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| That's the four and one-half-year-old me on the right in 1953 with my sister Lynda, who was almost eight. I was such a believer! Isn't he a great Santa Clause? |
One of my best Christmas memories is of my sister Lynda waking me up early--in the wee hours--on Christmas morning. Lynda was 3 1/2 years older than I, and I think that this was a repeated memory for many Christmas mornings. Apparently, we were not to wake our parents up. Of course, I was a bit sleepy but still so excited that I could hardly contain myself!
Lynda had the flashlight, and we would tiptoe down the hallway into the dark living room to see what Santa had left under the tree. Using the flashlight to make her way behind the tree, Lynda plugged in the colorful tree lights. And what to our wondering eyes would appear but toys that Santa had left for us under the tree! Quickly, we would divvy up the toys and presents according to whose name was on the tag. After checking out the unwrapped toys, we would unwrap the other gifts. (The odd thing was that immediately we would take our toys to our individual rooms and play with them there.)
It was the 1950s when children did not get gifts except on Christmas and their birthdays and only a few presents at that. Since toys were rare, they were special for us. Early on, I seemed to always love dolls the best--dolls and their clothes and their paraphernalia and dollhouses and even paper dolls.
When my parents woke up, we would get to empty out our Christmas stockings in which we would get tangerines and candy and small toys. Of course, we couldn't eat the candy yet because we would enjoy a really nice family breakfast of eggs, bacon or sausage, grits, and Sarah Lee coffee cake.
To this day, the excitement of those early Christmas mornings and "sneaking" down to see what Santa had left under the tree remains. It is still the Christmas stockings that are one of my favorite parts of Christmas. And I will always associate Sarah Lee coffee cake with Christmas morning.
Another memory I have occurred just when I was beginning to wonder if Santa were "real." I was accidentally woken up late one Christmas Eve night when I heard a noise in the living room. Knowing that I should not be out of bed or Santa would be angry, I quietly sneaked down the hall and saw my father trying to jump on a pogo stick--the very one that my sister got from Santa the next morning! After that I knew the "truth," but I did not tell my parents that I knew--either I wanted to protect them, or I thought that if they knew that I knew, then I would not get any more presents!
Now one of our present Christmas traditions starts on Thanksgiving Day. Ellen, Nekos, I, and the girls and any friends who want to join us take a long walk on Thanksgiving morning. We had been going to the Boulevard Bolt, but this year we went to Radnor instead. After our walk, we go pick out a Christmas tree, which we decorate after lunch. Of course, the grandchildren, three and one years old, Tessa and Livvy, get so jazzed about the decorations that we can hardly get them on the tree!
Another tradition is that we exchange gifts and eat dinner (usually homemade spaghetti or chili) and play games at my house on Christmas Eve with friends. My daughter Ellen fills my stocking and hangs it back up on the mantle for me to get on Christmas morning! (And I fill hers and Nekos's stockings for them to get on Christmas morning.) This year I even bought them beautiful new stockings! The next morning, Christmas, I usually go to a friend's house for Christmas breakfast with her family and then onto my daughter's house for Christmas Day dinner, to play with the grands, and to take a walk at the local park.
One of my new favorite "traditions" involves this little girl, my granddaughter Tessa, almost four years old. For the first time, this year, I got to take her Christmas shopping with her own money for her to pick out gifts for her mother and father and sister and dog Hattie. We ended up at our local vintage Noah's Closet, which was just a perfect place for her to pick out gifts for her family. She picked out pink loop earrings, a pink three-tiered necklace, and a small candle holder for her mom, three hardback books for her dad--two suspense and one humorous, and two toys for her sister Livvy--Sesame Street characters for the tub and a talking caterpillar. Then we had to go to a pet store to get two float-able balls--purple and green--for her dog.
That afternoon we went to a movie matinee; this year it was Frozen, a darn good flick. The next morning we had the fun of wrapping all nine of her gifts! She got to pick out the paper and ribbons from my stash, and she began to learn how to wrap presents. All and all, a very fun Christmas "tradition" that Tessa and I started!
Here's to your holiday memories and traditions, dear readers, and to your keeping what works and tossing the rest away! Remember to stay in the moment and appreciate the days that will never return again.
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