Christmas!

I love christmas! After a full day of baking Christmas cookies (makes the house smell delish!), and a fine Margarita dinner at the fave mexican place (or rather it's evil twin which is not as friendly but is closer to the current homestead.) Since many of my compatriots have waxed poetic on their holidays, I am inspired to too.

I know that things changed over time while I was growing up. When I was very little I remember having the silver foil fake christmas tree in the living room covered with red ornaments and with the color wheel light projecting on it. I believe we had a real tree in the family room.

We always got to open one present on Christmas eve. Then there was one "big" present and a pile of smaller stuff under the tree the next day. I'm sure the santa gig didn't last long because I was the youngest. I just don't remember when I gave it up.

We had the same fake tree for nearly the entire time I remember clearly. By then the foil tree was retired and it as in the living room. It was, I believe, the only time each year that we used the living room. I got most of the family ornaments when the folks died, so my tree's ornaments now span 2 lifetimes. I have one glass ornament from my parents first tree after they were married in the 30's. I have cardboard ornaments from during the 'great war'. I have a hideous styrofoam headed 'girl' that I made at age 4 or 5. I have flourescent balls from the 70's. I have an assortment of single ornaments that were bought in 3's each year for my brother, sister and I. I have tons of bead ornaments my mom made when she retired. The tree is full to the brim, I even have a couple boxes I didn't use.

Growing up the tree was then strung with glass beads and tinsel garland. For my tree it's strings of plastic stars (bought for my first 'independent tree' in the roommate house), and strings of colored beads (wooden, as my sister got the glass ones we grew up with). I hated the tinsel garland and like real tinsel, but not on the fake tree (too hard to pick it all off) so I bought the "Victorian Tinsel" which is cans of tin icicles. It's not the same, but it gives it a bit of glitter.

I remember the year I got a bike and it was 70 degrees on Christmas day, so I got to go riding. My dad used to put a tape in the cassette recorder and sit it under a chair and record what everyone said. I'm not sure what happened to those tapes. Though we never had music playing during the year, at Christmas the albums were pulled out and played. My favorite was the Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (happily replaced with a cd a couple years ago!)

I also remember the year my brother got a tape player. Mom worked Christmas eve, but we were off. He very carefully unwrapped the present and diddled with the tape player for a couple hours before carefully rewrapping it. The presents were always hidden under Mom & Dad's bed. I usually looked. I'm not sure why.

About 10 years ago my mom died on the Saturday before Christmas. I don't think it makes me any sadder about the holiday, though. I just remember her in the hospital in the fall so worried about me getting my present - a hand truck from Hechingers. She was so happy when I told her I had gotten it. She knew she didn't have long, but she made sure everyone got a present. I actually think it was worse when my dad died a couple years earlier in mid january. Nothing like taking back Christmas presents - "Reason for return?", "Uhm, he died".

Even during those rough years I had a tree, and I usually bake bunches of cookies. And now I have the munchkin and there's lots of new traditions too. I guess I need to mix up some reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter), since we we've gotten it the past couple of years from day care. I must say, however, that the boy has fallen asleep terribly early the past 2 years (like 6pm or so) which really cuts into the whole spreading reindeer food and setting out milk & cookies for santa tradition.

TTFN

& Have yourself a merry little Christmas.