Happy Christmas Eve, my friends! This used to be my most favorite day of the whole year. I say "used to" because things have changed quite a bit. Let's speak of tradition, shall we? My family is steeped in tradition, and I am not a fan of change. I want to raise my kids the way I was raised, no exceptions, no matter how silly that may sounds.
So this is what my childhood Christmas Eve/Christmas Day looked like...
Spend the day playing in my room or reading, trying to stay out of mom's way as she cleaned the house. At some point I would wrap my presents for my brother and my parents. At 5pm, we would go to church. A Lutheran Christmas Eve service in our church was pretty painless..about 40 minutes of Christmas songs...but for a kid on Christmas Eve it lasted FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER. When we got home, Dad would set out the Swiss Colony Buffet. Every year he would order various cheese, meats, crackers, dips and dessert from Swiss Colony. We also would usually have those cocktail weinies in barbecue sauce. Grandma and Grandpa would come over at about 6:30. We would eat our buffet with coffee and iced tea, and then my brother J and I would spend a good 20 minutes rushing the adults and begging for presents. Then we'd all gather in the porch, and J and I would give our parents our gifts, and then we'd exchange gifts to each other, too. Mom and Dad always gave us two gifts on Christmas Eve, the "non-Santa" gifts. One was always a pair of pajamas and one was always a calendar. Sometimes Grandma and Grandpa would give us a family gift that night...usually a kitchen gadget...quesadilla maker, or espresso maker, etc.
So then after some chatting, Grandma and Grandpa would leave. J and I would put on our new pajamas and settle in on the couch in front of the fireplace downstairs, which would now have a roaring fire in it (when did he do that?? It must have been when J and I were distracted with Grandma and Grandpa). Then he would read "The Night Before Christmas" to us. The copy of the book was ancient, I think it must have been his when he was a kid. I hope he still has it. After that we left cookies and milk out for Santa, and a carrot on the deck for the reindeer, then it was off to bed for us. When we were kids, J would always sleep in my room on Christmas Eve. We'd stay up as late as we could, talking about Santa and presents. A few years, we even heard the reindeer on the roof! (my dad actually went outside and threw pebbles on the roof...the magic of Christmas was very important to him!) My parents left the radio on all night long...the station that played Christmas music. I suppose this was so that it was harder for us to hear them wrapping, stuffing, and assembling downstairs! J and I would usually wake up at about 4:30 or 5, and our allowed time to leave the room and wake up mom and dad was 6am. We always snuck out anyway, though...and it's one of my favorite memories. Slowly, slowly opening the door so that we weren't busted....our eyes adjusting to the dark and then looking over to the lit-up Christmas tree, hearing the carols on the radio...then looking over to the couch, where our stockings and presents were stacked...a pile for each of us...we would look at each other and whisper "Whoa!" Then we would ever so slowly tiptoe into the living room..we counted presents but didn't touch anything. Then we would peek into the kitchen and see that the cookies were gone! Santa took the cookies! And peeking outside...the carrot! It was half eaten! And there were reindeer tracks in the snow! Wow! Sometimes my dad heard us sneaking around up there and would stick his head up the stairs (their bedroom was downstairs) and say "hey! back to bed with you two! It's not time yet!" and we'd scatter back to my room, giggling all the way..then I'd read books to J until it was time to get up. At 6am we'd burst out of the room and run downstairs..sometimes banging on the piano on the way down. "It's time, mom and dad! Wake up! It's Christmas! Wake up!" My parents, who were usually up until 2 in the morning wrapping and stuffing stockings and exchanging presents to each other, would bound out of bed, my mom would hug both of us and say "let's go see what Santa left! Do you think he came?" and I would undoubtedly say "He did! He did, the carrot is half-eaten!" not even realizing that I had just admitted to sneaking out of the room. We would all go upstairs, Mom and Dad bleary-eyed in robes, Dad would start the coffee. After the coffee was dripping, we were allowed to start opening our stockings. My parents went all out on stockings. My mom made them, and they are really long and really stretchy...they fill them so that the goods are spilling over the top, and then they surround each stocking with unwrapped gifts, too. So J and I would open stockings at the same time while mom and dad watched. There's a specific smell that I remember about the stockings..they always put fruit in the bottom, so it was a combination of the fruit and chocolate and the yarn. Then, after stockings and about three cups of coffee each for mom and dad and sometimes one for me (yeah, I started drinking coffee when I was three)it was present time. J and I would take turns opening a present..we always tried to stretch it out as long as we could. The Christmas music would still be playing, and dad would be taking pictures in between gulps of coffee. After presents, mom and dad would open their stockings. Then, dad would clean up the shredded wrapping paper, J and I would play with our new stuff, and mom would go back to bed for awhile.
