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Yule be in tears at Christmas
The Sun ^ | 12/24/08 | STAFF REPORTER

Posted on 12/24/2008 9:23:33 PM PST by Cyberrat

THERE can be only one thing worse than not getting the present you want this Christmas – and that’s finding your most wanted gift is just an empty box.

But that’s exactly what happened to this young lad – who thought he was unwrapping the Xbox360 console he had been dreaming of all year.

(Excerpt) Read more at thesun.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous; Society
KEYWORDS: christmas; heartbreak; sad; xbox
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Not sure what to make of this one. Is this real? Is this a cruel prank? Is this an example of what has gone wrong with Christmas?

As a divorced dad, I had Christmas with my 16 year old daughter tonight. She had only opened her second gift (an inexpensive perfume sampler) and had already proclaimed this the best Christmas ever. I'm proud of my daughter for enjoying our time together, and not rating Christmas solely on the gifts. However, I wonder about the video in this story. Does the problem lie with the child who's hopes were dashed? Was this child expecting too much to begin with? Are his parent(s) just sick jerks? One thing is for sure. This in no way represents Christmas, however you view it.

I'm not overly religious, but I have always found Linus' monologue in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" just about the best Christmas message ever broadcast over TV (aside from the Pope's midnight mass).

Your thoughts?

1 posted on 12/24/2008 9:23:35 PM PST by Cyberrat
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To: Cyberrat

Well, it sounds like they were teaching him a lesson... The article says...

A post says: “For all you thinking this is messed up, he sneaked a look at his gifts, so his family played a prank on him.

“He got the 360 a week later.”

So, that’s what it appears happened. It’s not a bad idea, actually — to teach the kid a lesson that instead of looking to see what he’s “getting” (a “gimme attitude”), it perhaps taught him to be “thankful” — at the later time when he did get the gift...

He probably won’t do that again... LOL...


2 posted on 12/24/2008 9:30:59 PM PST by Star Traveler
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To: Cyberrat
Child abuse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhO-OE931D4

3 posted on 12/24/2008 9:33:48 PM PST by smokingfrog (I'll go green when they plant me in the ground.)
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To: Star Traveler

“He got the 360 a week later.”

Wouldn’t that be a week from now? This is why I wonder if this is real to begin with.


4 posted on 12/24/2008 9:34:45 PM PST by Cyberrat (Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither.)
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To: Star Traveler

i have sneaked a look b4.. its irresistible.. lol

but i remember one time at my grndmas.. my cousins bought me a present... was this huge box... then inside another box.. and inside that another box.. kept goin.. till i got a small box nad it had batteries in in it...

never knew why they picked me to do that joke present... but was young at the time and kinda hurt...

anyway.. heard that those same cousins got arrested a couple weeks ago.. for getting caught with 20 pounds of mary jane and some heroin...

try to resist schadenfreude but is hard...


5 posted on 12/24/2008 9:37:17 PM PST by outlawjake
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To: Cyberrat

a week is too long to wait for if it was a joke on Christmas... maybe a few minutes..


6 posted on 12/24/2008 9:38:25 PM PST by outlawjake
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To: smokingfrog

Just checked your link. This happened a year ago! Nice story U.K Sun, but then again, should we be surprised?

Sorry about this thread. I got fooled!!!

‘Tis a good example of what is wrong with Christmas though.

That not withstanding: Merry Christmas to all.


7 posted on 12/24/2008 9:40:06 PM PST by Cyberrat (Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither.)
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To: Cyberrat

I doubt it would be from this Christmas.

I would say that either the paper is printing up something that has been there for a while or someone posted the video from another Christmas, and since this is Christmas time, it would be the only time someone would post something like this (I mean, you would post a video like this on July 4th... LOL...)...


8 posted on 12/24/2008 9:44:36 PM PST by Star Traveler
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To: outlawjake

“try to resist schadenfreude but is hard...”

Schadenfreude is just nature’s way of saying “What goes around, comes around”. Well, that and.... HA HA HA!!!


