I tend to go into a "Bah, Humbug" mode late in the fall each year. I think it is because I tire easily of the commercialization of Christmas. I don't want to see merry little elves selling toys on TV commercials before Thanksgiving. I want to go back to the Christmas seasons of my past. I know I can't, but I sure would like to.
This year was different, however. We went to Jill's home for a lovely Christmas Day brunch. Although some had other places to go later in the day, nobody seemed rushed to leave. We had a good meal, good conversation, and good time spent with children and grandchildren. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I was reminded of the Christmas Days of my childhood. Christmas Eve was just for our family, but Christmas Day was spent with our only relatives living close to us in the Willmar area....Ronnie & Em. There was always a turkey or ham dinner with all the trimmings, and homemade cookies and candies. Dad always made his "Ralph's World Famous Peanut Brittle," and we made Divinity and Marshmellow Creme Fudge.
There were gifts for all, but instead of shopping until we dropped, these gifts were all handmade. Mom was always good at coming up with ideas for gifts for Ronnie & Em's family. One year she found a pattern for knitted slippers and I made slippers for all of them. Another year it was warm knitted scarves. Mom could take the simplest of materials and make a beautiful wall hanging, and I recall she did that one year for Em. It had a base of wire mesh with dried grasses and weeds and flowers. Keep in mind this was in the 1950's and early 1960's when this type of thing was popular home decor.
Em was pretty good at finding gifts for me as well. One year she made a yarn octopus that lived on my bed for years. I just saw a pattern not too long go for the same thing on the internet. Made me feel my age when it was listed under the heading "Antique Patterns." Em, like all of us back then, would can vegetables and make pickles and such every fall. Nobody could make dill pickles like Aunt Em. I begged her for pickles whenever we went to their house. So one year she gave me a jar of her homemade dill pickles with a big red bow on the top of the jar. My family thought I was going to share. They were wrong. Em had to bring over another jar for the rest of the family.
Now this may not seem like much in today's world of computers and electronic gadgets. I have to admit that I love my computer and all of the gadgets that go with it as much as the next person. But I long for a Christmas where everyone can open a gift and not have it break the bank. Isn't it funny that I can't recall many of the Christmas gifts that were bought in a store, but I clearly remember gifts that were made with love; a blue yarn octopus and a jar of homemade dill pickles.
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