Bright, bold and a sheer delight! You'll be a rainbow of fun in this Starbright adult costume! This 5 piece Sexy Starburst Girl Costume includes a blue dress with plush trim, sequined star belt, light up star wand, rainbow arm warmers, and rainbow leg warmers.Like any child, I loved Christmas. The anxiety build-up over a pile of presents, noxious amounts of junk food, Indiana Jones on the telly, I loved every second of it. And then there was the mystery. The greatest riddle of all time left for any under ten to decipher. Father Christmas. I can clearly remember to this day rushing down the stairs at break-neck speeds at seven o'clock on a Christmas morning and finding snowy footprints coming from the chimney.
It mattered not that the fireplace had been bricked up for over fifteen years, or that it had not actually snowed outside, those marks alone were proof enough that Santa himself had found time to pay our humble home a visit. Those footprints were worth a hundred presents, though I probably would not have agreed at the time. Unfortunately I also remember with equal clarity sneaking down late one Christmas Eve night and witnessing grandma, a boot in one hand and a bag of flour in the other, making those footprints. The realization was agonizing. I'd been deceived.
Many years later, this embittered shell of a man decides to go shopping one early October morning. Already the signs are there. Temporary gift shops appear wherever I turn, the glitter embossed cards are already on display. In less than a fortnight we'll be hearing the sounds of Wizard and Slade, and hearing them every day for the next three months. Harrods started selling their Christmas stock in early August. Already the masses are panicking. You can feel it in every supermarket and shopping mall.
The real shame is that I still love Christmas. I love the family get-togethers and the feasts. I enjoy the Christmas Eve build up almost as much as I did back then. My mother once remarked that Easter eggs no longer mean anything to children today because they eat chocolate all year round. I feel the same about Christmas; that one day of festive spirit, good food, and yes, even a few welcome gifts, are overshadowed by three months of absolute hysteria.
No wonder the overdrawn conclusion always feels somewhat of a letdown. Consumerist greed has drained the event of any charm, the humble gathering now replaced by work related stress and substantial debt, a hopeful child's wish list to Santa now a list of 'I wants' to their parents. I do wonder how many children still rise early on Christmas day with that same sense of mysticism that I once cherished, or if they've finally wised up. In a way I envy those youngsters who still believe in one our few remaining myths. The magic was nice while it lasted.
Carl Doherty created http://www.holycr4p.com/ under supervision of his doctor, who conceived the criticism and categorisation of every film that Carl watches as a way of tackling his obsessive compulsive disorder. Carl has now watched 23 films, and is not entirely sure he liked any of them. Carl currently resides in Southend-on-Sea where he shares an abandoned warehouse with a buffy-tufted marmoset named Tautilus Samson. Together they have all sorts of adventures. He is currently completing his second non-fiction book How to Build a Quantum Flux Capacitor in 8 Easy Steps, the sequel to the bestselling Manipulating Time and Space on a Budget. Or maybe not.
Read more of Carl's comic, graphic novel, and film related features and reviews, and other rants relating to The Value of Christmas at http://www.holycr4p.com/
