Christmas Traditions

Every Christmas Eve was spent at Grandma’s house. There was much anticipation about what goodies we would find covering the table in the dining room. Now that I am an adult I’m sure she was in that kitchen for two weeks baking her heart out for as much as was on that table. Fudge, divinity, cookies, and the list goes on!
All of the parents would buy a small gift, wrap it up and get it to the designated Santa (who was usually my step-father). All of the kids would be playing in Grandma’s closet, or in her room, while the parents visited in the warm and cozy living room.
At some point in the night we would hear the sleigh bells ringing, Santa’s coming!! We would all run out and tell the parents ( as if they didn’t know) that Santa was headed for Grandma’s roof top. Santa would come in the back door since Grandma had a insert in her stove. He would pass all the different packages out to all of the kids and question them about their year’s behavior, and we were all perfect angels of course.
Years later after Grandma’s passing, the Christmas gatherings stopped. Grandmas house was sold and the traditional family meeting place was no longer there.
My Grandma has been gone for about 19 years now. After the wonderful thing of the internet I have reacquainted with several of my cousins and a few aunts. When Grandma dies, it’s a wonderful idea to just move the gathering to another home instead of letting the family take different directions and losing so much time.
Have a Merry Christmas. Enjoy your family’s traditions and think about starting some new ones while you’re at it.
- Donna

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