Maybe it was my Xmas program at work tonight or reading Jordan’s latest post, but I’m suddenly feeling a little more Christmasy…
I feel like with my kind of Christmas changing so much in the past couple of years, it’s important for me to remember the Christmas’s of my childhood. First of all at my kind of Christmas, gifts from family are opened Christmas Eve evening, after dark. I remember setting the microwave timer for so many minutes (when Mom and Dad thought it would be dark) and ripping into the presents as soon as it beeped. I would literally be sitting there, 1st present in hand waiting on the sound. Presents from Santa and stockings would be under the tree on Christmas morning. All toys would be pre-assembled and ready for play! (That’s how I figured out there wasn’t a Santa, but we’ll discuss that later.) The stockings began being stuffed Christmas Eve after presents once I caught on to the fake Santa thing. At my kind of Christmas you have Ham, Macaroni Salad, Cheeseball and finger foods on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day you have Turkey and all the fixins.
I remember one Christmas, I think I was in Kindergarten or 1st grade, I got a play kitchen and all the extras. My Dad was really sick that year so we weren’t able to go to my grandparents in Illinois and they weren’t able to make the trip down. We filmed the whole Xmas so we could send it to Granny and Paps. My Dad set up the camera in my bedroom and I cooked dinner for them. It’s the cutest thing EVER! I’ll have to see if my Granny still has it so i can post it here. I talked to the camera the whole time. I asked them if they needed Salt or Pepper. It was great!
That video also captured one of the many Christmas traditions, Sara’s Modeling Show. Every year from about the age of 3 until probably 14 0r 15, I would be asked to model all the clothes I got for Christmas. The older I got, the more embarrassing.
Now, about the figuring out the Santa facade. It was 1993 (I think?). There was a TON of family at our house, so I had to sleep on a roll out bed just next to the living room in a hallway. I had a hard time falling asleep because my Uncle Mike was on the couch sawing logs. Honestly, I had on headphones and my pillow over my head and I could still hear him. I just knew that Santa wasn’t gonna come because I wasn’t asleep. While laying there restless, I heard some noise coming from another bedroom. Couldn’t be Santa. He would be coming down the chimney. So I took off the headphones and pillow and listened as hard as I could. Then I heard it. My Dad was fussing trying to put together my Barbie House. I knew from that day on there was no Santa. I didn’t tell my parents until years later.
