Look, I’ve received some really cool gifts over my lifetime - from the Santa-delivered “Major Matt Mason, Mattel’s Man in Space” a whole lot of years ago, to this year’s Jack Bauer action figure my wife and daughter knew I would be tickled with, Christmastime has always meant receiving something special. But this year, the big guy in the red suit outdid himself. This year, there was…

Silly String. Actually, three cans of the stuff.

St. Nick dropped a can of Silly String in each of our stockings this year, something my daughter had never experienced before - indeed, the poor kid looked confused about an aerosol can containing string. (And if you don’t know what it is, and welcome back from spending the last half-century in Siberia, by the way, check out the How Stuff Works website.) And as she was manning the camera when the first barrage came her way (*innocent look*), the record of the event is quite spotty. But suffice it to say that within about two minutes there was so much of the stuff around the living room (and, of course, over the three of us) that it took the better part of an hour to clean the mess up. I admit, some of that time was wasted giggling and laughing about it, but still, it was quite a sight.

Thanks, Big Guy. It made Christmas a real hoot this year.