A few more fun things I remember about Christmas at our house. Please feel free to share your own Christmas memories!!
Christmas Socks
Every year on Christmas Eve, our "stocking" were hung by the fire with care. Mom would take three of Dad's old "stockings" ( long, black socks) and tack them to the mantle. Santa would then come that night and fill them with a handful of hard candy--you know, the striped kind you can only find during the holidays--one large orange and a few nuts. When we little ones awoke in the morning we would find our Christmas Socks hanging there, all long and lumpy and ready to be pillaged. The orange and nuts were quickly discarded in favor of the Christmas candy stuffed deep down in the toe. Due to the heat of the fire, the candy would have formed into a hard, sticky lump, all covered with sock lint. Naturally, we didn't dig in right away. There were so many non-fuzzy things to eat lying around from the previous night's party, there was no rush. By about December 27th, though, pickins were slim and that hard, fuzzy clump of stickiness was lookin' mighty tasty. You could chip it apart with a butter knife and, once you sucked off that first layer of lint, it really was pretty good.
I remember realizing, in later years that most people had actual Christmas "stockings", all cheerfully decorated and never having had anyone's foot actually inside of them, in which they received pre-wrapped candy and little toys. But by then, the tradition was formed and Christmas wouldn't have seemed quite right without those long, black socks over the fireplace and a big ole' lump of furry candy to chip away on. :0)
Christmas Morn
Me and Em shared a bedroom for many of our growing up years. Prior to Em's arrival, Melissa and I roomed together. So there were always two sister's in a room on Christmas morning. Whichever sister first opened their eyes on that happy morning, would turn to the one still sleeping and whisper loudly what were quite possibly the five most exciting words a kid can hear "Hey. Wake up....it's Christmas!". I can remember being awoken by those words and I can also remember being the one whispering them. Didn't matter who said it, the reaction was always the same. Giant smiles and bolting from beneath the covers to fly towards the Front Room. The tension was almost unbearable as you slowed down and rounded that last corner in a kind of silent awe. Santa always brought our gifts in an unwrapped state, so when you did round that corner it was a visual feast! Each of us flew to the spot where our gifts were set up and ooohed and aaahed and showed off our bounty to one another. Then we would go in and wake up Mom--this was usually at like 5:00am---to bring her in and show her what Santa had left for each of us.
Mom always insisted that Dad be allowed to sleep in for a while longer before we woke him up, too. The wrapped presents were not to be touched until Dad was up. This was tough. REALLY tough. It would take hours...many,many, many hours before we were allowed to timidly poke our head through the bedroom door and ask Dad to get up. OK, maybe it wasn't actually hours, but it may as well have been an eternity!! Dad would eventually join us, and the rest of the gifts would be opened in a cloud of wrapping paper and bows and all the happiness that giving and receiving brings.
Oyster Stew at Uncle Ralph's
Later in the day, as things settled down, PJ's were exchanged for dressier apparel and we all loaded up and headed over to Uncle Ralph's for some homemade oyster stew. The mixture of aromas when you walked in to that house was always a combination of cigar smoke, expensive perfume and delicious oyster stew. Smiling aunts and uncles and cousins were very happy to see us and plied us with sweets and treats of all sorts.
I'll always have etched in my mind the memory of a larger-than-life Uncle Ralph in his kitchen tending the giant pot of delicious smelling stew; big spoon in one hand, wine glass in the other and the ever-present cigar stub (with the ash always poised to fall,
but never actually dropping) grasped firmly between his lips.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Christmas Traditions, Part One
I'm just writing down a few things I remember about Christmas at our house when I was a kid. Just some little things that our family always did that helped make the season special. Bridget's post made me start thinking about it.
This is part one. I'll get to part two in a few days. And anyone who was a participant (or bystander) in these traditions is welcome to comment and remind me of details I may have forgotten. Or if you would like to share you own Christmas traditions, please feel free to comment.
Santa Face
Artistically etched in fake snow on the front window of the house, was the giant face of jolly old St. Nick. Mom's prowess with the canned snow was legendary in our neck of the woods. She could create a jolly Santa face, 10x larger than life OR add just a hint of faux frost to the corners of the window pane for that crisp, wintry feel.
The Christmas Bush
This is how we affectionately referred to our Christmas tree each year. Mom always insisted on a cedar tree which we cut down ourselves and laboriously trimmed and pruned to a size that would fit in to the living room. It was always decorated with an assortment of mismatched, well-beloved ornaments; lit with multi-colored bubble lights and draped with fake snow, plastic icicles and LOTS of tinsel (remember those filmy, silvery strands that would get spread all over the house by New Year's? Do they even make that kind of tinsel anymore?)
