During World War I, there were a number of ‘Christmas Truces' whereby the European participants of the Great War ceased hostilities in order to celebrate Christmas.  For me, however, Christmas has always represented an opposite inclination:  the opportunity to indulge in a little wargaming!  I think this has everything to do with a boy and his toys.  Let's face it:  on a non-theological level, Christmas is about getting toys.  I don't care if you're fifteen or fifty; if you're a boy you want toys under the tree on Christmas morn!  And for me, the best toys were always soldiers.

    Of course, when I was younger, toy soldiers meant those classic, green plastic "Army Men" that were pretty much a rite of passage for Gen-X'ers.  What fun they were (are?)!  Take a machine-gunner, the guy with the bazooka, a prone marksman and add an officer with a radio and you were set for some great battles!  And if you were lucky enough to get a Sherman tank or two...well, you were in martial paradise.  Let the battle begin!   When I think back to all the Christmas days I spent waging war on carpet, utilizing each new assortment of men and equipment - ah, those were good times! Even better, if no one was looking, I could sneak real close to the Christmas tree and re-enact the Battle of the Ardennes!  Those colored Christmas tree lights added a surreal atmosphere to the whole clash and the fake snow around the tree added just the right winter touch.  When all was said and done, I had wargame terrain fit for the Army War College.  Hah!  It doesn't get any better than that! 

    When I was older, I naturally (unfortunately?) switched to more sophisticated board and miniatures wargaming.  I think one of the best Christmas wargames that I ever received was Frank Chadwick's Combined Arms.  Mr. Chadwick tried something novel with this set of rules; he tried to bring an operation tempo to miniatures wargaming - and he succeeded marvelously.  That game occupied me to the wee hours of post-Christmas morning.  The ability to wage freewheeling, battalion-level battles for the destiny of West Germany was heady stuff!  I recall how I spent the majority of that Christmas fighting a desperate delaying action against Soviet troops that were trying to overrun LANDJUT.  My 6^th Panzergrenadier Division lost many a Leopard tank stopping the 2^nd Guards Army from achieving its objectives.  It was a fierce battle, but at the end the 6^th held its ground with a generous helping of air support.  At the conclusion of the battle, I distinctly recall both sides engaging each other in a convivial X-MAS celebration with the help of some timely UN fruitcake.

    Of course, with the arrival of the computer age, Christmas warfare had found a new home on the silicon chip - which is a good thing as I shudder to think what would have happened if visitors found me on the carpet with my Army Men!  Now with the help of the PC, I can wage war on a scale that would make the Ghost of Christmas Future shudder.  A fast internet connection combined with a solid wargame can quickly become the ultimate Yuletide war toy.  A few years ago, my wargame gift of choice was Dawn of War.  With the gleeful removal of Christmas wrapping paper, I was quickly off to heroic and bloody battles of the 41^st Millennium.  Howls of "For the Emperor!" set against staccato gunfire could quickly be heard emanating from my den, providing an odd counterpoint to the litany of Christmas carols on the radio.  I didn't care; I was in my Christmas element, waging war for all that is noble on this majestic day. Bring on the eggnog; I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon!

    Now that I am a few years older, holiday warfare has taken on yet another new guise.  These days, I am more likely to be commanding stately wood Bishops and Rooks on a black and white battlefield as chess has become my Christmas wargame of choice.  All things considered, this is for the best as I can play chess anywhere with anyone; the days of secluded Christmas wargaming are over.  Family and friends are eagerly invited to join this winter battle!  Give me a comfortable chair and a willing opponent and I am truly experiencing the old magic of army men under the Christmas tree once again.

What are some of your fondest holiday gaming memories?