Christmas Anticipation!
I am sure we all have stories of our youth concerning the
anticipation of Christmas.
I remember my sister and me trying to hide under an end
table in our living room so we could see Santa.
Of course, Mom came and told us Santa knew we were still awake and was
not coming until we were asleep in our own beds. Drat, we thought we had it figured out; but moms
know their kids best. Remembering our
attempt to see Santa is probably why I enjoy the commercial with the children
all sitting on the couch with their headlights illuminating the fireplace. Did we not all want to catch Santa in the
act?
The most exciting stories of anticipation and suspense come
from my husband Michael. His family had
a wonderful tradition that made the expectancy almost too much to tolerate.
Two weeks before Christmas, Michael’s parents would close
off their living room. The house had
wonderful sliding pocket doors separating the dining room from the living room,
making it easy for them to block the access from the dining room. The living room also had a glass panel door with
a key lock separating it from the hall access.
The glass pane was covered on the inside to hide all the activity going
on behind.
To hear my husband talk of the expectation it was almost
more than a child could endure. The days
would slowly tick by as the boys lay on the floor trying to see under the door. Who was in the room? What were they doing? Was it Santa?
Was it his helping elves?
Joey, Michael, and Kevin had a truly exciting Christmas
morning. Finally, the three boys would
come down the steps, still in their PJs to find the hall door slightly ajar
showing ever-changing reflections from the fully lit Christmas tree just beyond
their vision. The boys would enter the
living room to see all the gifts displayed not wrapped. It was like walking into a wonderland of
toys. Being boys, they would find such
delights as forts with soldiers assembled and ready for enjoyment, or a
farmland fully displayed. On one
Christmas morning, it took Kevin nearly 15 minutes to spot the 10-speed Schwinn
bike behind the door the boys opened.
Marguerite, Michael’s mother was a master at decorating
and displaying. So naturally she would
have the Nativity scene displayed, and the stockings were there filled with even
more fascinating wonders. She would also
make exhibits of winter scenes. Like ice
skating figurines on a mirror with cotton laid out to look like snow on the
hillsides around a frozen pond.
I remember one display she gave me. She took a large round inflated balloon and
worked her magic. She soaked string in a
sugar and water solution, and then she would wrap the coated string around and
around the balloon until it took on the appearance of a white globe of lattice
string. Once it was dry, she would pop
the balloon, allowing the string to hold the form. Michael’s dad then cut a circle entrance to
the sphere and flattened one side to stop the sphere from rolling. Again using cotton and miniature figurines Marguerite
would build a display of a town square complete with a Christmas tree. It was a delight and so fascinating.
Her cost effective displays added to the wonder of
Christmas. Not to mention the 144 gross
of cookies she baked. Yes, that is 144 X
144….do the math. She would seal them in
decorative tins with tape to deter the boys from getting into the cookies. This would have worked if Michael and Kevin
had not gone out and purchased their own roll of tape.
Michael and his brothers must have enjoyed those
Christmases of their youth. I know that
I love hearing the stories of how their parents kept the wonder and spirit of
Christmas for everyone to enjoy.
I hope the parents of today are creating such magnificent
memories for their children. It doesn’t
have to cost a lot. It just needs to be
from the heart.
Merry Christmas to all and God Bless!
Jan