As we got older, my sister's and I protested gently against the self-cut, be-tinseled tree, feeling it was a bit unsophisticated. I mean look at the nice, neat trees some of our friend's had: all pre-lit and color coordinated and perfectly sculpted! But Mom persevered. Her logic on the issue was along these lines: A store bought tree? Who would spend money on such a thing! And what would Christmas BE without that cedar-tree smell in the house? And what's wrong with bubble lights, anyway? You girls!
How can you fight that kind of logic? ;0)
And nowadays, I look back and realize I wouldn't trade my memories of our Christmas bushes for all the color coordinated, perfectly trimmed trees in the world.
The Christmas Eve Party
This was just SO exciting. It would take place in the basement and we kids were allowed to help decorate. Mom had quite the stash of shiny, turquoise garland (it matched the carpet down there, OK?) and we tacked it to the walls and ceiling and wrapped it around light fixtures and any where else there might be a nook or cranny where it would fit. Fun, fun, fun!!!
The house would be filled with aunts and uncles and cousins and friends and classic Christmas tunes from Dad's state of the art stereo system (big as a full-size couch and had a 3-speed turntable. Yep.)
The two highlights of every Christmas Eve party were the arrival of Santa and being allowed to open one precious, precious gift from under the tree.
Santa's arrival was always awaited with longing and hope and a little tinge of fear, too. Every adult there had to remind you of Santa's impending arrival at least once when you spoke to them. "Have you been good? Santa's coming to the party later, you know!" Yeh. Liiiiiitle tinge of fear. I never doubted that I had made Santa's "Good" list----until it was time to meet him face to face. But when he did arrive he was always jolly and kind and boisterous and you didn't want him to leave. But he had a busy night ahead, so he needed to get going. And I never DID get to see the reindeer. But some (slightly tipsy) relative or other would always assure me that THEY had seen them, in all their glory, Rudolph in the lead, parked with the sleigh on the roof or the hillside. In fact, I remember Dad coming in one Christmas morn (stone cold sober, mind you) saying that there were inexplicable deer tracks all OVER the hillside by the house. And so the legend lived on. :0)
When all of the guests had parted, we would be allowed the incredibly exciting privilege of opening one of our gifts. This made the early, anxious desire for the guests to arrive gradually change into a secret longing for the party to be over. Then it was time to choose the gift. Oh, the pressure, the anxiety of choosing which gift to open! Feverishly but oh-so-respectfully was the gift pile picked through (NO furious digging or you had to wait until morning!!)to find each precious item with my name on it. Absolutely exquisite, suspenseful joy! The gift was unwrapped and all the happiness that only a kid at Christmastime can feel was experienced. There really IS nothing like being a kid on Christmas.
This is part one. I'll get to part two in a few days. And anyone who was a participant (or bystander) in these traditions is welcome to comment and remind me of details I may have forgotten. Or if you would like to share you own Christmas traditions, please feel free to comment.
Santa Face
Artistically etched in fake snow on the front window of the house, was the giant face of jolly old St. Nick. Mom's prowess with the canned snow was legendary in our neck of the woods. She could create a jolly Santa face, 10x larger than life OR add just a hint of faux frost to the corners of the window pane for that crisp, wintry feel.
The Christmas Bush
This is how we affectionately referred to our Christmas tree each year. Mom always insisted on a cedar tree which we cut down ourselves and laboriously trimmed and pruned to a size that would fit in to the living room. It was always decorated with an assortment of mismatched, well-beloved ornaments; lit with multi-colored bubble lights and draped with fake snow, plastic icicles and LOTS of tinsel (remember those filmy, silvery strands that would get spread all over the house by New Year's? Do they even make that kind of tinsel anymore?)
As we got older, my sister's and I protested gently against the self-cut, be-tinseled tree, feeling it was a bit unsophisticated. I mean look at the nice, neat trees some of our friend's had: all pre-lit and color coordinated and perfectly sculpted! But Mom persevered. Her logic on the issue was along these lines: A store bought tree? Who would spend money on such a thing! And what would Christmas BE without that cedar-tree smell in the house? And what's wrong with bubble lights, anyway? You girls!
How can you fight that kind of logic? ;0)
And nowadays, I look back and realize I wouldn't trade my memories of our Christmas bushes for all the color coordinated, perfectly trimmed trees in the world.
The Christmas Eve Party
This was just SO exciting. It would take place in the basement and we kids were allowed to help decorate. Mom had quite the stash of shiny, turquoise garland (it matched the carpet down there, OK?) and we tacked it to the walls and ceiling and wrapped it around light fixtures and any where else there might be a nook or cranny where it would fit. Fun, fun, fun!!!
