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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2017 5THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 20174 Editorial By Angela Tyler It's okay for kids to be kids with Dawn Brown Distributed to every home in Acton and area, as well as adjoining communities. Contact us: 379 Queen Street East Acton, Ontario L7J 2N2 Tel: 519-853-0051 Fax: 519-853-0052 E-mail: General: thenewtanner@on.aibn.com (including Advertising and Circulation) Editoral: tannereditor@bellnet.ca Deadline: Advertising and Editorial TUESDAY at 9 a.m. Every effort will be made to see advertising copy, neatly presented, is correctly printed. The publisher assumes no financial responsibility for typographical errors or omissions in advertising, but will gladly reprint without charge that part of an advertisement in which an error may occur provided a claim is made within five days of publication. All articles, advertisements and graphic artwork appearing in The New Tanner is copyrighted. Any usage, reproduction or publication of these items, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher of The New Tanner is a copyright infringement and subject to legal action. Publisher: Ted Tyler Editorial: Dawn Brown, Angela Tyler, Jane Dougan, Vivien Fleisher, Les Schmidt, Harry Rudolfs, Trish Bell, Alex Hilson, Michael Oke Advertising and Circulation: Marie Shadbolt Production: Iain Brennan Have yourself a Merry little Christmas Winter has officially arrived, marking today the shortest day of the year, and the final count down to the "big" day is on. There are only a few days of shopping left, and in these final days of last minute rushing around to seek out that perfect gift it is perhaps a good time to remember that gracefully receiv- ing a gift is as important as giving one. Too often the words "Do you like it?" are followed by, "Do you have the receipt?" When someone has taken the time and money to give you a gift, whether it's exactly what you wanted or not, whether you like it or not, the correct response is always "Thank you." Graciously receiving a gift seems to be becoming something of a lost art form. Somewhere over time, during the years of searching for perfect presents to top presents given previous years, a little of the meaning has been lost. Children and adults alike write detailed and exacting lists of what they want for Christmas rather than letting loved ones choose something that they believe their friends and family would like--some- thing that means a little more than ticking an item off an "I Want" list. Yes, there is risk involved. Everyone has a story of present or gift that had them mentally raising their eyebrows--but the point is that it was gift. You weren't entitled to anything. Someone wanted to give you something, and they did. Some- one took the time and expense to give you a gift--whether it was exactly what you wanted or not--so be grateful and remember the sentiment that went into the gift. During the holidays, and as one year ends and another is waiting to start, we should take the time to focus on how fortunate we are to have people we care about and who care about us, and less on what we get. Between shopping and entertaining, family functions, work functions and trying to tie up those loose ends at work before the holidays begin, it's easy to lose track of what the holidays are really about. While trying to make the holiday perfect, we forget to take the time to truly enjoy it. For some, Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ; others it's about celebrating being with family; and for others a combination of both. Some are just happy to for a few days away from the work place, and others see an opportunity to give back to their community. During this time of year, there are a number of other celebrations besides Christmas--Ha- nukkah, Kwanzaa and many more. However you celebrate, and whatever you celebrate, take time this year to truly enjoy those celebrations. Step back from from the hustle and bustle and take some time to be mindful. Try not to treat getting together with family and friends as another item to check off your "To Do" list, shop- ping for loved ones like another chore you want to get over with. Slow down and be present, and try to appreciate what makes the season special for you. And have yourself a very Merry Christmas. This past weekend yet another Star Wars movie opened in the cinemas. It was a big press item. The Royal Family attended in London. People lined up at the- atres and brought in $220 million dollars which was actually down about $30 million from the last Star Wars movie a few years ago. Star Wars is a big thing. It's big on merchandise; big on endless movies released and future mov- ies to be released in the next few years; cartoons and more. We are now in our 40th year of Star Wars. However, I have a prob- lem. I have never seen any Star Wars movie, and I know only a few key things like Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, and Obi Wan Kenobi. I do know enough, though, to correct our boy when he insisted one of his birthday presents was Dark Vader and in- form him it was actually Darth Vader. A lot of boys are into Star Wars. Last winter at our school's silent auction, our boy was set on a Star Wars toy which his grandfather ended up doing what grandpar- ents do and bought it for him for Christmas--all for a good cause of course. I told him, "He really doesn't know what it's all about." But it didn't matter because boys like Star Wars even if they haven't seen the movie. The big green Star Wars thing sat on his dresser and was an obstacle for dusting more than it was played with, but it didn't matter because it was Star Wars and I'm guessing that's what the boys in his class talked about or played with. By the time his birthday came around, one of his friend's presents were two Star Wars action figures. Need- less to say, Star Wars came back with a vengeance in our life and he would drag his giant sized "Dark Vader" to school to play with his peeps. His sister could care less about "Dark Vader" or the green guy on his dresser. She never men- tions wanting to be Princess Leia either. I know there is a lot of talk about raising kids gender- less or not stereotyping kids play. However, it seems our kids are a stereotypical boy and a stereo- typical girl. He plays with Star Wars stuff and cars and dirt and traditional boy stuff, while she has always leaned towards the traditional girl stuff. I really feel as a parent I've taken my cues for their play from them. There are times when she plays with Tonka toys in the dirt and he's wandered around the house pushing her dolls in a baby car- riage. Yet those times, although aren't discouraged, don't seem to happen very often. Usually, they are traditional boy and trad- itional girl. So now we have rock star Pink stating that she is raising her children gender neutral, not wanting their gender to define them--yet they call their mother by Momma, which is a gender based parental name. I agree kids don't have to be stereotyped as a boy playing with Star Wars and Tonka trucks, or a girl should be stereotyped by playing with Barbie. However, in the same sense there is noth- ing wrong with not being gender neutral. It's okay for boys to be "all boy" as the saying goes and for girls to play dress up and have a tea party with their dolly. BRISK WALK: The Acton/Georgetown Senior Hiking Group enjoyed a brisk morning hike along Vanderleck Side Trail off 17th Side Road east of Hwy 25 on Friday. - Submitted photo