Christmas in our Hearts

Christmas is done big at my parent’s house, one of the many reasons that I love coming home for Christmas. The eating starts a good week before. The pile of presents under the tree grows each day as my Mom continues to pull out more from her stash in the closet. Baking doesn’t stop, because all of us fear that “we don’t have enough cookies” when we figure out all of the platters we have to make; obviously, a freezer full is just never enough. Our extended family is close, and we all make the effort to be together during the holidays even though we all have families of our own now. For as long as I can remember, my grandparents had brunch at their house Christmas morning, but this year they moved it to the Sunday before and it worked out great, with kids running everywhere, people filling whatever chairs they can find, talking and laughing and eating for about 6 hours straight. 

 We wake up Christmas morning to a beautiful white Christmas. There is something almost magical about a White Christmas. All the songs sing of it and when you experience it, you know why.

 My Grandparents arrive to watch us open our gifts, but not before Mom makes pancakes and we all sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. This is a family tradition that reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas. And also allows us to eat pancakes, always a good thing!

 The present opening takes time, because we do not all open at once in a chaotic manner. One person at a time, so we can all see what each other got and ooh and ahh over it. Presents take no less than 2 hours, and we cherish the moments together.  Accusations of “SHE’S HOARDING!” are yelled out often, which implies that someone has a rather large pile and hasn’t opened in a while, because they want to save them until the last possible moment. My Mom smiles bigger than she does all year, because she gets to watch us all open with delight and thankfulness. My dad buys my Mom his usual gifts—shampoo and deodorant from the Dollar Tree, a calculator with huge numbers and measuring cups, and saves the beautiful diamond necklace and pearl ring for the end. They both laugh hysterically the whole time, because they are the best sports ever.

When we start to feel sad that present time is done, we remember that there are still stockings to open and then all is right in the world. Because stockings are, without a doubt, the absolute best part of opening presents.

After presents are over, we attempt to clean up and usually eat the Peanut Butter Tree that was in our stocking, because it’s Christmas after all, and you must eat chocolate at breakfast time. The kids play with their toys, happy and content, and we sisters continue to compare what we got, try on clothes, and talk about how we will use our gifts. It’s glorious, the way the family is in complete harmony and happiness. My dad is usually saying “It’s all over”, and we argue, “No, we still have Poppy”, because he’s coming over later for Christmas dinner. He’s been in Florida for the holidays for over 20 years, so the fact that we get to spend it with him this year is really special to all of us.

 He arrives with shrimp, Grandma Roma’s Eggplant Parmesan and a beautiful Rum cake, and bags of presents for the kids.  My dad’s beef ribs have been on the smoker since the early morning hours, and they come out, cooked to perfection. The table is set and we do something we never have before: enjoy a formal Christmas dinner. This Christmas was full of “non-traditional” according to how we normally do things, but I’ve learned that different isn’t worse. In fact, it’s usually just as fun if not better. We stuff ourselves once again and stay around the table for a while.

The best thing about Christmas is that when it's surrounded with love, family and giving, the spirit lasts so much longer than 24 hours. December 25th only comes once a year, but the warmth stays in our hearts all year long.