At about 9am, we'd go over to my Grandma and Grandpa Nygren's house. Grandma would have Christmas breakfast cooking, and I'd go into the kitchen to help her make the orange smoothies. We'd listen and sing to "C'mon Ring Those Bells" while we worked. Since she died last year, this song makes me cry when I hear it. Which is often since I burned it onto a CD. Before we ate, we all did stockings. The stockings at my Grandma and Grandpa's house are handknit by my great grandma. There'd be Christmas music playing downstairs and the tree would be all lit up and the couches and chairs were filled with all ten of our stockings. We'd find our own and tear into them....then we'd put all the stuff into plastic shopping bags that Grandma passed around, then we went upstairs to eat. Always the same breakfast...cinnamon rolls with green frosting and cherries(which my dad is going to try to replicate this year..grandma didn't leave her recipe!), the orange smoothies, coffee, canadian bacon, egg bake, fruit, and cheesey potatoes. After us kids finished eating (me and J and our cousin J, and later L came along) we would sit at the table and beg to open presents. We had to wait until the adults were done eating and "until Grandma says OK". After what seemed like an eternity, Grandma would smile and say "OK!" and we'd scramble downstairs. Being the oldest grandkid, it was my duty to pass out all the presents under the tree, a duty that I took very seriously. I would always pile mine up by the fireplace, because I liked to sit with my back to the warm fire. After presents were passed out, we'd go around and take turns...youngest opens first and all the way up to Grandpa. This made it take a long time. To this day I feel a twinge of anxiety when I'm in a situation where everyone opens presents all at once..I'm like "Wait! Too fast! I can't see what everyone got! Slow down! Savor Christmas!"
After our presents were opened, we'd sit and chat and I would sometimes fall asleep in front of the fireplace, on the latchhook rug that Grandma made, clutching her Santabear.
At about noon, we'd hug Grandma and Grandpa goodbye and then it was on to Grandma and Grandpa L's house. It was a little more disorderly and chaotic there. First of all, there was seventeen of us, before the youngest cousins were born. We would open our stockings right away, which were handmade by Grandma. Then all the cousins would play for a few hours downstairs. Grandma and Grandpa's whole basement was like one big playroom. Grandma would have trays of fruit, meat and cheese for us to snack on. After a while, we'd go back upstairs and us kids would open presents. Grandma usually got us girls the same things, so we'd all open at the same time. Sometimes she'd get us "big" things, like a scooter. In that case, she would tie a really long red piece of yarn to it, put it downstairs in Grandpa's workshop, and hand us one end of it..we had to follow the yarn to get to the present. After presents, the adults would exchange their presents while my cousins and I would go back downstairs and play dress-up. Grandma had a huge collection of vintage gowns, slips, dresses, hats and purses. Grandpa, my dad and my uncle D would stand out on the deck and smoke a cigar. The smell of cigars still sometimes reminds me of my Grandpa L, who died in 1999.
