 Remember
Christmas as a little kid? All of those colored
lights, shiny ornaments, and the tinsel? Counting
down the days to Christmas was an agony. Wouldn’t
it ever get here?
Little by little,
Mom would start putting out Christmas decorations
in the living room and dining room. The ceramic
Noel candleholders and the little angels in
red gowns came first. Then the Santa cups,
one for each of us. And finally the Santa and
Mrs. Claus salt and pepper shakers on the big
table.
Even if we had already
put Christmas lights on the house, the holiday
didn’t officially start until we made
a trip to pick out the tree. Endless deliberations
over shape and size; and a family vote in case
there were multiple contenders.
Decorating the tree
was a carefully staged production. We had a
special dinner, put on special jammies, and
listened to Christmas carols to get everyone
in the proper spirit for the big event.
There were special
treats when we decorated the tree --- Nana’s
cookies! She always made 4 or 5 kinds and packed
them in huge glass jars with Hershey’s
Kisses™ and peppermint candies in between.
The silver foil and beautiful red and white
swirls meant the holiday was here! 
The tree decorating
always began with the struggle to fit it into
the tree stand, no leaning! Then came the tree
lights. Each string hung by Dad in just the
right place. The lights had to be evenly spread
around the tree, top to bottom. And not too
much of the same color in the same place. There
was always the odd burned out bulb he had to
replace, and those awful clips that held the
lights on the branches.
Next came the ornaments.
We each had our favorite ones and we wanted
them in our favorite spots (which tended to
change each year as we grew taller). There
were always one or two we fought over --- who
had the privilege of hanging it this year.
Usually Nana decided whose turn it was.
For the final touch,
hanging the tinsel. We had to put it on one
strand at a time, no clumps!! So tedious when
you’re a kid, but all of a sudden you
were done. And no matter how much you loved
last year’s tree, we always thought this
year’s was the best ever.
Slowly but surely,
packages would start appearing like magic under
the tree; from this family member to that one.
Little hints of the big day to come, but never
anything from Santa. Of course we shook every
box many times. And almost never guessed what
was inside.
But most of all,
it was the magic spell the Christmas tree cast
when you lay down and looked up through the
branches. It was the lights reflecting off
the shiny glass ornaments, the red and white
candies, the fresh green smell, and the glittering
tinsel looking like icicles. Everything holding
it’s breath waiting for Christmas morning,
just like you.
These are the holiday
memories that gave rise to Linkydoodles. Enjoy!
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