Now obviously, you're not going to get the exact same reaction from another pair of fresh-faced youngsters opening up their first major home console (not unless they're hamming it up, anyway). But perhaps you could have a non sequitur video that's only tangentially related to the holidays. Or video games for that matter.

Here's a few for your consideration.

First, the Japanese Zelda rap commercial. It's directly game-related, entertaining and doesn't even mention the holidays so persons who abstain from Christmas or what have you don't feel left out.

Second, President Obama and his talk with kids about Christmas and The Sims. Very much on-topic, if a bit hard to hear and there's a lot less screaming.

Finally, how about Easter Bunny hates You? Sure, it's not related to video games and it's the wrong holiday — but it's way more entertaining to watch than two kids flipping out over the Nintendo 64.

Got your own holiday YouTube recommendations? Hit me up in the comments — I'll be at my sister-in-law's house, pretending to not be Jewish. Happy Holidays everyone!

We know the hurt you're feeling now... or the joy. Let it out in the comments section below.

PIC from Alan Cleaver 2000's Flickr photostream

I don't even care that it's a United Kingdom teaser instead of a North American one. You'll find that airports — from their appearances and smells to their interminable waits and wailing babies — are pretty much a universal concept. By the time we colonize the moon, I'm sincerely hoping we've solved the wailing babies problem.

Merry Christmas to those of you ahead of the United States' timezones. Happy day-before-Christmas to the rest of you!

Wondering got us to asking, so we asked around. And people like Ken Levine, Sid Meier, Gabe Newell, David Jaffe and Aaron Greenberg were kind enough to provide us with answers. Some wanted world peace. Others money. One wants to hear less Wham. Not sure Santa's the right person to be asking that of.

Anyway, without further ado, here's what some of the video game industries biggest names (and, uh...us) hope to find under the Christmas tree come December 25.

Pete Hines, Bethesda
"I'd like to see the USA make it to the semifinals of the World Cup, or Wake Forest make it to the Final Four. Or both. And I'd like enough time to get through the pile of new games I need to play and haven't gotten to yet. And money. And world peace. But mostly money."

Gabe Newell, Valve
"I decided I needed a hobby, so I started teaching myself how to be a machinist. I've got a CNC mill, surface grinder, heat treat furnace, and lots of other devices designed to launch various body parts across my garage at high velocity while on fire. Once you start going down this path, it makes putting together a Christmas list pretty easy as there's a near infinite amount of stuff that you can convince yourself you need. For example a year ago I'd never heard of Harvey Tool's 270 degree undercutting end mill (#23204-C3), and now I can't imagine how I'll be able to make it through Christmas day if I don't get it in my stocking. Band-Aids would also be nice..."

Sid Meier, Firaxis
"A Rickenbacker guitar! Playing and composing music is my second most favorite thing to do – next to making games of course! I've wanted one of these guitars for a while – hope Santa is reading this article."

Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft
"The Wire box set. Because you can never have too much knowledge about the how the game is played."

Hideki Kamiya, Platinum Games
"I would like lots of cute girlfriends for Christmas because I don't really have any cute girlfriends right now."

Todd Howard, Bethesda
"I'd like more time to sit in my basement and play video games. I don't know that I've been nice enough to my family to deserve that though, because I'm usually in my basement playing video games."

David Jaffe, EatSleepPlay
"As an agnostic who celebrates BOTH Christmas and Chanukah, my wish list includes: tickets to the Jay-Z concert at Staples center in March (I THINK my ex is getting them for me, but don't tell her I know, cool?!?), a fantastic time with friends and family over the holiday, for the spirit of God/the Universe/whatever you choose to call it to continue to flow thru me and the amazing team at Eat Sleep Play so we can provide fans a great deal of joy and happiness in the new year; great jobs for all my gaming colleagues who are out of work right now; and finally and most importantly: health, understanding, love, and much peace to us all, especially to those who are suffering. Much love, ya'll! Have a great holiday!"

