Christmas May Seem a Little Different This Year
We will follow Covid-19 protocol and still enjoy our family’s fun traditions.
Last night we watched our church’s live stream Christmas Eve Service, but right now, the tree is lighted and completely surrounded by way too many Christmas presents. It’s still quiet, yet I am beginning to recognize a wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen. My wife, the family’s matriarch is busy at work already.
In a few minutes our son, our youngest daughter, her husband and our two youngest granddaughters will walk through the door and spread a few more gifts around the tree.
This year they won’t be greeted with a hug or kiss, and we will wear masks much of the time.
We will take everyone’s pictures. Next, my wife will serve breakfast casserole, orange rolls, juice and coffee. We will begin eating and sipping our drinks, but the little girls will find it nearly impossible to contain their excitement. They can’t wait to get their hands on their presents.
After breakfast we will socially distance by sitting on our three couches in the family room. Following that, our son and son-in-law will distribute the gifts to everyone until there will be none left under the tree.
Each of us will begin opening our presents one gift at a time. We will enjoy seeing the anticipation and excitement on other’s faces as they open their gifts. This may take a couple of hours, but by the time the last gift is opened the entire family room will be filled with empty boxes and shredded wrapping paper.
The next activity will involve lottery tickets. Each adult will place the 10 scratch off tickets they purchased in an empty box. The tickets will be mixed up and then each person will draw 10 tickets. Each person will scratch feverously to find the ultimate prize! On a rare occasion someone will break even by winning a few dollars, yet for most of us this will just be our annual donation to the State of Indiana.
About midday the family’s cooks will begin to make final preparations for the Christmas dinner, which will be served later in the afternoon. Until then, cocktail wienies, meatballs, cheese ball, crackers, scrabble and chips will help tied everyone over until dinner.
The granddaughters will begin to enjoy playing with their new toys, painting or making crafts. Meanwhile our daughter will select a few games to challenge the adults. As usual, this will likely end up with them all teasing me about my lack of artistic skills or trivia knowledge. We know whatever games she chooses it will cause us all to smile and laugh together!
Finally, the dinner will be served, but not around the table this year. We will sit on the couches in the family room and eat off cafeteria-type trays. The dinner will consist of baked ham, funeral potatoes, raw veggies, cherry delight and sugar cream pie.
Afterwards, everyone will relax for a while to let the food settle and to simply reflect on the precious experiences the day provided. Finally, the adults will begin to gather their spoils from the day, and pack some leftovers to take home. The little girls will begin their usual stalling tactics to extend the day, but to no avail.
We will all begin to say our good byes. This year even the good byes will be different, but they will always end each of us saying “I love you!”
Christmas traditions help families celebrate their love through shared experiences past and present.
What Christmas traditions do your family share?
