Christmas

Growing up I don’t remember getting but one, two at the most, gifts at Christmas from Santa. I remember a doll and I remember a nurses kit (older sister later became the nurse when grown). I don’t remember having stockings and there were just 3 children, me and my two sisters all 3 born close, within just 4 years. Asking my husband about their childhood Christmas he had 11 siblings. There were 6 boys 6 girls. They each got fruit and he said one little gift. However, we weren’t given gifts, except our birthdays and Christmas, and sometimes only a cake for our birthdays. We were excited to get anything and appreciated it too. Times have changed as we are in our seventies now.
Today’s Christmas’ are so different. I think personally some kids are given too much of what they want and so expect to get it too, therefore don’t appreciate it. My oldest daughter did this with her kids. They always had to have name brand and certain things. My sons kids didn’t get much, didn’t expect much but seemed to appreciate what they did get ( see what I mean) our youngest daughter is like me and tries to make each Christmas special. The kids get gifts, but not an overload.
There are now 24 counting me and hubby with our kids and grands. I also have my only living sister, his widowed sister and one son-in-law’s mother over for Christmas meal. I had been doing all the cooking until about 10 years ago. Now the oldest cooks the ham, the youngest brings a side and one grandson’s wife does the best sweet potato casserole. I still cook a roast, 2 meat loaves and rarely a turkey. I bake pies and make candy day or two before. I also have my cornbread dressing ready the day before. We are blessed to have plenty food and there is an open door for anyone else. My husbands oldest brother came every year since his wife died, but he just went into the nursing home at age 95. Sometimes my deceased sister’s only son comes. I send no invitations, but they all know there is always room for them at the table and plenty food to share.
We celebrate Christmas Day, with all them coming for lunch. We have our meal and the kitchen is cleaned before we exchange gifts. We do this so the younger ones are sure to eat, knowing the sooner they eat they can open and play with their gift. Otherwise they won’t want to quit playing and settle down to eat. We are fortunate too, all our kids and a few grands, live less than 5 miles from us, so some go home for a nap and return before our supper. The youngest family always stays though. After the supper or even after lunch, we play games at the table. We can all play Farkle and that has been our favorite game, at the present. I enjoy the day with family, but I can honestly say by the time the last car leaves, I’m whipped-lol- feeling my age I suppose.
Now I understand why my poor mother-in-law would nod off, at times, Christmas Day. How I enjoyed those Christmas Days! With having 12 kids and all the grandkids all coming in to eat and we all brought gifts to mother-in-law and father-in-law. They never bought gifts for anyone of the families bc it was impossible, so many.
Our little ones never seemed to mind. They enjoyed sitting on the floor at their grandparents feet watching to see what appeared in the box. That was excitement for them and also taught the lesson of more blessed to give than receive.
However, this was after the noon meal. My husbands sister Lorraine, always baked the pies, 7 or 8, the day before until she died daily young in an accident . Then I took over the pies. Another sister, Weeda, always came and got the dressing ready the day before.
Christmas Day the grown women helped do all the cooking, washing dishes as it was cooked. The table set just so many and the men always ate first. All the food was set on the table in real bowls/dishes you had to wash by hand.
Someone washed, someone dried and then the table was set for the children, however many times it took. More food was taken up in the dishes,for the kids and after they ate, the repeat cleaning was done, before it was the women’s time to eat.
The dishes were all done with one woman washing, one rinsing, one drying and handing off to another to put in the cabinet. Another was cleaning down the stovetop and one wiping the tabletop, while another swept the floor. Yes the kitchen was tidied up before the gift opening.
By then we were all ready to relax and visit and watch as the old couple opened their treasures. Music was played and I mean real music as we had some guitar, doe-bro and fiddle players and singers that was willing to share a good tune. The kids were running around outside and would come by the fire inside very little.
Some families stayed, most stayed lol, for leftovers for supper and everything was tidied up again, before going home. It was a good time to remember. My kids remember too and talk about enjoying their childhood.
Just a few years ago, I told all of my kids little ones that we were going to have a snowball fight Christmas Day remember Cuties? They would laugh and say, “Gram it never snows “.But I would promise we WOULD have a snowball fight. They just couldn’t believe. So that Christmas, after the meal and the gift exchange, I came out of my bedroom with a big basket of snowballs! On the back of each I embroidered their name and Merry Christmas year. We had snowballs flying everywhere but the two that really enjoyed was a son-in-law and a grown grandson. We all were ducking. Thanks again Kim.
One year I made all the stocking kids ( once they reach 18 I no longer hang them a stocking) a monkey out of socks. My husband had made a stocking tree years ago to hang 10 stockings on, bc at one time we had that many under age 18.
Well after opening gifts they usually went to the stocking tree. One of them said, ‘what happened to the stocking tree or where is it?’ I said,”oh I forgot to put it out, so let me go get it.” We brought it in, and all of them saw monkeys hanging with their stockings but the one that surprised me most was our oldest granddaughter. She knew this was her last stocking year and I always put the older ones up high, so the little ones can reach theirs that are lower. Lanie jumps up nearly knocking the little ones over and grabs hers saying, “I love them! They are so cute!”
Last year we did a family trip. We asked the adults at thanksgiving if they would want to all take a weeks vacation, when the kids were off for Easter, our gift to them would be we would rent a log cabin big enough for the 24 of us and all go to Tennessee. I told them the younger would still have their stocking tree, but the trip would be instead of all of their gifts. They were all willing to plan their time off, so the family would stay together.
However as things sometimes happen, when it came time only 17 of us went. Something unexpected came up for our son and family and two of our grandchildren live in Washington state and couldn’t take off work, even though they had planned flights ahead and boss told them they could take off, they didn’t get to come because they were short handed after some quit.
This year sadly I don’t have any special surprise. Hubby doesn’t want to ‘go’ anywhere although the kids and even the grands would have liked another trip, but understood their daddy’s thinking. Guess we are getting old-lol I don’t have any surprise snowball or monkey ideas. We will just have family time with good food, gifts and games and lots of love flowing.
I do wish you all a very blessed Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. ❤️Toogie