Like many children, Kathy Wong Kin-Ho dreamed of finding a gleaming, new bicycle under the Christmas tree. So when a red two-wheeler made its glorious appearance - a joint Christmas and Lunar New Year present - her joy knew no bounds.
'At the time, our economic situation wasn't great. I knew how expensive bikes were, and that it wasn't something my parents could easily afford,' remembers Wong, now executive director of the Playright Children's Play Association, a group focused on social and policy issues affecting young lives. 'I didn't expect it, and as a result I was so happy, because I knew how much care and love had gone into the gift.'
Care and love, sharing and giving; it is what Christmas is all about. Or is it?
'Giving gifts at Christmas used to be a process - the buying, opening, and then the appreciation and enjoyment of the gift itself,' says Wong. 'Now, all busy and over-stressed parents think about is what's trendy. They buy it, and after a week the child has lost interest and never plays with the toy again. But what is important is the process and the people involved; that families play with the toys together.'
Wong recalls an experience last July, when Playright members visited a kindergarten in Wales as part of an international play conference. 'They set up lots of different play corners, including one with computers, but the children actively preferred the other games,' she says.
She concedes, however, that if children are handed an iPad, they will play with it, but she says youngsters gravitate towards computers when there are no other people or children to interact with. 'Give them the opportunity, and they enjoy - prefer - playing with others. It's all about giving children a better choice.'
Like Wong, Lucy McLennan, a mother of three, feels Christmas and the tradition of giving presents is about spending time together as a family.