Gallery: N64 Kid, Wii Vomit, and Other Cringeworthy Christmas Video
01blastoise
Perhaps as popular as the N64 Kid is the Blastoise Kid. I was too old for the whole Pokemon trading card craze, but senior associate intern John Mix Meyer could probably tell you why getting Blastoise in a random pack of cards is this big a deal. Or maybe this kid is him.
Photo: Joel Warner (click to enlarge)02xbox-box-full-o-clothes
Some parents decide that seeing their child happy on Christmas has become routine and boring, and they'd rather see him sad. Hence, the old Xbox-box-without-an-Xbox-in-it prank. Oh, sorry, did you think for a second you were getting an Xbox 360? Actually it's just full of clothes. Although those clothes are probably worth more now than a launch 360 Core SKU, which has probably red-ringed as of this writing.
Photo: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED03wii-kiss
Sometimes one's affection for a game machine moves to the physical. This kid knows about foreplay. You don't just shove the disc into the drive slot, you kiss the Wii first.
04xbox-box-full-o-money
This Xbox 360 box was full of cool presents, and apparently there was at least $40 in there. Again, a few more bucks and you could pick up a preowned Arcade.
05socks-and-underwear-ds
Stuffing Nintendo DS boxes with socks and underwear so that they still feel like Nintendo DSes must be no mean feat. These kids were totally punked. Also, unlike all of those other videos, they actually get the Nintendo DSes at the end of this one.
06wii-vomit
Finally, this is perhaps the most unexpected reaction of all. Crying, that's totally understandable. It's an emotional moment. But then he throws up. (Off camera. Thank him for having the presence of mind to keep this SFW.)
07the-dog-wanted-a-ps3
Xbox 360s are all well and good, but what kids have really wanted for Christmas over the past few years has been a Wii. This child is so happy to have received Nintendo's game machine that he really upsets the dog.
08xbox-tears
Meanwhile, this box contains a real Xbox 360, but this child is still sad.
09nintendo-64
Merry Christmas! Did you get everything you want? These kids did. Or didn't. My parents still have some moderately embarrassing childhood videos of me and my brother, which they just played this morning. But it wasn't even 15 minutes of footage. Kids today have to live in fear of their every waking moment being captured for posterity and uploaded to YouTube in crystal-clear digital form. Even if their humiliation doesn't become a viral Twitter sensation, Mom and Dad can replay it for the visiting relatives every year at Christmas just by busting out their his and hers iPhones. No film projector setup required. Then again, isn't there something heartwarming about having year-round access to videos of excitable children opening gaming systems on Christmas morning? By "heartwarming" I mean "hilarious." I'd like to think I'm laughing *with* these kids. I'd like to think that, but actually I'm laughing at them. I did all kinds of crazy stuff, but I never made out with a game system, and if my parents tell you I did, you can't prove it because there's no evidence. This morning, may I invite you to get into the Christmas spirit with this hand-picked selection of Christmas-morning escapades, from empty box pranks to unpredictable bodily reactions? __Above:__ The Christmas video that started it all, the Nintendo 64 Kid. I doubt any introduction is necessary.