Then in the late afternoon we would go across the street to Grandma and Grandpa's church. This is where the extended family would meet...my mom's cousins and aunts and uncles and second cousins...probably close to 40 people in all. Everyone would bring a dish, and us cousins would go down to the rec room, it had a pool table and a TV and air hockey. We'd stay there until my mom and dad came down to get me and J to go home. We'd complain and ask for 5 more minutes, and usually my parents would sit on the couch and give us 15 minutes more or so of playing. At this point J was usually about to drop, so my mom would pick him up and he'd fall asleep immediately on her shoulder, and my dad would pick me up, and we'd go out into the cold air and mom and dad would load us into the minivan which was now crammed with presents. We'd fall asleep on the short ride home, and dad would carry us inside and put us into bed.
And so that's it. I'm used to going a million places in one day and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.
These days Christmas Eve is a little different, because J got married and they see R's side of the family on Christmas Eve, and Grandma died, so grandpa won't be coming over, instead my parents are going over to Grandpa's house, and I see my boyfriend's family on Christmas Eve. But it's still my favorite day, and I will still probably be up at 6am tomorrow morning with the giddy anticipation of Christmas Day.
Merry Christmas to all!
I thought I was doing well this Christmas. All of the kids presents were bought and I even wrapped them all. Normally I'm wrapping on Christmas Eve and cursing myself for my procrastination. So..I thought all was good. Then I remembered I have tons of nieces and nephews and never bought anything for them. um. Oops! So there goes my peaceful restful feeling.
The last couple of crafting attempts with the kids ended in toddler tantrums and giant messes. That's what I get for saying that they were working together harmoniously. Karma. I only have one craft scheduled for this weekend. I need the relaxation. I really really do.
I also didn't make any presents this year. Not a one. Remember when I said I was going to do a lot of crafting? Well...I didn't. But I'm OK with that. (Remember Stewart Smalley? " I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog-gonnit...people like me")
Where are you with your holiday plans? Are your cards all sent out? (I still have M and E's card sitting here at my elbow...I'm out of stamps), Presents all wrapped? Bought? Thought of?
I'm always looking for fun things to make with the kids during the entire month of December. We like to load our tree up with as many home-made goodies as possible. I just came across this great origami wreath tutorial: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/2445510/35722764
and think we will have a lot of fun with these. I will probably be doing the construction but they can go hog wild with glitter and glue and stickers. And since they look so simple (and so cheap!) I can make tons of them and they can decorate one for every member of the family!
I want to hear your family crafting ideas. Do you have a favorite craft? Do you have a website that you either run or love that has great ideas?
Oh, goodness. I just read D's update and now I'm feeling all Christmassy and I need to jump in with my own list....
Things I Love About Christmas - Decorating My Grandpa's Tree. It used to be decorating grandma and grandpa's tree, but this is the second Christmas since grandma died. This tradition started when I was three years old. Grandma thought it would be fun for me to come over and decorate her tree. Well, the tradition stuck. Once my brother was born, he joined me, and this will be Year 28 of decorating the tree! We pick a time, and then my brother J and I go over to the house where Grandpa has set up the artificial tree and strung the lights on it. We haul out the christmas ornament box..they have been stored in the same red and green corrugated cardboard box since I was three. The ornaments are stored in layers, wrapped in paper towels and tissue paper. Grandpa turns on the Christmas music and J and I sing along as we go through layers and layers of ornaments and hang them on the tree. We try to put certain ones right in front the bulbs, some always go towards the top of the tree, and there is one special ornament that we fought over as children. It's a heavy purple shimmery orb that is made of volcanic ash. It always has a place of honor on the tree, and when I was six and J was three, Grandma had to start putting a note in the ornament box that said who hung it the year before. It brought tears to my eyes last year when I pulled the paper with her handwriting on it out of the box. After the tree is decorated we always order pizza and eat fresh-baked cookies (which, I might add, Grandpa has done a bang-up job of learning to do the cookie baking that Grandma used to do.) I don't foresee myself giving up this tradition as long as my Grandpa lives. It's peaceful and fun and lovely and one of the best days of the year.
