Day 7: What did you get for Christmas?

Gladly welcoming a break from incessant British weather babble, we all love a bit of January small talk. Where were you for new years? What did you get for Christmas?

But the second one - for the last 3 years at least - has always put me on the back foot. Why should it matter what I got for Christmas? I can't see how that would make the day feel particularly special... There's no wholesome sentiment behind this though I should add - I've just accepted the fact that the bar has been set too high. There's nothing you can get me. Literally nothing.

One year, I couldn't wait. On the 24th of December, a stealth mission to Blockbusters netted me 3 minutes of absolute exhilaration. At that point my dad came into my room. Taking one look at the expression on my face, I was busted. The next day it snowed. Friends played in the street throughout the day, egging me to come and join them. I didn't need to. I was exploring icy tundras of my own. So from now on when you ask me what I got for Christmas - I'll tell you all you really need to know: This year for Christmas, I didn't get The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64.

I got a couple of really nice bits and bobs, which i'm genuinely very grateful for. But the fact remains: I didn't get Zelda for the N64. I didn't get it last year either, or the year before. It's a fact I'm very aware of every year. You could buy it for me next year, if you'd like. But it's no good - I won't be thirteen years old.

I can only hope that one day I'll be able to pass this magic feeling on to someone else, because for Christmas in 1998 I got ZELDA, on the N64. And you can buy me anything, but you will never, ever beat that.

You may think me a cynical misery, but I assure you I say all this with absolute joy. I never went out to play that day, closing the curtains to shade the television from the bright white light reflected off the white Christmas that tried to entice me outside. Looking back, I have absolutely no regrets.

So, what didn't you get for Christmas?