A's reliever Sean Doolittle has had no trouble filling his days since the season ended. He and his girlfriend, Eireann, have spent time traveling to see their families and are now prepared to enjoy the Christmas season at their home in Arizona.
Doolittle recently caught up with MLB.com to share his holiday favorites and memories.
MLB.com: Do you have a favorite childhood Christmas memory?
Doolittle: I don't have one in particular, but when we were kids, we'd have the tradition where, my brother and I shared a room and my sister's room was right across the hall, so the three of us would get up early and go wake up mom and dad and then sit at the top of the stairs. My parents would set up the video camera, so we'd wait to get the go-ahead, the green light, and sprint down the stairs full speed. We'd peek in at the presents to see if we could see anything that looked weird or distinctive enough to know what it was.
MLB.com: What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Doolittle: Probably Christmas movies. My brother and I have kind of continued that. We still get together and watch "Christmas Vacation" or "The Santa Clause" or "Home Alone" and stuff our face with Christmas cookies. Growing up, my mom would make Christmas cookies. And when we were really little, we used to read "The Polar Express" the night before Christmas, and that was a pretty cool tradition, but obviously we've grown out of that.
MLB.com: So what would be your pick for best holiday movie?
Doolittle: "Home Alone" is my favorite, and I think "Christmas Vacation" has got to be up there as well. "The Santa Clause" would probably round out my top three. But you could ask me in a couple days and it might be different.
MLB.com: What's the best gift you've ever received?
Doolittle: I think the best present I ever got, the one I was most excited about as a kid, was probably a video game console. Nintendo was probably the first one I got. I forget how old I was, but I remember a couple of the other kids in the neighborhood and friends at school already had it, and I wanted it so bad. The only time I could play it was when I went over to their houses, so I finally got one, and I played Mario Bros. 3 and Blades of Steel until my fingers were blistered and bloody. I didn't move from like five feet in front of the TV the rest of the day.
MLB.com: What's at the top of your list this year?
Doolittle: My parents and my family ask me what I want for Christmas, and I don't really have anything to give them. I tell them iTunes gift cards so I can buy music and books so I can read on my iPad. I feel like that's kind of sad and maybe boring, but I'm pretty low maintenance. I don't need a lot.
MLB.com: How would you describe yourself as a gift giver?
Doolittle: I feel like I'm pretty good. I feel like I'm pretty perceptive and I pick up on maybe things people might like or could use. I buy good things, the presentation is horrible -- I'm not a great wrapper -- but it's what's inside that counts.
MLB.com: So what's a favorite present you've gifted someone?
Doolittle: A couple years ago, I gave my grandparents and my mom a trip out to the Bay Area to come out during the season and watch games. I was able to put them up in a nice hotel in San Francisco. They hadn't been able to come out for a number of different reasons, so it was kind of my way of putting my foot down, but it was also really cool to have them out on my turf out there and show them some of the stuff we had going on out there. It was a cool experience to share that with them, so it was a win-win.
MLB.com: Do you make any New Year's resolutions?
Doolittle: I feel like the resolutions I make are more Spring Training resolutions, because that's really the beginning of our new year. I haven't really thought about it yet, but Eireann and I will sit down and talk and write some stuff down, things we want to do, usually during the course the season. Obviously I have goals I want to accomplish on the field, but we have certain things we want to do during and once the season is over.
I think it's important to have that balance, where maybe it'll be getting to do more things we haven't gotten around to doing during the season, whether it's Eireann getting to travel so we can explore a different city on the road, or while we're around the apartment, maybe not playing as much video games but doing something productive.