‘Tis the season of Christmas, fa la la la la. I only do Christmas, not the other seasonal celebrations like Kwanzaa and Hannukah. I can barely get Christmas done. There’s no way I could tackle more.
Christmas peaked for me in the ’90s when my kids were little and we spoiled them rotten, gift-wise. Back then, living in New England, surrounded by evergreen trees, I got my Martha Stewart mojo working — our house was a live version of Deck the Halls with boughs, etc. Starting with lugging the Christmas tree home, making a wreath for the front door, draping garlands along the mantel and bookshelves, stringing up the Christmas cards, wrapping the presents when the kids went to bed on Christmas Eve, making cinnamon buns sometime between Santa’s departure up the chimney and the kids waking up, and digging into the presents.
No sooner was the last present opened than I was back in the kitchen making the dressing for the turkey, getting the bird stuffed, then into the oven. Back then, Christmas dinner was our biggest meal of the year, because even then, I knew the value of leftovers. Get a big enough turkey, and you get to reheat for a week, in between turkey sandwiches.
Inevitably, the children grew up and moved away, and one by one the traditions fell by the wayside, at least my participation in them. The real tree became a fake tree; the pile of presents shrunk. No more homemade wreaths, no more garlands dotted with holly berries, no more cookie swaps, no more baking, period.
But now the kids have kidlets of their own. And the traditions have returned, except I have passed on the Martha Stewart torch to the next generation. How great to be a grandma. Someone else to do the baking and the decorating. All I have to do is watch the 1-year-old and 3-year-old open presents. I have kept one tradition, though — I’ll be wrapping those presents on Christmas Eve. No point in rushing it.
And I did sign up for stuffing and turkey duty. But that’s not until Christmas Day. Let the excitement begin. Are you ready?
In keeping with the season, Darlene Love …