When I saw the quote from Laura Ingalls Wilder about childhood memories, it got me thinking about Christmas during my childhood. Every child should be able to experience the magic of the season—Santa Claus bringing gifts, Christmas programs at church and school, baking Christmas cookies—traditions that become so ingrained that they carry them into adulthood to pass on to their own children.
Some say the holidays have changed over the years, and I know to a certain degree that is true, but some things remain the same. Let’s start with the most essential part of decorating: the Christmas tree. In my childhood, we went to the Christmas tree farm. After tromping through snow and checking out several trees, we finally selected one that met my mother’s approval. My dad would cut it down, haul it back to the car, tie it to the roof, and we drove home.
The debate over which tree to select always involved a discussion wherein my mother didn’t think it was tall enough or full enough, and my dad claimed it was too large and wouldn’t fit. We wouldn’t know for a while because we usually purchased it early in the month. The tree went into a bucket of water in the garage to keep it from drying out until a week before Christmas. That is when it was carried into the house and placed in the stand. Dad usually had to cut more off the base for it to clear the ceiling. One year, my mother kept thinking all the trees were too skinny. The one we brought home was so big around it took a massive chunk out of the living room.
Christmas, age one
My mother always insisted the tree sit in the living room for 24 hours to let the branches drop before we began decorating. The large, hot lights were strung on before we hung ornaments. Ornament placement was a procedure taught by my mother. Stand back from the tree and look for a spot needing an ornament. Once all the ornaments were on the tree, the garland and tinsel were applied. The trees of my childhood had a lot of sparkle, but the ornaments couldn’t be easily seen through all the add-ons.
Eventually, we went to an artificial tree, which allowed us to put it up earlier, and there wasn’t a rush to get it down after the holiday due to dry, dropping needles. That brought a switch to the small, cool bulbs, and we eliminated garland and tinsel. Now, our ornaments were easily seen, which, over time, I grew to prefer. Photos of trees with tinsel still make me smile with memories of days gone by.
When Hallmark began their yearly dated ornaments, my mother started a tradition of purchasing a dated ornament each year for my sister and me. When I married, I had a wonderful collection of ornaments for my tree. I continued the tradition with my own children and now my grandchildren. Although I sold most of my ornaments in an estate sale when I left my home to live and travel full time in a motorhome, I have been buying some ornaments, plus making photo ornaments of places I visit. Someday, when I stop traveling, I will once again have a Christmas tree and decorate it with my travel memories.
My mother did not enjoy baking, but every year, she made sugar cookies cut into shapes for my sister and me to decorate. As a child, I loved the red cinnamon candies, so I used them for the bell clappers, reindeer noses, and plenty when decorating Christmas trees. When my kids were little, we also decorated sugar cookies, and they were also heavy-handed with red cinnamon dots. To this day, I love sugar cookies, especially at Christmas time.
Notice the tinsel on the Christmas tree
While I don’t have a lot of other Christmas tradition memories, we always went “up north,” meaning to Traverse City, Michigan, to visit both sets of grandparents during the holidays. We stayed with my maternal grandparents and would go to the tree lot to purchase and decorate a tree for their house. One year, my dad laid the tree we bought between the snowmobiles on the trailer. As he was driving, he suddenly realized the tree was missing! We never found it as we returned to the tree lot; the guy running the lot gave us our next tree for free. I remember my dad saying he hoped whoever picked it up couldn’t afford one.
When it comes to childhood memories, who can forget the splendor of seeing the tree on Christmas morning with all the gifts below it and stockings full of goodies. The beauty of the gifts sparkling under the lights, the anticipation of what is inside each wrapped package that Santa brought. That is the magic of Christmas, the memories of childhood.
As an adult, it is the anticipation of seeing your child’s face when they experience the season’s magic and the pleasure of knowing you made it possible. That is because Santa lives in every one of us; we create the magic.
Let me here about some of your magical Christmas memories in the comment box below.
--- LIFE IS A MELTING POT --- Grace Grogan...Writer, Photographer 