going out for a walk, or a drink, and I feel like spending time with the people I don't see much of these days is a lot better than just leaving a gift at their house. I'm not big on receiving gifts either, but I know my parents aren't going to not buy me anything, so I made a small Christmas list. Very small. Like, two items. All I can recall asking for is a new crash cymbal for my drum kit, and Fallout 3. Ironically, I won't be able to use either on Christmas Day - most of you are no doubt aware that my 360 is in my room back at Uni, and I've been banned from the drums over Christmas because my next-door neighbour's elderly father has come down to stay with her. This is a very good thing, actually. It means I can focus on spending my Christmas the way I want to - in the company of my friends and family, rather than locked away in my room trawling some post-apocalyptic wasteland.

So that's what Christmas means to me, and how I'll be spending it this year. All that remains for me to do is to wish all my fellow Giant Bombers a very Merry Christmas. This community is a family of sorts (albeit a very dysfunctional one with some weird cousins and scary uncles), and I've made some great internet-friends through this site. A big shout goes out to you all. Thanks for reading, and however you'll be spending your Christmas, I hope you have a good one. Be sure to stay tuned for the next part of the Christmas mega-blog, coming in a few hours.

DanK

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Currently playing - The Legend Of Zelda - Majora's Mask (GC)