Ken Levine, 2K Boston
"I'd like to get a working internet connection, Comcast! My guildmates need me! And damnit, I've been good enough to deserve a trip to the Scarlet Monastery."

Randy Pitchford, Gearbox
"All I want for the holidays is for single vendor DRM to die and be replaced by a global/universal identity and credential system that is loved and adopted by all. If that can happen, I guess it would also be cool to get one of those Taun Taun sleeping bags :)"

Frank O'Connor, 343 Studios
"Is it too much to ask Santa for a 50 inch Samsung LED TV? It's not because of the picture so much as it's the absolute, wafer-thin flatness of it. I have already been cheated, by life, out of a flying car. I just want a TV that looks like it would melt in your mouth. And then I could watch a documentary about world peace on it."

Ben Judd, Capcom
"If I could get anything for Christmas it would be a reduction in the amount of times I had to hear "Last Christmas" by Wham! in the various convenience stores, department stores, even the local pork cutlet shop. All of those not living in Japan, thank your lucky stars you this song doesn't have nearly the exposure in your country as it does in Japan. I have a very high threshold for pain... I even didn't mind Hanson. But hearing this song more than 100 times in a single 30 day span can break any man. Any man."

Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, Microsoft
"I need Bioshock 2 to be worthy of the first game. I need it to be great! Can't start next year with a broken heart."

Atsushi Inaba, Platinum Games
"I'd like a deserted island, surrounded by emerald green seas. I think even if I really shouldn't, having an island would make me feel like taking a vacation."

Luke Plunkett, Kotaku
"What do I want, readers? I want the complete Battlestar Galactica collection on Blu-Ray. I'll probably end up with something else, since that's so damn expensive, but we're talking about what I want here, not what I think I'll get."

Brian Ashcraft, Kotaku
"A weaker Japanese yen — way weaker. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD PLEASE!"

Stephen Totilo, Kotaku
"I want all my comics to magically turn into trade paperbacks, my old cassette tapes to suddenly be on my iPod and all my video games accessible from harddrives instead of discs. And I want all of that to be indestructible and always accessible, please? Oh, and more time to read would be nice."

Michael Fahey, Kotaku
"I want to know how to read and speak Japanese for Christmas. It would be lovely if this was something you could receive in a box with a neatly-wrapped bow around it. See, I've imported Final Fantasy XIII, and while I am to the point where I can make out a word in katakana if you give me a few minutes, I am relatively sure that won't do in this situation. Other than suddenly having knowledge of a language that takes years to learn, my list mainly consists of harder-to-find games. Bust-A-Groove for the PlayStation (I own a Japanese copy I can't play in anything,) and Thousand Arms. I would kill for a nice copy of Thousand Arms, probably my favorite RPG on the PlayStation. I suppose killing isn't in keeping with the season. I'd...hug an orphan for a nice copy of Thousand Arms."

Amanda Glasser, Kotaku
"Well, since I didn't get The Hangover on DVD for Hanukkah, I'd like that for Christmas, as well as Family Guy's Something Something Dark Side. The holidays are usually a real drag at my house and I'm forbidden to play video games because it's not 'spending time with the family,' so I'll need funny stuff like this to watch while the family is in the same room with me.

"Also, I'm still holding out for that pony."

Owen Good, Kotaku
More than anything I want a conference championship in either football or men's basketball for North Carolina State University. That's all. Not a Final Four. I don't even care about the Orange Bowl. Just a fucking Atlantic Coast Conference championship, which I've won a thousand times on my Xbox 360 in NCAA Football and Basketball, but which my school hasn't seen in real life since Jim Valvano and Bo Rein. Both coaches died young, and tragically. My wish doesn't really have much to do with games, unfortunately. But you asked, and when I honestly think of something that would make me happier than I have ever been in years, if only for a day, that is it.

