The stockings are empty. Beneath the Christmas tree is a stray ribbon the cats have picked as their Christmas present, and a few torn pieces of gift wrap that didn’t make it into the trashcan. The trashcans are bulging, as are the bellies of everyone in the household. Another Christmas is winding down, another year is almost over.
Now that the craziness of the holidays is behind me, this is when I sit back and reminisce with my family. While playing board and card games, we talk about our favorite memories of Christmases past, while creating new memories for the future.
When I was a kid, we celebrated Christmas Eve at my paternal grandparents house. The moment I walked in their door it felt like Christmas. Every inch of their house was decorated with Christmas scenes. My favorite was the Christmas town complete with a frozen over lake where ice skaters frolicked and played. I would sit and stare at that and imagine myself as one of the figures, forever captured in the holiday spirit.
My grandparents’ tree was so tall it touched the ceiling, and the presents didn’t fit under the tree—they spread out covering almost the entire floor in the living room. My grandma and papa had a table set up with a dozen different types of Christmas cookies on it and a box of See’s Candy. We’d snack and nibble until dinnertime, which was always a huge feast, before we all crammed into the present-packed living room, climbing over gift boxes and overstuffed stockings to find a place to sit, then we passed out presents and made lots of noise as we all opened our gifts.
My grandma and papa are gone now, but the memories are still strong. In my family we do our best to continue the traditions of a large family get together, with all the cookies and gifts and loud family exuberance. No matter what else is going on in our lives, we come together for the holidays and we celebrate the love and joy of being together. I want my son to have the same special memories of the holidays that I do.
I have one extra stop I make every year on Christmas Eve now. The cemetery where my grandparents are buried. I go and thank them for the life they helped build for me, and the unconditional love they gave me every day. Even though they’re gone, through the memories and love they gave me, they will always be a part of my holiday.
I hope everyone had a holiday full of love and family, and that the warm memories you created stay with you for all the years to come.
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