My sister and I had the great good fortune of being raised by two parents who grew up in the height of the Great Depression. Mom came from a family of seven children, my dad came from a family with eight. Putting a roof over their heads and food on the table was the big concerns – not buying toys for Christmas.
My dad told me that his most exciting Christmas as a child was when he got four pieces of candy and a whole orange just for himself – he didn’t have to share with his brothers. Mom said when she was twelve her older sister got bought her a pair of roller skates, they were used but still worked fine! She would get tears in her eyes when she talked about it.
Gratefully there was plenty of love in those families to go around, and everyone was poor then so they ended up with only good memories. But they both also dreamed of extravagant Christmases. Their goal, as my sister and I came along, was to give us the Christmas of their dreams – and they did it!
When I was growing up the ‘living room’ was for grown-ups’ only – with the exception of Christmas time. And Christmas mornings were so special. The living room could be completely closed off. There was the hall door, and one in the little den when we sat as a family and watched TV in the evening. I have no doubt that we got our parents up and a completely unreasonable hour and once we finally got Daddy out of bed, it was his job to go in and see if Santa had come. You see, as we were told, if Santa had come, Daddy would turn on the lights, if he hadn’t then we would all go back to bed. What was really happening, we learned as we got older, was that Daddy was getting his 8mm camera, with its huge flood lights, ready to film us coming in.
The light flooding the room made it as bright and sparkly as Disneyland. Stocking on the mantel overflowed, wrapped packages stacked to great heights sat under and behind the tree, and the amazing gifts from Santa sat unwrapped and dazzling in front of the tree. The two depression era children smiled and watched, as they saw their dreams fulfilled.
The Christmases with my children when they were little were also wonderful – they still are, even if they seldom happen on Christmas day anymore. But few things match the magic of childhood memories. For those of you who celebrate Christmas, what are some of your childhood memories? I’d love to read them if you have a blog, or you’re welcome to leave them in the comments if you’d like.
Hi PK, what wonderful childhood Christmas memories! This really made me smile. There's nothing like the excitement and magic of Christmas as a child. I wish it lasted through adulthood lol
ReplyDeleteHugs
Roz
I don't guess anything can be as special and exciting as it was when we were children. But it makes for great memories.
DeleteI'll share one of my favourite memories right here..
ReplyDeleteMy dad was a scary sort of dad.... but as a grandfather he was amazing!! I remember a Christmas when my eldest daughter was just a lil one (maybe 3 or 4 years old) ... My mom and I were in the kitchen getting dinner ready on Christmas Eve and we could hear my dad's voice softly talking. I peaked around the kitchen to the living room to see both my dad and my eldest lying under the tree - with their feet sticking out ....... and Dad was weaving a story about the fairies dancing in the tree. It was a picture perfect moment one I still treasure (as you can tell)
What a wonderful memory! That a good one for you and your daughter.
DeleteMy dad worked the midnight shift and so it was up to Mom to get everything ready for Christmas morn. The tree was never decorated until Christmas Eve. Like PK, we had a living room that was behind closed pocket doors so Christmas presents and tree were in that room. One year, when I was about 8 and Santa was no longer a belief, Mom asked if I would help her decorate the tree. I felt so grown up and special.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great transition from little kid believing to a much more grown-up helper.
Deleteoh this made me smile! the best memories of Christmas for me was every year we would get decked out and head off to Midnight Mass where we would sing with the choir. I played the church organ, and then after Mass as many of us as possible would cram into the cars of the people who drive and all head back to my parents' home where the partying and feasting would continue till the wee hours of the morning. Those who didn't manage to squeeze into the cars would grab a cab or two and meet us back home. My family was given priority when it came to car pooling cos someone had the open the door, and also, MUM NEEDED TO GET BACK ASAP to warm up whatever pies or curries needed warming up! It was very very festive and mum and dad were very happy to have guests. I would go to bed exhausted and sleep till noon on Christmas day!
ReplyDeleteThat sound like such a wonderful memory - and exciting party to look forward to each year.
DeleteWow, these are precious memories! The love just oozes off the page. It warms my heart as to how much thought went into making this such an all-encompassing experience - it was not only about the presents. Your parents created a feeling of warmth of specialness. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteIt was a loving experience - and they were just as exciting and happy as we kids were.
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