I’m visiting family in the UK this week. And it’s cold. -4°C last night (25°F, at the current exchange rate). I’m boring my family to death with my narrow topics of conversation, all related to the temperature and my increasing need for layers. We were outside visiting Santa Claus earlier in the week (the two real reindeer were a nice touch) until my son needed to go home because his “feets” were “getting ouchey.”

He did as he was asked—sat nicely with the big man, wasn’t too frightened, and shared what he wanted: Miles Morales, his favourite character from Spidey and His Amazing Friends, who is simply referred to as “Black Spider” in our house. If you haven’t seen the show, imagine a room full of Disney executives, drunk on (super)power, discussing the need for a “family-friendly MCU on-ramp for our crucial under 5 demographic”, then tasking a junior creative team to copy and paste PJ Masks, but put a web on it. You’re pretty much there.

We’re gearing up for the big day, with a little over two weeks to go. It’s had me thinking about the Ghosts of Christmas Past, and some of the all-time greatest chimney deliveries.

There’s a clear winner. I must have been around 8 years old when I descended the stairs to find the Ghostbusters HQ beside the fireplace. It came with a tub of slime, which could be poured onto the roof, dripping through the building, onto the fearless foursome and their plastic-firing proton packs, before spreading onto the carpet, where it would stubbornly remain, much to the increasing rage of my old man.

I saw an Ecto-1 in Forbidden Planet over the summer. Had to hold myself back from buying it. But enough about me, what about you? What’s that one Christmas morning that sticks out in your mind? Was there a toy you always wanted, but didn’t get—and have you rectified that now you’re all grown up? What was the one gift Santa gave that you’ll never forget? Pro-tip: add “retro toy” to the end of your Google search for an extra-special nostalgia hit.

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The New Fatherhood

Open thread: Best Christmas Ever