I’ve loved Christmas for as long as I have a memory. Our family holidays were enveloped in love and warmth, lots of laughter, cookies and other delectable delights. Growing up we were lucky enough to have Norman Rockwell Christmases—or as close to as a real family could get.
I am a completely sentimental, teary-eyed sap who wishes Peace on Earth were our daily reality and not just words to a lovely song. This season, I wish for joys and blessings to everyone and that the holidays fill you with kindness and gratitude.
My younger brother and older sister help me remember childhood Christmases when we were only three, six (and a half) and seven (and three-quarters). Some parts of Christmas stayed the same for us for decades. Given that, I hope we made it special for the youngest of us, born 12 years after the oldest.
We’d Wake Our Folks
One of us little tots would wake up, run through the house and check: Santa came! We’d wake another kid, wake another kid, and dash into our parents’ bedroom. Were they asleep with those toddler-sized feet running around?
We’d yell with glee, Santa came! They’d respond, “Okay. Wait in the kitchen, no going in the living room!” We’d stand in the archway, looking in wonder at the tree and the colorful packages. Maybe we’d glimpse the edge of an unwrapped gift that signaled it had come directly from Santa.
One year, Jackie or I woke up at two-thirty in the morning. Wojo was too little to have done this. There wasn’t a brightly decorated tree when we’d gone to bed. But there it now stood along with gaily wrapped gifts. Together, two little girls in their Dr. Denton’s tiptoed into our parents’ room. We each took a parent and shook a shoulder: Santa came! Groggily, we got a response, saw a glance at the clock, a moan from one of them. “Okay, girls, get your brother up.”
The Best Christmas Gifts
Our parents made the holiday special. Not the quantity or monetary value of Christmas gifts, but because of the sentiment, thoughtfulness, and honesty surrounding the giving. In 1968 I got a rabbit’s foot—and wrecked my first two-wheeler while wearing it. What a variety of Christmases over the years—gifts given with thought and kindness, my parents made Christmas remarkable. It was so much more than getting the guitar I wanted or the label makers we sisters still have. Our gifts involved laughter and joy—filling us like the stockings we got every year. It was traditions of cookies for breakfast, turning Christmas lights on upon rising, whether it was three in the morning or six.
Our Christmas Tree Joy
The village arrayed under the tree held competing churches—Mom’s religion and Dad’s religion. From the moment the platform was setup with the train and trees and Ivory Flakes for snow, the churches would battle for attendees. One morning all the cars would be at Mom’s church. By the evening they migrated to Dad’s. I wonder now, how did that running joke start?
Amid this fun, it was important to our parents that we understood the meaning of the day. They taught that it was about Christ’s birth, not the Santa Claus legend. There was never any confusion in our minds as the day unwound. Christmas Carols would resound as we’d play album after album. We’d go to church, we’d hear a homily about Christ’s birth. I remember being filled with wonder at the thought of this baby being born and changing everything. This still provides joy—more so as days pass and the importance of a relationship with Christ becomes more clear.
Missing Our Parents
Without that core of our parents, our Christmases have changed with one consistency: Shared love.
This is a joy-filled time of year. For the fun of Santa Claus, for the humility of Christ … for the pleasure of giving gifts and the grace to receive them. Christmas gives us the freedom to be gushy and sentimental, to give a tiny gift with lots of thought. It gives us a chance to pause and think about the blessings we received this year and why.
I wish joyous holidays to your family and friends. What are your holidays like? Then and now?
*Read, More about Christmas
Christmas celebrating is what you make it and effort put into it. Mom and Dad did all of that and it was wonderful. Thank you, Jesus!!
They sure did–what a blessing for us!
Oh Rose…if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were writing about our family and used our family pictures! I’d recognize that TV and Tree anywhere! This Christmas I’m celebrating Love from and for God, Family and Friends.
That’s just fun, Carol! TV, tree, sisters! I’ll join you in that bit of celebrating!
really great read, thanks for sharing those photo’s — wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas!
Thanks for reading, Todd! I hope everyone up north has a great holiday season full of blessings!
Aaaannd 4 years later I showed up! Not only did our parents continue to give us great Christmas’s but my wonderful siblings made sure I got to enjoy all of the same traditions. Poor sisters, had to put up with me waking them up in the wee hours of the morning to tell them Santa had come. I love all of those wonderful memories.
Having a little one around sure put a twist on things for us “older” kids. You were great fun then, Joanne, and you’re great fun now. Oh yes, your siblings take credit for that!
Christmas is so exciting for little ones. I remember when my son was about 4, looking in on him late on Christmas eve and he was jumping and jumping in his bed out of excitement. So cute! We all have our special family memories. Making Christmas cookies was always a special and messy time with my children.
Messy Christmas cookie making is a good tradition and memory to have, Beth. I still make a mess. 🙂
Those were wonderful memories. I can only hope I have left my children with the best memories of Christmas. It’s all about creating the “tradition” that goes with the holiday. We are creating a new tradition with our grandchildren (ages 4 and almost 3) of putting together a gingerbread house – it is messy and fun. Elliott (the almost 3 year old) saw that I had icing on my thumb so he promptly licked it off for me! It was so funny. I love all of it!
I think you have totally created those great traditions with your kids and now with the grandkids! El–the icing tamer! Ha.
It is about traditions and family and having those memories is so utterly special once you’re older and it all changes. Or not. 🙂
This reminded me of wonderful Christmases I had as a child. I also recall a 4 am stint with my sister and I giggling at out gifts (Santa left a sack at the bottom of the bed!) and my mother being less than amused at the noisy hilarity. 8am was the new reverse curfew after that. We also weren’t allowed in the living room, family gifts, until after breakfast, gosh how that one meal dragged out as a small child. It was a magical time the house transformed. Later in life I recall watching my elderly Dad opening a gift, admiring wrapping and the gift inside and remarking on it’s splendor, colour and fit ( jumper). He was a wonderful receiver of gifts.
Wonderful to hear from you, Rosalind!
I love the 4a.m. wake up! HA! I don’t know if our parents could have kept us in bed until 8 without tying us down!
Your Dad…oh, I adore that story. Wonderful.
Such a sweet story! We weren’t allowed to go down the stairs until my dad got up and went before us to light the tree. Oh I remember fidgeting st the top of those stairs! Laugh! But as with your family, it really was more about all the activities we were involved in at the church. Fun times…
I’m glad I brought up a fun memory for you, Jacquie!
Joy and blessings to you to, Rose! I hope you had a lovely Christmas and will have a wonderful New Year. 🙂
Blessings to you, Susan!
The best memories! Love you.
Glad we’ve come such a long way from fighting over toys or boys–ha.
Wonderful to add another memory to your basket:)
It’s such a good time to acknowledge our blessings–a reminder to do that very thing more often!
Hope your holidays are great, too. I love the picture trip down memory lane.
It was fun to find the pics and more fun to share them.
Our parents could not have made Christmas more magical for us. I LOVED every moment of it!
“Magic” is a great word for the experience.