The kids' table...   (Found on Pinterest.)

If you are a baby boomer, chances are you remember the joyous segregation of sitting at the "children's table" at family holiday get-togethers. Nothing else quite compared to the camaraderie of cousins, gathered together en masse from far-flung climes of family migration, laughing and teasing and bragging and just generally catching up with one another with no overbearing adults making sure one's table manners were up to snuff or that one devoured every last mouthful of some horrible mid-century jello-and-Miracle Whip concoction prepared by one of the more culinarily-challenged aunts for the festive feast. Those were stellar occasions, indeed!

Ghastly stuff!

I wonder if today's kids have half the fun we did, with their ear-buds in place, jamming out conversation with canned music,  and peering down at their i-something-or-others texting with their chums about how bored they are. Modern families are so much smaller, too. No need now, I suppose, for separate tables to accommodate the crowd. Maybe it's no wonder the kids are bored.

(It just occurred to me that kids in China, under the "One Child" policy, don't even have cousins, let alone aunts or uncles! I can't even imagine; I don't even want to. It's very sad.)

Anyway, apropos of these completely unrelated musings. let me ask you a question: Have you ever done a Christmas Eve treasure hunt with your family? It's always a lot of fun, and easy enough to arrange. I'll show you how in my next post on Friday, the 23rd.