holidays!
Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday ever. I love it for its spiritual significance, but I also love it because our family is so steeped in tradition. And it’s not even like we have one tradition that we uphold – we’ve had mini-traditions through the years.
Growing up, we had a fake Christmas tree. One year we decided to go to Parker’s Tree Farm and get a real, live tree. (I think Lewis may have given daddy one or something…) After that, we were all about a real, live Christmas tree. We would go together as a family to pick out the tree, and then we’d take it home and my sister and I would immediately begin harassing Mom to get the decorations out of the attic so we could make it beautiful. Our tree was always a “homespun” tree – complete with clay handprint ornaments made when we were three, popsicle stick reindeer, and various other ornaments given to us through the years. My favorite ornament is a wooden snow man that Mama had since I was a baby. It has strings that hang down from its arms and legs. If you pull the strings, his arms and legs move! Mama always talks about how I used to crawl under the tree when I was a toddler and play with that thing. It’s still my favorite ornament, and now it’s in my own personal collection of Christmas ornaments. Anyway, back to trimming the tree. It was always a tradition for me mom, my sister, and I to decorate the tree. I’d always just sit and watch while they got the lights strung up… then we’d start reverently placing ornaments on the tree. (This is why to this day I am completely inept when it comes to putting Christmas lights on Christmas trees – I never had to do it myself!) When Mandy left and went to college, she was always home on Christmas break, so Christmas decorating went off without a hitch. However, the first Christmas after she got married, Mama and Daddy had to almost drag me with them to go pick out a Christmas tree. We picked it out and took it home, all the while I’m completely not in the Christmas spirit. We get it home, and Daddy put it up. Mama drug allllllll the Christmas decorations from the attic. And they sat there. For weeks. I moped, I whined, I complained. I wanted Mandy to help decorate the tree. However, she was too busy trying to get her own house decorated – not to mention that she lived a good 30 miles across the county. I totally felt abandoned… and I thought Christmas just could never be the same without her in the house with us. Mama eventually threatened to chunk the tree into the yard it I wouldn’t help decorate it, so Christmas Eve was spent stringing lights – or watching Mama string lights – and putting ornaments on the tree. I cheered up then, and the rest of the Christmas festivities went off without a hitch. I’m sad to say now that our homespun tree is no more. Mama has ditched the real tree for a skinny, fake tree from Hobby Lobby decked out in Santa Claus decorations from her extremely large collection. She normally has it up and decorated before I can even get home to volunteer to help. And now, I’m ok with the change. ; )
Christmas Eve night, Mandy and I almost always convinced Mama and Daddy to let us open one gift. Then, we’d go to sleep, and I would run to Mandy’s room on Christmas morning at the crack of dawn to drag her into the living room to look at what Santa Claus brought us. We’d oooh and aahhh over our stockings and unwrapped Santa presents. Then, we’d tuck ourselves back into bed and wait on Mama and Daddy to wake up so we could have family Christmas. Daddy always woke up before everyone else, and he would make this HUGE breakfast – bacon and sausage and eggs and grits and pancakes and toast. He’d wake us up when it was almost done. We would eat, then we would into the living room where Mandy and I would show off our stockings and Santa presents. Then we would exchange gifts from each other. After Mandy and Chris got married, we continued the tradition – only now it’s a tad bit different. I usually sleep in, but sometimes I’ll wake up early and go peek at my stocking. Then I’ll climb back in bed or snooze on the couch waiting on the rest of the family. Mandy and Chris come over as soon as they exchange their own personal gifts, and Daddy has breakfast waiting. While Mama sets the table, Mandy looks at my stocking stuff, and she and Chris open their stockings. (Yes, I’m 26 years old and still get a stocking from Santa. Not only that, the Easter bunny still brings me an Easter basket each year!) After breakfast, we open gifts, and then get ready to go to Grandma’s house for lunch.
Our latest Christmas Eve tradition started after Mandy married Chris. My Aunt Pam and Uncle Charlie, who live right across the road from us, always have Aunt Pam’s family over for Christmas Eve. Her mom and dad, sister and family, and her two grown grandchildren, their spouses, and their seven kids come over. They always eat – good food and lots of dessert. Then, the kids get to open their gifts from Nana and Pa D. We started going over there when they first started this tradition in order to take the kids their gifts. We always let them have their family time, but then we join them for dessert and present opening. It’s so much fun to see Christmas through the eyes of kids. There’s such an awesome joy that just radiates from their eyes. It truly is one of my favorite parts of Christmas these days.
