My favorite childhood memories were the times spent at Christmas. Christmas was my favorite time of the year. Looking back on those Christmases with my family are memories I will always cherish.Christmas back then wasn't so commercialized like it is today I mean we didn't have television, all we had was the Sear's Catalog to use to see all the new toys that was on sale. My siblings and I would take turns looking through it, trying to pick out the toys we wanted Santa Claus to bring us. This was the only time of the year when we would get toys. The rest of the year we would make our own. It's amazing what kids can come up with to occupy their time; for example, we would play stick ball, roll tires, and stay outside for hours playing hide-and-go-seek. Our parents didn't have to tell us to go outside and play. We played outside every chance we got. Maybe that's why I don't remember ever hearing the word obese because kids seemed to be more active back then.
I remember that we would wait until Christmas Eve to put up our tree. My brother and I would go out and chop down a pine tree; bring it back, set it up, and start decorating it. There is nothing like the smell of a freshly cut pine tree to fill the house with the smell of Christmas. I can also remember the smell of apples and oranges; you see, Christmas was the only time when we would have apple, oranges and candy canes. It may not seem like apples and oranges are a big deal, but believe me they were to us. while we were decorating the tree, my mother and my big sister would be in the kitchen baking pies and cakes. I was always a tomboy and loved being outdoors. I didn't like being in the kitchen for anything except to lick the bowl! My mother liked to do all of her baking the day before. She would always say that she wanted to get the sweets out of the way so that all she would have to cook the next day (Christmas Day) would be her other foods such as: chicken and dressing, sweet peas, turnip greens, black eyed peas, potatoe salad, mac & cheese, cornbread, rolls, and cranberry sauce. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Although, we would all be at my grandparents house for Christmas dinner, my mother always liked to cook at home. That way we would have food the next day to eat and she wouldn't have to cook.
While this was going on at home, my father would be out visiting with neighbors and friends. By the time he came home we would all be in bed and asleep. We went to bed early on Christmas Eve because our parents told us that if we were still up when Santa came, he wouldn't leave us any toys. It is amazing what a child will believe when they are young! I think that is the reason why Christmas is not what it used to be. Children of today are so use to getting everything they want all year; they don't have to wait until Christmas. It would be hard to find even a three year old who believed in Santa Claus nowadays. I was about eight before I stopped believing in him.
On Christmas morning, we would wake up early to open our presents. I always got the doll I wanted and some other things I needed like clothes. My mother and sister would get up a little earlier to cook breakfast and to finish cooking Christmas dinner. The rest of us children would eat breakfast and clean up the house. After the cooking was done and the house was clean, we all would get ready for church. After church, we all went to my grandparents house for dinner and to exchange gifts. There the rest of the family would be. I have a large extended family with a lot of aunts and uncles. Each one of them at that time had as many as six children. So needless to say there were a lot of us running around playing while the grown ups set around and socialized. I like seeing my cousins, but I couldn't wait to get home and play with my toys.
At the end of day, we would say our goodbys to everyone and my parents would load us all up into the station wagon to go home. When we got there, my parents would just relax while we kids would play with our toys and eat again. Although, I was very young, I can still remember these Christmases with my whole family as being some of my most favorite memories.
