The first Christmas I can really remember was when I was seven. My parents had just purchased a new Toyota Corolla, and my father was strangely excited to drive it everywhere.
That Christmas eve we all piled into the car and drove around the neighborhood to see all the decorated houses. Some of them were spectacular. Every hinge, every corner, every slant was lit. The streets were as bright as day time. And the lights danced off one another like kids running around a playground.
I gazed out the window of the car, sometimes straining my neck to make sure I didn't miss a single light. It felt like a show put on just for me and my family and we had the best seats in the house. There's really nothing like it as a child. It's like being in a fantasy world. A perfect world.