I found my Christmas Spirit in a Barbie Glamour Camper

In the past year I have reconnected with a lot of my friends from high school via Facebook.  It has been a really enriching experience–especially as a new parent.  So many of my high school friends have kids of their own now and have been really helpful and supportive as I try to tread down the rocky road of parenthood.

A few weeks ago, my friend Gina posted a cry for help in her Facebook status:  ”Cannot find the Barbie Glamour Camper anywhere in the US.  If anyone should happen to find it…I will send a check.”  The camper was numero uno on her daughter’s Christmas list.  Gina is the mother of 2 with one on the way–her daughter is 7 or 8, her son is about 9 months and she is pregnant with a boy on the way (she got pregnant only a few months after child number 2 was born–eep!)

I read this on a Friday night and I just happened to have a trip to Babies R Us/Toys R Us planned for Saturday morning.  I told Gina that I would check there for the Barbie Glamour Camper.  Oh, I should also mention that she lives in my hometown area in central NY while I am currently living in northern Florida.

BRU/TRU was rather busy on that Saturday.  Since I really haven’t hung out much in toy stores over the last 2 decades, I haven’t really seen Christmas toy chaos in action.  There were parents wandering the aisles in search of whatever was on their kids’ lists.  This is my first Christmas as a parent, so a whole new world of gift giving has opened up for me.

I get to be Santa Claus.

And with great power comes great responsibility.

I really wanted to find this Barbie Glamour Camper.  Even though it is for a child I have never met–the daughter of a friend I haven’t seen since my high school graduation in 1996–I had to find this camper.

Lo and behold, our local BRU/TRU had two campers left.  I felt this crazy rush of adrenaline and was all like, “WE HAVE TO BUY THIS!  GINA IS DEPENDING ON US! SANTA IS DEPENDING ON US!  THIS LITTLE GIRL’S CHRISTMAS WISH IS IN OUR HANDS!”  I didn’t say any of that out loud–but I certainly felt it.

So we got the camper and it was easily 8 times more expensive than the item I was actually in the store to buy for my own son, but I didn’t care.  I was doing Santa’s work.

We boxed up the toy and I wrote Gina a note inside thanking her for letting me help play Santa to her little girl.  I asked her to take photos of her daughter opening up her present.  I was actually excited to stand in line at the post office to send the package on its journey up the East Coast.

I remember when I realized that Santa Claus wasn’t “real.”  I couldn’t understand why parents would all out lie to their kids.  I felt like a big, freakin’ fool.

As an adult, I understand that the spirit of Santa is real; the spirit of giving is powerful.  And seeing pure joy on a child’s face–there is nothing better.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Tags: Barbie, Christmas, gift, holiday, Santa Claus