Ghosts of Christmas Past

I was sitting here this morning talking with my students about things they remember from Christmas when they were young.  I had to laugh because they make me feel very old.  Things that I remember they have never heard of.....but then....Barbie was new when I was little.  It was alarming when they said, "what is an LP?"  How sad that this generation does not know what a vinyl LP is.  They have missed out on listening to a record on a record player....complete with that wonderful scratching sound.  After they left I began this post and began thinking of things from Christmas past and thought I would share some with you....before fake trees....back in the days of the real ones....maybe they are ghosts from your past as well.  I remember Christmas morning running in to see what Santa had left and my mom stopping us at the end of the hall....so my dad could get the 8mm movie camera and those atrocious flood lights set so he could film the surprise.  Blinded by the lights my brother and I would stumble into the living room and try and see what we scored from Santa.  Remember this????

My mom would buy a new elf each year to add to our decorations.  We had green, green metallic, white, red, striped, girls, boys....and they were everywhere in our house.  Of course this was before Elf on a Shelf was made popular.  I have to be honest....I wish I had come up with the Elf on a Shelf concept...at 30.00 a pop.

A friend of my mom's made us a ceramic tree with little lights in it.  I thought it was so pretty and my mom finally agreed to let he keep it in my room.  One day it fell off the night stand and broke.  I was so very sad.  My dad glued it back togethet and I used it for many more years.  Somewhere in the moves it disappeared.  I wish I could find another one.

 

Before the decorating of the tree began it was placed in a special tree stand.  It had a hole big enough to add sugar water to the tree every other day.  That was always my job.  I had to mix the sugar and water, shake it, and add it to the tree stand.  I still have this tree stand today, only now it holds my fake tree. Many years ago we discovered that I have allergies to pine and cedar.

 

I have two boxes of the ornaments that used to adorn the tree we had each Christmas.  My father placed each ornament in its proper place each year.  Each light was spaced and each ornament as well perfectly distanced from each other.  I loved our tree.

My dad used the big old fashioned lights.  They had to be colored.  He had some for outdoors he would use to surround the window where the tree was and some for indoors that he used on the tree.  The lights were his job.  My job was to stand on one side and help him as he passed the lights around.  This was my least favorite job.  After messing with the tree I would have huge welts on my arm.

My dad was a tinsel man....no garland....unless it was made from cranberrys and popcorn strung.  I loved the decoration process.  I loved the fact that it was a family event.  Each of us had our part to play. 

After the icicles were hung....one at a time, it was time for the star to be placed.  When I was younger my dad would lift me up so I could place the star and then he would attach the cords.  When I got bigger we took turns.  I loved this part the most.

After the tree was complete we would turn off the lights, drink hot chocolate and stare at the tree.  It was a Wonderful Life.  Later in the day we would sit and watch Christmas movies, "It's A Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street," "White Christmas."  I could not wait for Christmas.....and I still love these movies today.  It would not be Christmas for me without them.  Over the years I added and took away some of my family traditions and made new traditions with my children.  Our last step of decorating was adding the manager scene under the tree, right smack dab in the front.  My Little Grandmother had a silver aluminum tree with a color wheel and she had colored balls on it.  I always thought it was magical.  My friend, Susan has a green Charlie Brown tree and this year I am having my own kind of  Charlie Brown tree.  What are some of your special memories.  Care to share?  I love a good story.