PIC via Matti Matilla's Flickr photostream

Doesn't it drive anybody else crazy how the first five days or so are birds? Or how you can't get the pear tree without taking the damn partridge, too (because that would be ungracious)? Why can't we just declare the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve/Sarajevo the official song of the holiday season?

Anyway, here's an alternative take on The 12 Days of Christmas, featuring Sonic: Sega All-Stars Racing.

Image Cred

We found the video of this segment. Watch it here.

From a Monday meeting of President Barack Obama and a group of children eager to tell him what they wanted for Christmas, as roughly transcribed by CNN:

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Anybody want to tell me what they're asking for Christmas from Santa?

What are you going to get?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: An iPod.

OBAMA: An iPod?

Is that right?

What kind of music are you going to listen to on the iPod?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: A lot.

OBAMA: Like what kind — what — what — who do you...

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Rap music.

OBAMA: Rap music?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: Is that right?

OK. All right.

What are you — what — what are you going to get?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: An Apple.

OBAMA: You want an Apple?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: No, the Apple — like the Apple Touch. I want one of those.

OBAMA: Oh, is that like a...

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: It's like an iPod?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: No.

OBAMA: That's not like an iPod?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's a phone.

OBAMA: It's a phone. It's like an iPhone.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's a touch screen.

OBAMA: It's a touch screen. That's why you need it.

Yes, what are you looking for?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

OBAMA: Oh, that is — I love that Harry Potter books.

Now, which one is that?

Is that like...

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: The last one.

OBAMA: That's the last one?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: So you've got the first six already?

You already read them?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: It's really good, isn't it?

I love that Harry Potter. I sure do. Malia and I used to read that every night until we read through the whole series...

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: My daughter — all seven of them.

So how about you?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I would like a DSI.

OBAMA: What's a DSI?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's a Nin — it's a Nintendo game that you play.

OBAMA: OK.

Does it have a bunch of different games on there like Sins and all that stuff?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: Yes. Sasha likes those, too.

All right, how about you?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: A PSP.

OBAMA: A PSP?

Is that — that's another kind of game thing?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: ...portable.

OBAMA: Oh, OK.

How about you?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I would like Blow TV and a — a DSI.

OBAMA: Jeesh. OK.

And what about you?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: A PSP.

OBAMA: A PSP?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: Now, let me ask you a question here, guys.

Whatever happened to like asking for a bike?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I already have one.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I have one.

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: Everybody has already got a bike.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Everybody has...

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: ...for walking.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I have three dirt bikes and I have a bike.

OBAMA: You have three dirt bikes?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes. And I have a (INAUDIBLE).

OBAMA: Goodness.

Yes, what do you think ?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I want a Playstation 3.

OBAMA: OK. All right.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Me?

OBAMA: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: A cell phone.

OBAMA: You want a cell phone?

Who are you going to call?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: And my family and my friends.

OBAMA: Your friends and family?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes. Yes.

OBAMA: What are you going to say to them?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: How are you doing?

OBAMA: How are you doing?

But don't you — you're seeing your family and friends all the time.

Why do you need a cell phone?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Because you can call.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Because like on the weekends and stuff...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I just want one.

OBAMA: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

OBAMA: Well, can — can I say this — can I say this, though, guys?

I think one thing that's important to remember is that, you know, even though there's a lot of fun to Christmas...

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: ...you know, you've got — especially when it's snowy like this, the — you know, so it's pretty outside. You've got the Christmas tree. You've got the Christmas cookies. You've got — you've got presents. You know, I think that the most important thing is just to remember why we celebrate Christmas, which is...

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Ooh. Ooh.

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: Do you know? UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: The birth of baby Jesus.

OBAMA: The birth of baby Jesus. And the — and what he symbolizes for people all around the world is — is the possibility of peace and people treating each other with respect. And so I just hope that spirit of giving that's so important to Christmas, I hope that all of you guys remember that, as well. You know, it's not just about getting a gift, but it's also about doing something for other people.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I know.

OBAMA: So, you know, being nice to your mom and dad and grandma and aunties and showing respect to people, that's really important, too.

That's part of the Christmas spirit, don't you think ?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

The Archivist Coalition has finally determined the date for the New Year, and they're sponsoring a First Night festival to celebrate. Wastelanders from all over the Grand Canyon Province will join together, briefly putting aside their differences, at least until Seasonal Arctic Network of Toy-based Altruism (S.A.N.T.A) and the Emissaries Leaving Free Stuff (E.L.F.S) visit. Once the fruitcake arrives - that's when the shooting generally starts. At least in my family.

Fallen Earth passed along some postcards to go along with the celebration, and they are pretty much as creepy as you'd expect. At least now we know why Rudolph's nose was so red.

If this sort of humor tickles your tickly bits, then perhaps Fallen Earth is for you. Visit the game's website to find out.

"Winterfest" is what Earth Eternal is calling the Christmas season within their fantasy MMO land. From now until presumably the end of December, players can find new candy cane weapons, new creatures in the world that drop snowballs and corn cob pipes, the Santa suit and some weird looking snowmen.

Additionally, players can redeem any corncob pipes they pick up for special Winterfest prizes. But I bet none of those prizes will be gelt (chocolate coins).

Happy Fifth Night of Hanukkah everybody!

Yes, it's not a Christmas tree. It's a festive tree, because everyone has different festive celebrations at the end of the yeah, and singling out one is wrong. *eyes his headline* Oh well. Either way, there's a decorated tree, and PlayStation Home online community specialist Locust_Star urges home-goers to work together to solve its riddles over the course of the month in order to reveal some surprising developments.

This week also brings a beachfront personal space with a MotorStorm: Pacific Rift theme, and a miner costume in the store to celebrate the recent announcement of Dead Space 2.

Hudson brings the insanely popular casual game Diner Dash to the PlayStation Network this week, and there's a scavenger hunt taking place in Home on Friday, December 11th, in which players can piece together codes for free downloads of the game.

Check out the link below for more details on this week's PlayStation Home festivities, and have a happy and safe generic holiday.

Holiday Celebrations Come to PlayStation Home + MotorStorm, Dead Space 2, and Diner Dash [PlayStation Blog]

Thrown together by the lovely Alice, there are Zelda rupees, Mario mushrooms, a 360 and even some delightfully garish Yoshis.

Interested? Get more info on each item over at Wonderland.

Gamey tree ornaments [Wonderland]

But I'm to understand you get things when you use an advent calendar. Little things like candy or stickers — or dradles dreidels* if someone in your family has a sense of humor.

Just so with upcoming role-playing game, Two Worlds II, you get stuff if you use their online advent calendar starting today. Most of what you get are questions — but if you answer them, you get actual prizes. Said prizes range from little stuff like software packages and 12-month subscriptions to publications to bigger, awesomer things like an Xbox 360, PlayStation3, cash or a gaming PC worth up to $1,000 dollars

You can check out the Two Worlds II advent calendar here.

*Hey, I said I was Jewish. I never said I didn't sleep through Hebrew School.

These have been designed by Dave Rollins, are made of acrylic, and are going for the entirely reasonable price of $20. The only downside? No Wavebird.

Anyone interested, you can get 'em from Etsy.

video game controller ornaments are very merry indeed [technabob]

That figure covers any and all games requiring a subscription, so don't go laying all the blame at World of Warcraft's feet. Spare a little for EVE, Age of Conan and LOTRO as well.

"Despite concerns that the recession would cause consumers to reduce spending on entertainment subscription services, most forms of subscription entertainment are doing just fine," NPD's Russ Crupnick said in a press release. "Consumers are clearly looking to the value offered by entertainment subscriptions and like what they get for their money."

