We Need a Little Christmas by Bea Tifton

 Caroline Clemmons is a little under the weather, so I am filling in today. 

We celebrate Christmas in my family. Leading up to the big day, my mother and I have several things we like to do. Mom and I love Christmas decorations. LOVE them. We have way too many of them, but still we buy more. Since we combined households, it looks like Christmas threw up in our house as we drag box after box out of the garage. My poor father was a bit of a minimalist, but he gritted his teeth and didn't say anything. This year I have replaced our not so great tree with a new, more realistic looking one. We have to have artificial because everyone in the family is allergic to the real ones. But we cover our tree in ornaments, unwrapping memories and telling stories as we decorate. 

One year at my parents' house, we were decorating a tree we'd had for many years. There was a terrible noise, and the tree pulled out of its base with a groan and fell over  onto the hard tile. Beloved ornaments shattered. My mother had tears in her eyes as Dad and I scrambled to same the ones we could. After that, even with the new tree, Dad secured it to the wall. 

Even our yard is decorated. My father did a wonderful job with that. In recent years we had a younger,  more spry man put up the actual house lights, but Dad took care of the lawn decorations. We don't use those inflatables, but we had two lighted deer, one that moves, an angel, and some lighted candy canes. The candy canes came from a neighbor who was tired of them. They were the older, bigger, well made ones. Mom had wanted some for years and I was proud of my acquisition. The yard looked fabulous. One night, someone stole all of the candy cane lights. They came back for the angel the next night but my dogs barked and the thieves dropped it. Mom was crushed and we were very disappointed. My neighborhood usually doesn't have problems with theft and we felt so violated. The following year I bought some new candy canes to replace the original ones, but they were newer, smaller, and not as well made. This year, I'm not sure I can get everything up and running but we do have the house lights connected and on a timer. 

Mom and I love to drive around looking at Christmas lights. There is an older, wealthy neighborhood close to us and each year there is a house tour. We like to drive through the neighborhood and look at all of the beautiful displays. In the next town, there is a neighborhood famous for their Christmas lights. People come from miles around to see them and the entire neighborhood participates. Displays run from quirky to traditional and there are even some Hanukkah lights. The houses are beautiful, many of them what I would call mansions, and there are several people with hot chocolate or popcorn stands. It's free and there's such a fun small town feel in the middle of a bustling metroplex. 

There are several stores that have huge Christmas inventories. Mom and I love to stroll through each year just looking. We usually do end up buying one or two new ornaments. What can I say? It's a sickness. 

The entire family watches Christmas movies. There are several we never miss, such as the original Miracle on 34th Street and the Muppet Christmas Carol. Dad and I both love A Christmas Carol and we drove Mom crazy by watching every version we could find. Mom loves the Hallmark Christmas movies and we try to watch a lot of them. 

This year, we aren't sure what we are doing. We're going to be somewhat subdued. We lost my father in late May and we're still heartbroken, of course. It seems strange to just do what we always do and thinking of past Christmases make us sad at this point. Some day we may be able to smile as we remember my father but this year, feelings are still too raw. And my mother's  grief for her own parents and other people we've lost has been sharpened. We will do something just to maintain some sense of normalcy. One thing this year has taught us is that we never know how much time we will have together so we need to take time to celebrate these occasions as they come. And to celebrate each other by spending time together. 

What traditions do you have leading up to whatever holiday you celebrate in December? Leave a comment below. 

Photo Credits:

Pexels.com

Nick Collins "Shallow Focus Photography of Green Christmas Tree"

Cottonbro Studios "Facade of a House with Christmas Decorations"

Natalia S "Festive Christmas Lawn Display with Lights"

Magaly Taboada "Festive Christmas Wreath on Green Door"

Pixabay "Four Yellow Lighted Candles"

Cottonbro Studios "Christmas Socks Hanging at a Fireplace"