- Cutting Down Our Christmas Tree. As much as I love my old Christmas traditions, I love my new ones too. This will be the third Christmas that T and I have been together. For the past two years, we have driven to a small Christmas Tree farm over the river in Wisconsin. We bring a saw, spend about an hour walking around looking at trees, smelling the trees, and taking goofy pictures. When we finally choose one, we cut it down and drag it on a tarp back to the truck. Then we stop somewhere for hot apple cider (there may or may not be whiskey in this cider) before we go home and put the tree up.
- Christmas Music. In my parent's house growing up, we did not listen to Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving. Ever. Period. The anticipation every year was so exciting! It also killed me a little each year, though, so now that I am an adult I have been known to break out the Christmas music as early as October. I love it all. OK, except that one about the boy and his shoes. I hate that one. A lot. There is a song that my grandma used to have on a record album from 1978..it's called "C'Mon Ring Those Bells", and I'd have to say it's my all-time favorite. I also love the entire Amy Grant Christmas Album, and all the old-fashioned stuff from Bing and Frank. I have been known to stay in a crowded store for an extra 15 minutes just to listen to a little more Christmas music. -
Family. I see almost all the members of my extended family during the Christmas season. It gets hectic, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I see my Uncle B and his kids on the day after Thanksgiving. We all get together at Grandpa's house and play games and eat. On Christmas Eve I see T's family. On Christmas Day I see my parents, my brother and his wife, my nieces, both grandparents, and all my aunts, uncles and cousins.
- Food. This is probably going to be the longest part of this list! Maybe I will try to contain myself. I could discuss Holiday Food for hours. The day after Thanksgiving officially starts The Christmas Season, and for me it kicks off that day with Uncle B's chicken wings. They are so good. They are teriyaki. Not too sweet, not too salty, not too greasy....just perfect. I also love Walgreens brand sugar cookies with sprinkles. They only come out around Christmas and they are wonderful. They used to come in a tub but I think now they are sold in a regular cardboard and cellophane package. I like to buy apple cider and heat it on the stove. On Christmas Eve when I was growing up, we would have Grandma and Grandpa over after church. We would have a buffet-style dinner and it would always involve hot lil' smoky weiners, and things from Swiss Colony. Crackers, cheese, sausage, hot mustard, tortes....Christmas isn't Christmas without Swiss Colony, you know. I plan to continue the Swiss Colony thing this year, even though now we see T's parents on Christmas Eve instead of mine. Christmas breakfast is spent at Grandpa's house. Canadian bacon and cheesy potatoes and orange frosty shakes and green frosted cinnamon rolls. Then by lunchtime we are over at my grandma's house and she has a platter of fruits and cheeses and perfectly salted beef sticks. I think for the rest of my life when I see a platter of sectioned oranges or sliced colby-jack cheese, I'll think of my grandma.
- Smells. I love Christmas candles and air fresheners and potpourri. I love the candy-cane shaped pens that Walgreens sells that have peppermint-scented ink. I love the brisk, cold air on Christmas morning. I love the smell of coffee on Christmas morning. I love the smell of baking cookies.
- Church on Christmas Eve. I like to go to the midnight service. It's quiet, and the music is beautiful. I love singing "Joy To The World" with 75 other people. I love sitting next to my parents in the dark, candlelit service and listening to The Christmas Story. I love holding a candle and singing "Silent Night". I love the peacefullness of it all.
- Christmas Decorations. Holy moly I'm a freak for it. I will buy anything, if it has a Christmas theme. Candles, candle holders, garland, salt and pepper shakers, platters, cheese knives (I have never used a cheese knife in my life) figuirines that I don't have room for, socks, nightlights, napkin rings (I have never used cloth napkins), whatever. When I get old I'm going to be The Crazy Old Christmas Lady. Upon my demise my kids will have to deal with storage garages filled with Christmas decorations.