9 posted on 12/24/2008 9:58:30 PM PST by Cyberrat (Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither.)
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To: Cyberrat

Well I think it’s warped to have a Christmas “ruined” because you didn’t get the gift you wanted. That is not what Christmas is supposed to be about. I don’t remember having this sense of entitlement when I was growing up. When I was a kid, I appreciated whatever was under the Christmas tree that morning. Usually an Etch-A-Sketch or a pair of ice skates.


10 posted on 12/24/2008 10:09:02 PM PST by SamAdams76 (I am 67 days away from outliving John F. Kennedy)
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To: Cyberrat

I was a crack at guessing presents. My parents used to try their hardest to trick me. I would get the gift with the rocks that rattled and the odd boxes. Boy I was a turd.

This does not disturb me, the kid may have deserved this. I have kids that would not fall for it, but I have a couple that would.


11 posted on 12/24/2008 10:13:30 PM PST by pennyfarmer (Shiite Muslim named Bob.)
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To: pennyfarmer

am full of Christmas memories tonight.. i had an Uncle.. who was really good at guessing presents.. but when he got to our families I knew he wouldn’t guess it...

I forget what it was... but somehow amazingly he guessed this very obscure present.. i was in shock...

then he showed me that he had unwrapped the other side when i wasn’t looking.. so he could see what it was...


12 posted on 12/24/2008 10:19:48 PM PST by outlawjake
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To: Cyberrat

I remember one Christmas. All I wanted was a red Bicycle. My favorite uncle , Uncle Paulie Alfresco promised me he would buy it for me. I counted down the days till Christmas. Finally Christmas comes I wake up and go downstairs. I look under the tree, and what do I find?

Uncle Paulie, dead, shot in the back of the head with a .22.

Plus, no bicycle.

It was a very disapointing Christmas on many levels.


13 posted on 12/24/2008 10:26:02 PM PST by Carlucci
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To: Cyberrat

I wondered that too, but it looks like from last Christmas, as it appears to be posted Dec. 31, 2007.


14 posted on 12/24/2008 10:35:49 PM PST by kenth (It's now spend and tax. How's that for change?)
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To: Cyberrat

15 posted on 12/24/2008 10:40:18 PM PST by JoeProBono ( Loose Associations - Postcards from My Mind)
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To: Cyberrat
i am guilty of pulling a Christmas prank on my niece. last year, i gave her a bunch of presents, but saved the best for last.

the only "problem" was that i had wrapped the box, underneath the wrapping, in many layers of duct tape.

initially, she became frustrated -but after a couple of minutes, boy was the tape flying in the air.

i won't tell you what the present was, but her reward was a heck of a lot better than some old blue jeans in a 360 box. (and she didn't have to wait a week either).

16 posted on 12/24/2008 10:45:22 PM PST by robomatik ((wine plug: renascentvineyards.com cabernet sauvignon, riesling, and merlot))
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Comment #17 Removed by Moderator

To: Cyberrat

I would have been pissed that it wasn’t a PS3.


18 posted on 12/25/2008 12:39:57 AM PST by mowowie
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To: Cyberrat

This family is clearly dysfunctional and warped.

Secondly, I don't buy the "he peeked at his presents, but don't worry, he got the X-Box a WEEK later."

That sounds like CYA spin after they realized how cruel they were to him, and moreover, wouldn't a decent mother and family have run upstairs and taken the real toy out of hiding once they saw what they did to him?

The mother is the size of a refrigerator, so I don't buy they "we can't afford" either.

Remember, these people are allowed to vote.

Now you all know why we are so screwed.

Merry Christmas.

19 posted on 12/25/2008 3:05:11 AM PST by SkyPilot
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To: outlawjake
a week is too long to wait for if it was a joke on Christmas... maybe a few minutes..

Agree - I believe the "Week" story is one they cooked up. Look at them laughing - they probably couldn't wait to share the video with others.

When someone finally took them to task and pointed out to them the horrific behavior they exhibited, they started to cover their tracks.

20 posted on 12/25/2008 3:07:43 AM PST by SkyPilot
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