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Just things I wonder about ... and some people are nice enough to answer. You are welcome to answer, too ... just click on "Comments" and off you go! IF you don't want to be Anonymous, use the Name/URL option and just put in your name ... no URL required .... Starting Jan 28th, 2009, I am using questions from "Table Topics: Right or Wrong?"
7 comments:
When I was a kid, it was:
- Decorate the tree Christmas Eve
- Open 1 gift Christmas Eve
- Listen to record of "A Christmas Carol" Christmas Eve (it scared the crap out of me)
- Our stockings would be on the end of our beds Christmas morning, for us to play with and let Mom & Dad sleep in.
- Mom served oatmeal for breakfast and we had to eat it (none of my brothers liked it, but I did)
- After breakfast, we could open our gifts. Dad would sit near the tree and pass them out - he always saved his for last.
Excellent times and better memories
When I was growing up ...
Christmas Eve: Had some family and friends over for a Lasagna Dinner .... homemade Lasagna, Garlic Bread, salad with homemade 1000 island dressing ... and mint ice cream from dessert. Each child got to open ONE present.
Christmas Day: Stockings were retrieved usually by 5:00am ... kids played "quietly" with stocking stuff. Mom and dad were up by 6:00am ... and we would do presents. THEN ... we would host or attend a Morning Brunch with Mom's side of the family AND after that we would host or attend a huge Turkey Dinner with Dad's side of the family.
I grew up in rural Northern Illinois ... so usually there was snow ... and most of my relatives lived very close by (a 7 miles radius or so) .... lots of cousins near our ages ... good times ...
I grew up in places from Japan to Texas to Germany. Christmas Eve we went to Mass (usually at a base chapel) and came home. The kids got to open one present, then to bed. Christmas morning my brother and sister had to wait until I got up (I'm a night person) to open gifts. My parents liked it that way because they liked to sleep late. When I woke, Mom passed out gifts as Dad watched. We shreaded many a living room. Then we ate breakfast and cleaned up the room. After breakfast, if we were near, we'd go to the relatives for the day, otherise we'd stay home and play with our Christmas loot.
When I was a kid, 100 yrs ago, my dad loved Christmas, and on Christmas Eve we would all pile into the car, and go looking for Santa. After supper we kids would all have to go sit on the basement stair, and sing carols while Santa made his visit. We could here stomping feet, and ho, ho, ho, then pretty soon we could all come into the living room, and there would be all our gifts. We opened them, then got ready for Midnight Mass. The next day we would play with our gifts while Mom prepared a big turkey dinner. All the cousins, and whoever else would come for dinner, and usually Dad would take us all sledding in the afternoon.
We always went to midnight services and then the adults would open gifts. Then a group would set up Santa Claus and the rest would do an all night Monopoly game.
HEY, HEY, YOU FINALLY FOUND SOMETHING THAT WAS FUN AND I REMEMBER. WEEK OR SO BEFORE THE BIG DAY ONE OF THE OLDEST BROTHERS
WOULD LOAD UP US YITTLE ONES AND WE TOOK OFF LOOKING FOR A TREE. IN
IOWA SOME OF THE 'HILLY' FARMS HAD
TREES GROWING WILD OUT IN THE PASTURE. WE WOULD FINALLY SPOT ONE ABOUT THE SIZE WE WANTED, UP TO THE FARMERS HOUSE TO ASK FOR IT AND
USUALLY THEY WOULD SAY TAKE 10.
BIG DEAL TO CUT IT DOWN, TIE IT ON THE CAR,GET IT HOME, MAKE A BASE AND INTO THE HOUSE. ORNAMENT TIME,
AND THE OLD SERIES LIGHT BULBS [ONE
OUT--ALL OUT]. CHRISTMAS EVE WAS--
GET TO BED SO SANTA CAN COME--HE USALLY SHOWED UP AFTER---????? THEN A BIG SISTER WOKE UP ALL THE YITTLE ONES AND IT WAS A RACE TO THE TREE TO GET OUR PRESENTS. AFTER EVERYTHING HAD BEEN OPENED AND CHECKED OUT IT WAS BACK TO BED,
LONG ABOUT 2 OCLOCK. THE OLDER BROS.& SISTERS SHOWED UP THE NEXT
MORNING AND THEN WE PLOWED INTO THE
MEAL OF THE YEAR. BIG DEBATE FOR
ME WAS FINISH WITH MINCE MEAT OR
PUMPKIN PIE.
WITH ALL THOSE,AND MORE, MEMORIES
TODAYS 'COFFEE SHOP' HAD NEVER HEARD OF MINCE MEAT PIE. HOW MUCH
WORSE WILL THIS OLD AGE GET???? TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE.
Christmas Eve during the evening Mum would put out dishes of candies and nuts. This signalled to us that Christmas had begun as we were not typically allowed treats.
Christmas morning my Father, youngest brother and I would head out at 6am to a village in the country where his best friend ( my uncle Johnny) and his family lived.
This are some of the very best memories of my childhood.
We would be greeted warmly and have pop and snacks as the grown ups reminisced about Christmasses past. After staying about an hour, we would return home to open gifts and Mum would have finished prepping the dinner which would be served at noon.
After dinner the Christmas Tree Fairy would have left a small gift on the tree for each of us.
Then usually I would find an excuse to take a walk along our street ( going nowhere!) and just look in all the windows and enjoy the decorations.
We rarely had anyone else join us, so the day was very quiet...
But NOW....oh boy, my Christmasses are noisy and crazy and festive and filled with food and laughter and the company of family and friends.
I luff Christmas.
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