Growing up, we had a fake Christmas tree. One year we decided to go to Parker’s Tree Farm and get a real, live tree. (I think Lewis may have given daddy one or something…) After that, we were all about a real, live Christmas tree. We would go together as a family to pick out the tree, and then we’d take it home and my sister and I would immediately begin harassing Mom to get the decorations out of the attic so we could make it beautiful. Our tree was always a “homespun” tree – complete with clay handprint ornaments made when we were three, popsicle stick reindeer, and various other ornaments given to us through the years. My favorite ornament is a wooden snow man that Mama had since I was a baby. It has strings that hang down from its arms and legs. If you pull the strings, his arms and legs move! Mama always talks about how I used to crawl under the tree when I was a toddler and play with that thing. It’s still my favorite ornament, and now it’s in my own personal collection of Christmas ornaments. Anyway, back to trimming the tree. It was always a tradition for me mom, my sister, and I to decorate the tree. I’d always just sit and watch while they got the lights strung up… then we’d start reverently placing ornaments on the tree. (This is why to this day I am completely inept when it comes to putting Christmas lights on Christmas trees – I never had to do it myself!) When Mandy left and went to college, she was always home on Christmas break, so Christmas decorating went off without a hitch. However, the first Christmas after she got married, Mama and Daddy had to almost drag me with them to go pick out a Christmas tree. We picked it out and took it home, all the while I’m completely not in the Christmas spirit. We get it home, and Daddy put it up. Mama drug allllllll the Christmas decorations from the attic. And they sat there. For weeks. I moped, I whined, I complained. I wanted Mandy to help decorate the tree. However, she was too busy trying to get her own house decorated – not to mention that she lived a good 30 miles across the county. I totally felt abandoned… and I thought Christmas just could never be the same without her in the house with us. Mama eventually threatened to chunk the tree into the yard it I wouldn’t help decorate it, so Christmas Eve was spent stringing lights – or watching Mama string lights – and putting ornaments on the tree. I cheered up then, and the rest of the Christmas festivities went off without a hitch. I’m sad to say now that our homespun tree is no more. Mama has ditched the real tree for a skinny, fake tree from Hobby Lobby decked out in Santa Claus decorations from her extremely large collection. She normally has it up and decorated before I can even get home to volunteer to help. And now, I’m ok with the change. ; )
Christmas Eve night, Mandy and I almost always convinced Mama and Daddy to let us open one gift. Then, we’d go to sleep, and I would run to Mandy’s room on Christmas morning at the crack of dawn to drag her into the living room to look at what Santa Claus brought us. We’d oooh and aahhh over our stockings and unwrapped Santa presents. Then, we’d tuck ourselves back into bed and wait on Mama and Daddy to wake up so we could have family Christmas. Daddy always woke up before everyone else, and he would make this HUGE breakfast – bacon and sausage and eggs and grits and pancakes and toast. He’d wake us up when it was almost done. We would eat, then we would into the living room where Mandy and I would show off our stockings and Santa presents. Then we would exchange gifts from each other. After Mandy and Chris got married, we continued the tradition – only now it’s a tad bit different. I usually sleep in, but sometimes I’ll wake up early and go peek at my stocking. Then I’ll climb back in bed or snooze on the couch waiting on the rest of the family. Mandy and Chris come over as soon as they exchange their own personal gifts, and Daddy has breakfast waiting. While Mama sets the table, Mandy looks at my stocking stuff, and she and Chris open their stockings. (Yes, I’m 26 years old and still get a stocking from Santa. Not only that, the Easter bunny still brings me an Easter basket each year!) After breakfast, we open gifts, and then get ready to go to Grandma’s house for lunch.
Our latest Christmas Eve tradition started after Mandy married Chris. My Aunt Pam and Uncle Charlie, who live right across the road from us, always have Aunt Pam’s family over for Christmas Eve. Her mom and dad, sister and family, and her two grown grandchildren, their spouses, and their seven kids come over. They always eat – good food and lots of dessert. Then, the kids get to open their gifts from Nana and Pa D. We started going over there when they first started this tradition in order to take the kids their gifts. We always let them have their family time, but then we join them for dessert and present opening. It’s so much fun to see Christmas through the eyes of kids. There’s such an awesome joy that just radiates from their eyes. It truly is one of my favorite parts of Christmas these days.
posted by Carrie Beth at
9:11 AM
2 Comments:
You are so right. Christmas totally changed for me when I had kids.
By
Mary Poppins, at 9:15 AM
We never had a real tree growing up either, but it was never a big deal to me until Wes and I married. In the last several years, Wes and I haven't put up a tree because I'm always busy writing the grant for BWP during Christmas, and we don't celebrate Christmas here anyway. That sounds horrible to write, but we don't decorate for holidays. It's not a Grinch thing, just a tired thing.
By
Donna Sewell, at 9:44 PM
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