What is your favorite memory of Christmas?
Four particular Christmases stand out in the myriad of holidays
I’ve been privileged to enjoy over the years. Many, many years!
The first one is right after World War II when money
was tight and Mom and Dad only had ten dollars to spend on my sister Donna and
me. I came home from school and found Mom crying because they couldn’t do much
for us. I didn’t know what to expect Christmas morning, but lo and behold, I
was ecstatic. I got a $5 Mickey Mouse watch and Donna got a $5 birthstone ring.
To us kids, we’d been given the greatest gifts in the world. Other years, my mom would buy us each a doll and then make a wardrobe of clothes for them while my dad worked in the basement making highchairs to put the dolls in.
Another memory is that every Christmas Eve Dad would pile
Donna and me in his truck to go for a ride so we could check out the Christmas
decorations around town. Mom never went with us because for some reason she had
to stay home and wash her hair. Arriving back at the house, we noticed what
appeared to be tracks in the snow on the roof, proof that Santa had been there
while we were gone. Entering the house, we saw all our gifts under the tree at
the same time Mom came out with a towel around her wet hair. She was just as
shocked as we were that Santa had been there and she never heard him. Kids are
so gullible and that’s part of the magic of Christmas.
Years passed and I got married and had two girls, Tammy and
Cyndi. One year my dad got tired of Christmas being so commercial and suggested
that the next Christmas we all make our gifts for each other instead of buying
them at the store. He reasoned that if we made a gift or two a month, we’d be
done by Christmas. We all agreed, then come April I thought, “Oh no, it’s April
and I haven’t made a Christmas gift yet!” I got busy, as did everyone else, and
by Christmas, we had a marvelous array of homemade gifts under the tree. There
were gifts made of wood, liquid embroidery, sewn gifts, knitted gifts, painted pictures,
apple head dolls, Popsicle stick gifts, any craft item you can imagine, we family members,
young and old, made for each other. That Christmas turned out to be the most
heartfelt Christmas ever.
Two years later, Tammy and Cyndi were joined by a son Michael
born on December 19th. Tammy became my Mary, dressed in a blue shawl
and kneeling over baby Michael wrapped in a blanket while angel Cyndi, dressed
in white, completed the nativity picture. A very special memory.
So please tell me, what special Christmas or Hanukah makes you smile
with sweet memories?
Quote of the day: Christmas
isn't a season. It's a feeling. Edna Ferber