- The Actual Christmas Story. I think it's nice. I like the story of when Baby Jesus was born.
I could probably go on for another few hours, but I'll spare you and stop. For now. Happy Holidays!
We here at QDM are completely obsessed with Christmas. At least I know for 100% that myslf and M are incredibly geeky over it. (I'll have to wait for E to chime in) We barely make it to Thanksgiving each year with out uploading Christmas songs to our ipods or busting out with "Let it Snow" or "Winter Wonderland" during a long car ride. We stalk Walgreens ads until they put out their Christmas items and then find excuses to stop in so we make sure we walk out with a 50 cent Santa tray large enough to hold one small cookie.
Here is a list of just a few of my favorite things about Christmas:
Candy Canes-they have to be peppermint ones. I'm a Candy Cane Purist. No "Blue Raspberry" for me.
Trees made out of buttons and millions of other random uber-crafty cute items you see.
Walgreens!!!!
Snowmen. Not making them (Refer to a million of my other posts to notice that there's a snowballs chance in Florida for me to be able to make a Snowman)...but the decorations. I'll buy anything if it happens to have a Snowman on it. "oh! Are those used dentures? But I see they have a snowman cleverly stamped on them...how much?"
Bells! Bells! Bells! Oh my goodness. Seriously, guys. I'm sitting here just thinking about bells and getting all giddy!
Cinnamon and pumpkin spice. Cinnamon candles or room deodorizers make me weak. The grocery store currently has boxes of cinnamon brooms near their carts. What a wonderful marketing tool! "Why of course I need to put this in my cart as I'm walking into the store! Wouldn't want to get to the cereal aisle and not smell cinnamon!"
Stockings. You know...I don't actually have one of my own. It's not a big deal to me to not have my own stocking...I just like looking at them.
Paper Snowflakes! -Ever since I learned how to do that neat little folding trick that make your snowflakes look "real" I've been obsessed.
Movies- "It's a Wonderful Life", "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" to name a few.
Driving around looking at lights.-Or even driving home and the kids competing to see who can be the first to point out a house with lights. My oldest children memorized where each house was on the route home last year and would sit in anticipation until they were "legally" allowed to point them out.
But most of all..it's a feeling. There's just this air of "Life is wonderful" around Christmastime. Even when it's really not all that peachy. Even if I'm trying to fill myself with self-pity I catch one whiff of those brooms or see one string of lights and I feel warmth.
I know I've mentioned how much I want to be as crafty as possible this year for Christmas...of course I've put that on the back burner once again. But today I read this wonderful post on Handmade Homeschool (Link: http://handmadehomeschool.wordpress.com ) with a list of great ideas. Some include links to a tutorial, some are just inspiration. Not only is everything on that list something that I'm pretty sure I could do (with the exception of knitting and some sewing) it's full of things that even the least crafty can do. I think when people hear "Handmade" they immediately think they need to knit a sweater. Cookies are homemade! Mixed CDs are homemade! (I love both, by the way! hint hint, wink wink)
The post also has a list of links to other sites that have a wealth of inspiring ideas. In other words: NO EXCUSES! Even if you start small, I bet you can at least make one handmade gift this year.
Here is the link to the actual post: http://handmadehomeschool.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/handmade-holidays/#comments
(I still have no idea how to make my links look right on this site. It's not the simple <a href= stuff)
Cindy of Skip to my Lou was kind enough to point out that Christmas is only a little over 100 days away. Like most wanna-be crafters I usually find myself lost somewhere in the middle of December amidst a mound of crafting supplies with no real gift in sight. So what did this wonderful blogger do? Not only is she planning on supplying us with gift ideas this month but she gave us all this wonderful printable gift organizer in PDF form!
http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/09/01/christmas-is-coming/
Thank you!
(Note to self: Printing this out is Step One...)
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