The house would be filled with aunts and uncles and cousins and friends and classic Christmas tunes from Dad's state of the art stereo system (big as a full-size couch and had a 3-speed turntable. Yep.)
The two highlights of every Christmas Eve party were the arrival of Santa and being allowed to open one precious, precious gift from under the tree.
Santa's arrival was always awaited with longing and hope and a little tinge of fear, too. Every adult there had to remind you of Santa's impending arrival at least once when you spoke to them. "Have you been good? Santa's coming to the party later, you know!" Yeh. Liiiiiitle tinge of fear. I never doubted that I had made Santa's "Good" list----until it was time to meet him face to face. But when he did arrive he was always jolly and kind and boisterous and you didn't want him to leave. But he had a busy night ahead, so he needed to get going. And I never DID get to see the reindeer. But some (slightly tipsy) relative or other would always assure me that THEY had seen them, in all their glory, Rudolph in the lead, parked with the sleigh on the roof or the hillside. In fact, I remember Dad coming in one Christmas morn (stone cold sober, mind you) saying that there were inexplicable deer tracks all OVER the hillside by the house. And so the legend lived on. :0)
When all of the guests had parted, we would be allowed the incredibly exciting privilege of opening one of our gifts. This made the early, anxious desire for the guests to arrive gradually change into a secret longing for the party to be over. Then it was time to choose the gift. Oh, the pressure, the anxiety of choosing which gift to open! Feverishly but oh-so-respectfully was the gift pile picked through (NO furious digging or you had to wait until morning!!)to find each precious item with my name on it. Absolutely exquisite, suspenseful joy! The gift was unwrapped and all the happiness that only a kid at Christmastime can feel was experienced. There really IS nothing like being a kid on Christmas.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Thanksgiving 2008
I arrived at the farm a day early to help with the preparations and try to squeeze in a little hunting.
I was there to fetch and carry and clean, but Mom and Dad really have the holiday feast making down to a science. Mom has her handy-dandy list of what will be made and when it will be made and crosses off each dish as it comes to the final stages of preparation. It's like clockwork, man.
And I learned some things. Did you know that pea salad should not be put together until the day it is to be served? Well, it's true. If you prepare it too early, it will form an unappetizing puddle on top. And I was astounded by the amount of tasty bread stuffing that can be crammed into the body cavity of a 22lb bird. I've never seen the likes of it. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, my folks are absolute master turkey-stuffers.
The meal was perfect. Tender foul, perfectly seasoned stuffing, rich gravy, green bean casserole with those little crunchy onions on top, candied sweet potatoes, tart/sweet homemade cranberry relish, fluffy mashed potatoes. And did I mention the whole buffet table piled high with fresh baked desserts?
Twenty-five guests, friends and family all, descended upon the household around 2pm and by 4pm they were gone again, other than the immediate family. All full and happy and content.
It was a great day. There was just so much to be thankful for. Family and food and the freedom to enjoy it all together.
I was able to get in to the woods twice, but didn't see a thing. And while I would love to have some fresh venison to put in the freezer, it was wonderful just to have the opportunity to sit quietly in the woods for a few hours. It is a very good thing to quietly blend into the woods and just watch nature exist around you for a while.
Here are a few pictures from the holiday. I'll be adding more later:
I was there to fetch and carry and clean, but Mom and Dad really have the holiday feast making down to a science. Mom has her handy-dandy list of what will be made and when it will be made and crosses off each dish as it comes to the final stages of preparation. It's like clockwork, man.
And I learned some things. Did you know that pea salad should not be put together until the day it is to be served? Well, it's true. If you prepare it too early, it will form an unappetizing puddle on top. And I was astounded by the amount of tasty bread stuffing that can be crammed into the body cavity of a 22lb bird. I've never seen the likes of it. Apparently, unbeknownst to me, my folks are absolute master turkey-stuffers.
The meal was perfect. Tender foul, perfectly seasoned stuffing, rich gravy, green bean casserole with those little crunchy onions on top, candied sweet potatoes, tart/sweet homemade cranberry relish, fluffy mashed potatoes. And did I mention the whole buffet table piled high with fresh baked desserts?
Twenty-five guests, friends and family all, descended upon the household around 2pm and by 4pm they were gone again, other than the immediate family. All full and happy and content.
It was a great day. There was just so much to be thankful for. Family and food and the freedom to enjoy it all together.
I was able to get in to the woods twice, but didn't see a thing. And while I would love to have some fresh venison to put in the freezer, it was wonderful just to have the opportunity to sit quietly in the woods for a few hours. It is a very good thing to quietly blend into the woods and just watch nature exist around you for a while.
Here are a few pictures from the holiday. I'll be adding more later:
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