They sat together on the sofa, flicking through the channels to find something to watch.
“They show this every year,” he muttered, glancing at his wife to gauge whether she actually wanted to watch the movie or if he should keep flicking.
“Yeah, but at least it’s festive,” she said, snuggling in closer to him on the sofa. “Leave it on.”
They gazed across at the Christmas tree. Shreds of wrapping paper were still strewn across the floor around it, and the big expensive presents that they’d got their children were sitting there, completely ignored.
Behind the sofa, they could hear giggles and whispers from the cardboard fort that the kids had built. He peered over his shoulder at it, then looked back at the presents ruefully.
“We spent a fortune on those presents and they’re more interested in the boxes,” he whispered to his wife.
“At least they’re quiet,” his wife whispered back. “It’ll keep them happy for days, then when they’re bored of the boxes the presents will still be there. Leave ‘em be.”
He shook his head with a little laugh. “Alright. I guess that’s why they call it Boxing Day.”
© Kari Fay
(Author’s Note: I have so far managed to write one Christmas card and buy one present… so I’m struggling to find the time and inspiration to write right now! But, I do have plans for a couple of thematic serials which hopefully you should see soon. All going to plan, the first one will begin on Christmas Day.)
Nowadays children are becoming more realistic.
Cute. I almost miss the days when my kids spent hours with the boxes.
Thanks for reading Seleste; personally I miss the days when I could spend hours with the boxes!
Nice capture Kari, young children do seem to be more fascinated with the boxes (and their imagination) than with presents.
If I had kids, I would heartily encourage such behaviour. I’d probably get massive boxes for small presents just to be sure they had a decent box to play with!
If only my children would ask for boxes. That would be so much easier to shop for. A cute story with a nugget of truth in it. Every Christmas, I am surprised by the gifts that my kids seem more interested in and the ones they could care less about. It’s funny how differently we see the world.
Heh, if kids asked for boxes, I could just imagine all the parents rushing around the shops trying to find the right boxes for their kids
Cozy holiday moment…universal, and yet still very specific
Thank you, that’s exactly what I was aiming for