Monday, December 12, 2005
12 Day of Christmas Memories
So, here goes...as promised, my special feature for the next few days...my favorite 12 memories of Christmas. I know that some of these will be common to others some will be unique to myself. Ultimately I hope that some of these little things could put a smile on your face and help this wonderful time of the year be a little merrier by the sharing of some of my favorite memories. Sit back, grab a cup of cocoa (or some nice stiff egg nog) and let's all sing along...On the first day of Christmas my memories bring to me....
Christmas Eve at my Grandparents
Ahh, Christmas Eve, that magical day when you are a child....that day before the big day! It was really a carefree day when I was younger...not hectic and chaotic like it is now. Ever since I've been "grown up" Christmas Eve has meant working retail or frantically running about trying to get last minute gifts....but when I was little it was magical!
From the time my first memories were forming until I was in roughly 4th grade, Christmas Eve meant that my family would travel to my Grandparents (dad's parents). It was never a far drive, but we would load up the car with gifts for all the cousins, aunt and uncles, and grandparents. All of the family lived remotely close to each other and we would all arrive around early evening. We would eat a big dinner and sit around and talk for a while. Of course us kids were extremely impatient with all the gifts under the tree! Eventually the parents would have enough of our whining and they would give in.
None of the gifts were out of this world, or extremely noteworthy (although I can still recall almost every single gift that I received )...it was the atmosphere of this evening that made it special. Everyone was happy and laughing....full of holiday cheer (well, except for the time around '86 or '87 when my uncle showed up with a pierce ear!). All of us kids would go to the billiards room and throw the pool balls around the table and into the holes. Ultimately though someone would get their fingers smashed and that would be the end of the pool table for a little bit.
There was always a fire going in the fireplace and we all had a stocking waiting for us. The stocking would be full of nuts and fruit. Thankfully the adults were willing to help us crack the nuts! There is just something good about a fresh nut, and not the stuff out of a can.
All evening long there was always this lingering energy in the error among all of us kids... A powerful energy filling us with excitement for the next morning! We always had a lot of fun, but we always knew that the sooner we got home the sooner we would wake up on Christmas morning! Oh the excitement!
When the evening was winding down the parents would all take us outside to see if we could spot Santa in the sky. We always saw the sleigh up in the sky which would cause all of us some anguish! If we could see him then that meant that he was close! We had to get home and asleep or we might miss out. With that the evening was coming to a close.
My first memory for this little series isn't a memory of a specific event or time, but rather a memory that covers many years....it's one of my favorites. Sadly, my grandparents began to spend their winters in Florida, and that meant that family gatherings on Christmas Eve were no longer the same. We tried to keep the tradition going, but it just didn't work out. We then moved the date around, but that just wasn't the same thing. My family has grown more and more spread out as time has went by....and the last Christmas that I remember was a few years ago, but it just has been too hard to make them work every year.
This Christmas though might be different. My grandparents have sold their home in Florida and spending most of the year in Indiana...and that means Christmas! Yeah, it's not on Christmas Eve this year...but I'm not complaining. Most everyone will be there except for a cousin, so it will be exciting. The family is larger now that the kid's are staring to procreate. I'm so excited...this Sunday will be the big event, hopefully it lives up to expectations. I'm also tempted to have my parents bring the videotape of those old Christmas's so that we can watch them and look at how things have changed.
I'm sure that family will be a reoccurring theme with this...and that is one thing that has become even more dear to my heart I've grown older. Family has also become more important now that I live further away from everyone. I'd love to be a short drive away from everyone, but unfortunately that is not the case, so I'll make sure to value every minute with everyone....and make sure to make many new memories.
