We were all between eight and twelve years old, and the kids in my neighborhood just knew that we were getting bicycles for Christmas. All of us. But we didn’t know where our parents had them stashed. The days between school getting out and Christmas morning were spent discussing, searching, and wondering where those bicycles were. We knew that our parents often hid Christmas gifts for other families and that other families often hid our gifts. That particular year, they had us stumped; and the mystery was fun for us and for our parents.
And then—Christmas morning—there were the bikes! My mom still has the picture of six of us lined up on our bikes with smiles as big as Texas. There was one older couple on our street whose kids were grown and gone. Their basement had held our presents the whole time. We never thought about their house as a possibility. Ah, the wisdom of parents.
In our own family we have also enjoyed some fun Christmas mornings by adding some suspense to the mix. One year, we got Judith a little flop-eared rabbit, but we didn’t put it under the tree. We put it in the garage. Judith opened a gift that had a clue to look under the couch, where she found a clue to look in a closet, where she found a clue to look in a cabinet until she eventually found a clue to look in the garage. By the time she found the rabbit we were all hopping!
Sometimes we used riddles to give clues. Sometimes we hid presents in a little box in a bigger box in another box.
One family that we know hides a pickle on the Christmas tree. Whoever finds the pickle gets to open the first gift. To them that’s a big dill.
Patricia and Anna fill each stocking with a personal touch. Anna has participated in this ritual since she was about ten.
This week, post a comment (below) and share one of your Christmas ideas or traditions for your family. We will all have a great time reading them and we may broaden our traditions to include one of yours.
2 comments:
We are people of light! We decorate brightly and annually we are in search of those who really "deck their house" with much holiday cheer. Every year we go on a mission to find the most amazing decorations around. It is a quest with much oooing and awwing and often much laughter. We crank up the radio with Christmas tunes and wait for Elvis' "Blue Christmas" to come on. Afterwards, we go to a little place we have discovered, for one of the best egg nog milk shakes around. And their chocolate shakes are not bad either! Merry Christmas!
Several years ago when my oldest daughter was learning to read, we started a tradition called 25 Days of Stories. In the beginning around Thanksgiving, I would check-out several books from the local library, bring them home and wrap them in leftover holiday paper. Starting December 1st, my daughter could select one "gift" from under the Christmas tree to unwrap. These gifts were 24 pre-wrapped books about Christmas and the holiday season that included classics like "The Gift of the Magi", "The Polar Express", and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Each night when we'd read the story, we could discuss the outcome and anticipate the next night's selection. I'd always save the best story for last when we'd read together from the Bible the story of Jesus' birth. It's become a fun tradition that we look forward to each year. Now, we have our own collection of books and a tradition that keeps celebrating the season! Merry Christmas!
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