Those who celebrate Christmas engage in a month-long whirlwind of decorating, card writing, carol singing, cookie baking and gift buying. Even though we may feel overwhelmed with the demands of this busy season, we know that it all adds up to a lifetime of happy memories. As the number of days until Christmas dwindle, our holiday whirlwind ebbs a bit and a few of us take a moment to look back at our own Christmases past. 

First, we hear from Linda who was usually none the wiser when her uncle played Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Until one year that is when four-year-old Linda ran out to the kitchen thrilled to see that Santa had arrived. Suddenly she stopped and turned to her mother. Appalled, she said, “Mommy, Santa stole Uncle Johnny’s shoes!”

Vicki grew up with the run of several acres on the Winthrop Estate, which had been home to the first governor of Massachusetts. She and her family lived in the caretaker’s cottage while her dad did indeed make a living taking care of the impressive estate. Every Christmas morning, the first order of business was for Dad to go out to buy the papers for the “big house.” Since the presents had to wait until her father’s return, those first golden moments of Christmas were filled with the excitement of emptying the stockings. Stockings continued to be her favorite part of Christmas.

I loved my family’s tradition of laying our stockings on the hearth before bed on Christmas Eve, knowing that Santa would fill them and then tiptoe in to put them at the foot of our beds. We woke up at least once an hour all night long, straining to push our toes to the foot of the bed. At last, we’d hear the tell-tale crackle that told us Santa had come! Then we could relax and sleep until the first light when we all met in my oldest sister’s bed to look at our stockings. Our parents must have gained an extra half hour to 45 minutes of sleep with that one.

Sometimes one particular Christmas Eve stands out, like the year that Bonnie visited her grandmother and spotted a beautiful glass Christmas angel atop one of Grandma’s presents. A little girl, she did her best to hint at how she’d love to have that angel without being so rude as to come right out and ask for it, but much to her chagrin, Grandma just didn’t get it!

Disappointed, Bonnie looked a little glum as they were leaving. Grandma said, “Bonnie, dear, what’s the matter?” “Oh, nothing Grandma. I’m just tired,” said little Bonnie. Grandma smiled and said, “Well I hope you can stay awake long enough to put this on your tree when you get home.” Little Bonnie’s sagging spirits soared as Grandma tucked that beautiful glass Christmas angel right into her pocket! 

Some of us remember the tradition of trimming the tree on Christmas Eve. Another Bonnie in the group remembers growing up in a row house in Germantown, Pennsylvania. On Christmas Eve, the family would gather, the old black and white version of A Christmas Carol playing in the background, and prepare for Santa’s visit. Those old row houses didn’t have any fireplaces, but that didn’t stop Bonnie’s mom. On Christmas Eve, she’d put up a platform for the tree and then enclose it with sheets of fake brick. As far as those kids were concerned, Mom’s version of a fireplace was plenty good enough for Santa’s grand entrance!

For some of us, the tree magically appeared with the presents on Christmas morning. As adults, we marvel that any parents managed to assemble toys, wrap gifts and trim the tree on Christmas Eve and still live to see their children’s shining faces on Christmas morning! Cindy has been one of those parents, now grandparent, for the last thirty-five years.

Her favorite memory, however, doesn’t involve wrapping a pile of presents.  She remembers one of the early years when her husband had little work. Their preschool-age daughter snoozed happily down the hall unaware of her parents’ troubles. At that point, money had become so scarce that they were lucky to eat let alone buy a Christmas tree. With no alternative, they decided to cut down a cedar tree from the swamp out back and decorate it with their meager ornaments. While Cindy decorated, her husband took what money they had to buy a few presents. Cindy says she’ll never forget the sight of her little one coming down the hall clutching her new cookie monster, gazing up in wonder at that raggedy old cedar and crowing, “Mommy, what a beautiful tree!” Thirty-some years and many Christmas trees later, Cindy and her husband remember the year with no money as their best Christmas Eve.

Whether you decorate with exquisite blown glass or Styrofoam cup ornaments, whether Santa used the fireplace or the door, and whether your stocking toe holds an apple or an orange, may your Christmas be filled with warm and wonderful memories!