With last week's announcement that Final Fantasy XIII would be out in March, it quickly became the centrepiece of an already jam-packed lineup of big-money, AAA titles forming the strongest Q1 lineup this industry has ever seen.

I mean, get a look at this list of games due between January and March next year. And these aren't every game coming out; they're just the big ones. It's incredible.

JANUARY

Mass Effect 2
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Bayonetta
Darksiders
Dark Void
MAG
No More Heroes 2

FEBRUARY

BioShock 2
Lost Planet 2
Dante's Inferno
Splinter Cell: Conviction
Napoleon: Total War
Star Trek: Online

MARCH

God of War III
Final Fantasy XIII
Command & Conquer 4
Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Sure, some of those games were always going to be released then. Final Fantasy XIII, for example. But many of those are Modern Warfare 2 refugees, titles that were originally planned for release in late 2009, then moved to avoid being crushed underfoot by Activision's money-printing juggernaut.

It'll be really interesting to see how they fare. If any of the bigger games underwhelm at the register, publishers will no doubt blame the increased competition for gaming dollars at a time of year not normally associated with big spending.

But if we get a series of big-selling blockbusters...well, it'll send a clear signal to publishers: it's OK, guys, you don't have to flood the market in November. You can release a game in March and we'll still buy it.

Listed among the one day in-store specials for this Saturday, Nov. 7, is an Xbox 360 Arcade console for $199 that comes with a $100 gift card. Other deals include discounted TVs, a Blu-ray player, DVD player and laptop.

More interesting, though, is what our sources tell us about the sale.

This weekend's one-day sale is just the first of weekly sales that will be hitting Walmart in the lead up to the post Thanksgiving retail sales explosion known as Black Friday.

We're told that this is Walmart's attempt at pulling a little of the focus off that huge shopping day and trying to spread the wealth over the entire month. So look out for future deals, perhaps including more gaming price cuts.

Christmas Shop [Walmart]

The list provides only the single, top-selling, must-have item for the year. No room for second place here. And it shows that seven times in the past 34 years - beginning with Pong in 1975 - a video game or games console has come in at #1. Bump that number up to eight if you count 1999's Pokemon, owned by Nintendo, as a gaming product.

Gaming gear really starts to pull away in the past decade, with the PS2 topping 2001's list, followed by the DS, Wii and PS3 in 2004, 2006 and 2007 respectively. Hrm. Wait a minute. The PS3 outsold the Wii for Christmas 2007? It most certainly did not.

Makes you wonder whether Permuto got anything else on the list wrong. We hope not, though; 1993's Genesis Mortal Kombat looks just fine where it is, thanks.

The Most Popular Christmas Toys, By Year Since 1960 [Permuto]

Parents desperately searching for a way to connect with their children over the Christmas holidays need look no further than We Wish You a Merry Christmas, due out October 27th for the Nintendo Wii from Destineer and developer Panic Button. Six holiday mini-games will help parents and children bond during those long, awkward winter days, and the included Advent Calendar will ensure that the title stays poignant for one month out of the year.

At least the mini-games sound exciting? Just look at these descriptions:

* Santa's Sleigh: Collect presents with the Wii Remote™ and help deliver them to houses.
* Hot Chocolate: A memory game in which you keep the elves warm by quickly pouring and delivering mugs of hot chocolate.
* Candy Cane Lanes: As Santa, you bowl down a lane towards funny elves.
* Present Catch: Play as an elf, catching all the bouncing presents and avoiding obstacles with the Wii Remote™.
* Reindeer Games: Santa's reindeer hold a special flying contest to see who can lead Santa's sleigh each year.
* Deck The Halls: Match 3 and win!

The excitement never stops! Well until Christmas is over. I have to admire the guts of a publisher that releases a title that revolves around one specific annual event. It reminds me of the Christmas stores that pop up all over Atlanta for three months out of the year and then go into hibernation in January. Both are bright and cheerful and exist only to capitalize on a beloved celebration.