It wasn't until I went to college that I realized how special Christmases' at home were. My Dad contributed (with his last minute (and I mean Christmas Eve last minute!) trips to buy gifts from a jam packed jewelry store and assistance on annoying "coming down the stairs pictures". He did help.
But it was my mom who completely gave me a whole new standard of what it means to celebrate the holiday season.
1. Christmas Trees EVERYWHERE!-
When I was younger, my mother used to work for a home & garden store that would each year transform into a Christmas Shoppe similar to the national chain "Christmas Tree Hill". The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving for me and my little brother always meant lots of time at grandma's or Aunt Rosie's (our designated babysitters growing up). My mother would work late nights putting up over 20 different trees over the short weeks leading up to November first. She used to pick us up, her hands raw from manipulating all the lights on the trees (because my mother is a huge proponent for putting lights on trees...none of this pre-lit stuff...oh no!).
Well, needless to say, the Christmas Tree talent she had trickled over into our own home. Now each year my mother puts up 7 Christmas trees. Almost one in every room (and some now even two...oops). My mother is so talented at putting up trees that now several of her friends and family members make appointments with her to come put up their trees.
My mother has taught me that putting up Christmas trees is an art form. I look at so many other Christmas trees and think, "These just aren't as good as my mom's". And I now appreciate all those late nights at grandma's, impatiently waiting to go home.
2. Christmas Card are Not Dead!-
My mother is still one of those women who PANICS when she doesn't have her cards done. To here, the world is going to end. My brother an I usually never hear the end of it about two weeks before Christmas.
So there she will sit, for hours and hours, and use a calligraphy pen (yes, not time efficient by my mother likes perfection...even with her Christmas cards). She sends cards to people she talks to every day and those she hasn't spoken to in years.
Now at 21, her Christmas card obsession has rubbed off on me. I too now search CVS shelves for the perfect Disney Christmas cards to send to all my friends. I sit and fill them with love and quirky jokes, slap on a Disney sticker, and send them on their way.
I have learned that sending a card of kind words during the holiday season is sometimes the best gift to give.
3. The Wrapping Station (DO NOT TOUCH!)-
Just like my mother is the expert Christmas Tree decorator, her presents look like they just came out of a magazine. When I wrap a present you would never know we are even related (as mine look like a monster with 30 fingers pieced it together).
Her presents usually have bells and pieces of candy perfectly attached to sparkly bows that are curled to perfection. She has designated wrapping paper for different people and just about any bow materials possible. And (just after she finishes writing all those Christmas cards) she usually disappears for the two weeks leading up to Christmas into the basement to wrap at her station, which is extremely organized (Christmas music playing in the background).
Here are a few other Christmas Memories of my mother:
- Her Santa Claus Punch. Which everyone insists they get the recipe for.
- Her Christmas Eve Party she puts on every year.
- Eating my grandma's Cookies for Breakfast for Weeks. My mother considers cookies for breakfast a perfectly fine option.
- Going to Hanover Home and Garden (the Christmas shoppe my mother used to work at) together...multiple times...a week.
As the holiday season begins, I encourage you to think of who made/makes your holiday season so special. And remember, they won't be around forever. So take pride in the holiday spirit they gave you and say...
"Thanks Mom. I love you!"
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