The View From Here – What Does Christmas Mean To You?

Every Christmas I think I get a little more nostalgic.

I feel so blessed to have such great memories of the holidays growing up.  Christmas was so special.

It meant family.  Which also meant mom got really serious with the house cleaning and us kids suddenly had to do chores without complaining – because if we did, we might upset Santa and get ourselves on the naughty list, and nobody wants that!

I can still hear her voice in my head “company is coming!  we have to clean up!”

My mom loved holidays and always made them special.   It’s probably what I miss the most having her gone.   

I remember the

yearly family trip to find a tree.  I have memories of a White Rose?  Or something similar.  Decorating the tree.  The fights that ensued.  (smile) The mess of tinsel.   Those Christmas bubble lights.

I remember sitting around the kitchen table as a kid,  breaking bread into crumbs for stuffing that we never ate.

Baking Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve,  a gingerbread house which my mom made from scratch.  The thought of that right now makes me want to cry.  (smile).  So much work.  (ha ha ha)

I remember driving around to look at the lights. Big family dinners and those silly Christmas crackers paper hats.

Such great memories. Makes me miss it all. Makes me miss my family so much.

I love seeing my kids all excited about Christmas. The tree, the presents, the dinner, the lights, the movies, the cookies.

It feels good to know that they love all that I loved about it.

They are excited about the little things more than the presents and I love that.

That’s what we have to hold onto right now the most.

Those little things.

And maybe we can’t see each other this year.  Maybe we can’t have the big family dinner with the silly Christmas cracker paper hats.  But we can still find those small things that make us happy.  We can still watch Christmas movies and tour the lights, and bake Christmas cookies on Christmas Eve.  And we will find a way to stay close and feel connected on Christmas.

This pandemic has taken so much.  Too much.  There is no way I’m letting it steal my Christmas joy.

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan