Christmas season officially began with the putting up of the Nativity scene outside the house. That was something my dad and I would do. It was just a dad/daughter thing for as long as I remember. Going down into the basement to gather the wood cutouts, the poles, making multiple trips to the garage (and eventually barn) to gather the necessary tools and ladder. For the most part, it was my job to "design" the layout. Dad and I would discuss very important questions like where the wise men should go, the direction the sheep would be facing, where the donkey should be resting. No matter what, it was a talking point each year. Usually while we were conquering this project, mom would be inside bringing up decorations for the house from the basement. Sometimes it was absolutely freezing outside and that necessitated multiple breaks by the fireplace. Other times it was warm and Christmas seemed so far off. When I was little, my jobs were small. As I grew, the jobs grew with me. I learned to handle the hammer, screwdriver, post hole driver, and socket wrench in the Nativity set-up. Sometimes we talked about life....other times we worked in silence...both were good. After we got the Nativity up, it was time to go inside and Mom and I would work on decorating the house. Pictures up on the cupboards, Christmas scenes set up, wreaths hung, candle rings and candles set out and all the other decorations were put up. When I was little little, I remember going to Bluffton to pick out our live Christmas tree. All 4 of us would pile into the old red pick up truck and head on out to pick up our tree. I don't remember a bunch about picking out the tree but I remember the shop...I remember the tree toppers and the smell of that dark shop where we paid for the tree. I don't remember us really buying anything inside that shop but for some reason I remember the shop clearly. At some point, we stopped with the live trees and went to the cut ones. I remember picking out the perfect one, then trying to get it in the stand and having to be the one who held onto the tree while mom or dad laid on the ground adjusting the stand until we could get them straight. Then came the challenge of getting it into the house with as few needles dropping as possible. Up from the basement came the decorations for the tree and lights that may or may not have worked. David and I always got a new ornament each year...usually something to commemorate something that happened. A lego ornament when I started getting interested in legos, a snowman carrying a feed sack when I started at camp, etc. And such was the beginning of the Christmas season at our house.
Growing up, my parents always had Mondays off so that's when they did their Christmas shopping. I enjoyed getting picked up by both of them from school on that day. Sometimes we went back out shopping with David and me after that but usually we went on the weekends. And where did we almost always eat lunch while out shopping? In the one place to eat in the mall at the time, MCL. ;-) Not my most favorite place to eat but I usually got a piece of pie out of it. Shopping was so much fun. With my limited budget as a kid, I always thought hard about what one present I was getting each of the family members. Something I learned from my parents and what I love doing now is getting/making gifts that matter. Ones that you put thought into. I loved the funny tags my parents would make for the gifts. I got gifts from some very strange fellows, celebrities, even my dog. ;-) To this day, not all my gifts come from my parents.
Christmas eve-now this was a night about tradition. After finishing up wrapping, cleaning the house, and preparing food, we would dress up and have a formal Christmas dinner on our fine china (that I was terrified to break when we hand washed them) in our formal dining room. Steaks, potatoes, shrimp cocktail, and dessert filled our bellies full. A doctrine tape on the true reason for the season followed dinner and listening to it in the same room where the tree and some of the presents were. It was definitely hard to focus when you wondered why lay under that wrapping paper. ;-) Afterwards it was into our pajamas and Mom would read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to me. This book was very old, published in the 1940's, but there was no other book to be read from. Sometimes after my door was shut and I tried to go to sleep, I could hear things going on downstairs and I wondered what was going on down there. Later I might find it was more presents being wrapped or a toy being put together. I always found that the filling of the stocking to be quite wondrous. I don't know why I found it wondrous, but it was always empty when I went to bed and filled no matter what time I woke up in the morning. Of course, at first light as a kid I was up and ready to open presents. There really was no reason for me to get up and out of bed so early. There was no opening presents until my dad had gotten up and ready and headed to the hospital to do his rounds. Sometimes it took an hour...sometimes it took more. Sometimes, it felt like it took all day long...when you're 8 years old! We always had breakfast casserole for our Christmas day breakfast and when I was quite impatient, I would request that we eat breakfast after presents! As I got older, breakfast came first, then presents, then most likely lots of playing with the gifts and naps! I appreciate that my parents wanted us to be home for the actual holiday of Christmas. I definitely liked being home for our family Christmas with no where to go and no schedule to keep.
It was hard when things started to change for us for Christmas. David wasn't always there, the actual days we celebrated were no longer the 24/25th, and sometimes I wasn't there as work and travel took me away. No matter what though, my parents have always attempted to accommodate the desires of their kids to continue with traditions. Whether it was something we wanted to eat, where we wanted to celebrate, and the traditions we wanted to continue, my parents have made it about family and it always takes me back to those days when Christmas was full of wonder and we were all together as our family of 4. I remember getting my Nintendo and David and I setting it up and playing....David getting a movie and all of us sitting down to watch it....getting a board game and getting the family to sit around the table and play. Life seemed so simple back then. Nowhere to go, no distractions....just us. There's a few more of us now, the schedules are a little harder to accommodate, and time with family limited as work and other duties call. But there's still a few things that I can count on. I hope that I can continue to make Christmas as special, magical, and family oriented with my own family someday. Thank you Mom and Dad for making this a wondrous time of year that is so ingrained in my memory that a Christmas 20 years ago feels like yesterday and certain sights and smells bring back fond memories. It was never about the presents, but about our presence.
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