Making Memories

Travelin'Oma has an excellent post on traditions here. She took the words right out of my mouth.

When I was a girl, Christmas morning never varied. I woke up long before dawn, squirming in anticipation in my room until 7:00 a.m. when my siblings and I were allowed to wake up our parents. Then we waited while my parents got the coffee started. I think those were the longest ten minutes of every year for me. After that interminable wait, we were allowed to open our stockings and see what Santa left us.

After we went through our stockings, we had more hurry-up-and-wait time. My parents made a big breakfast: eggs, bacon, toast, and a very special pastry that my mom made every year. We sat down to eat – being admonished not to rush. Then, finally, when it felt like it must be at least midnight and every child in the world had already finished with Christmas, we began opening gifts. We opened them one at a time, all of us ooh-ing and ah-ing over each other’s gifts. If a neighbor stopped by to wish us a Merry Christmas the process was put on hold until they left. Oh wait! I forgot—when we were young we took time out before or during the gift opening to go to Christmas mass. Later, when my youngest brother was considered old enough, we went to mass on Christmas Eve instead. That made Christmas morning move along a little bit faster. We didn’t usually finish until at least noon.

I love Christmas, and all things Christmas. I could listen to Christmas music all year long. I love the spirit of giving, and the concentration of time spent with loved ones. I can’t remember a time I didn’t feel that way about Christmas. But I never loved this long, drawn out part of Christmas morning, and I determined when I was young that I would only keep the parts of it I liked when I had a home of my own.

So, that’s what we’ve done in our family. Much to my children’s chagrin, we did keep the part about not waking the parents until 7:00 a.m. Then we open the stockings. After the stockings: breakfast. But here’s where we differ. I’m no longer Catholic, so we don’t go to church on Christmas morning unless Christmas falls on a Sunday. I have a breakfast casserole cooking from the time we all get up. I also have caramel pecan pull-aparts cooking. After the stocking time we set out the food, and everyone can fill their own dish, and eat when they want. That way no one goes hungry, but the gift opening process gets to move right along. We still open gifts one at a time (usually in reverse age order). But we end up with lots of time the rest of the day for playing games together, reading and relaxing, and just being together as a family.

Now three of my four children are married and have children of their own. I’m sure they will glean the traditions they want to keep, and add their own to the mix. This is my idea of what a great tradition is: making fabulous memories together. If it means changing a few (or a lot) of details along the way, that’s okay. Then a new tradition is started!

(Now I’ll have to jot down on my “to-write” list some of the other traditions in our family that have evolved over the years…)