How My Lack Of Gaming Past Led to Future Gaming Holidays

When I was a kid in the mid 1990’s I wanted nothing more than a handheld gaming system. Christmas, birthday, my meager savings, I desperately wanted that system. I begged. I needled. I made up benefits for playing video games, saying they improved hand eye coordination (a claim that may in fact be true!).

An Obsession with Mario

I stared longingly at Toys R Us catalogs and debated the differences between a Gameboy and a Sega Game Gear. In the end, my obsession with Mario would always win out and that’s the one I’d beg for the most. But in the end, my parents stayed firm and there was never a video game console under the tree, or even the option to spend holiday money to buy one. Instead, my Christmas toy memories were largely books and American Girl doll accessories, which I also loved dearly, so all was well.

However, my desire to have a system I could play Mario on never really went away, and in my early 20’s I heard that there was a new Mario game for the Nintendo DS system. At this point I was working at a local movie theater and it finally occurred to me “Wait! I have money! I can BUY myself a system” so I went over to my local Best Buy and got myself a beautiful white Nintendo DS. I subsequently bought my first two games: New Super Mario Bros DS and The World Ends With You.

Gaming Together

I loved being able to play Mario and an assortment of other titles from then on. But what brings this back around to Christmas is that my baby cousin moved up from the South in the mid-2000’s. He also developed an interest as a kid in the Nintendo DS (and later 3DS). My sister and I would bring our systems to holiday events (along with a third I borrowed from my boyfriend of the time) and me, my sisters, and my baby cousin would spend many lovely memories playing Mario Kart, New Super Mario Bros, and later Animal Crossing: New Leaf on the 3DS.

Sadly, these are now just memories of Gaming Holidays. Families drift apart, or sometimes have a sudden break. I no longer hear from my baby cousin, though I send him holiday greetings nearly every year. But I still have my Nintendo systems and games, and they remind me of the fun times we spent as a family. My gaming Christmases are in the past now, but they remain treasured memories with my sisters and cousin that I would not trade for anything.

Do you like our content?
Support LadiesGamers as a member on Patreon!
Or buy us a cup of coffee or tea on Ko-Fi!