Ok, so when my brother and I were kids, we had family traditions. Starting day after thanksgiving we would put the christmas tree up and all of the decorations. My brother and I always looked forward to December 1st because mom and dad would give us advent calendars. You know, the ones with the little chocolates. Each night, before bed, we would open one window which gave us a little chocolate and we would get more and more excited about Santa coming. I always couldn't wait for all of my favorite vhristmas tv shows & movies. There was Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Rudolph Red Nose Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, The Grinch ( the old one narrated by Boris Karloff), Scrooge, White Christmas, and Its a Wonderful Life. DVD's nor video recorders were never thought of. As a matter of fact, we had a small 13 inch tv for the longest time. This was the time of the year that mom make sure we would write our christmas list to Santa! This took lots of time to figure out exactly what I wanted.
We would go to church on Christmas Eve, usually an early service, come home, and mom would make a nice meal for all of us. Or maybe we were at either set of grandparents house. Dad would allow us to open one small gift at the dinner table, right before we ate. Cookies and Beer were always left out for Santa. I always thought that was odd. Why beer and not milk? Dad said that sometime Santa got tired of having the same thing all the time.We were then told that we had to be in bed no later than 9:00pm because Santa could come at any time. My brother and I of course tried to stay up as late a possible to try to catch a glimps of Santa or to at least here the reindeer on the roof. But we always failed. The next morning, like any child you get up as early as you can. But the rule was, we could not come out of the bedroom until mom & dad got up. Dad always had to inspect the family room first, and see if Santa thought we were bad (and left cole) or were good (and left gifts). Thank goodness Santa believed we were good all year!!
Today, at the age of 36, I always have a wish that I could go back to traditions as simple and wonderful as they were when I was a kid. This year, its different. Yes, we will have Christmas eve dinner with my dad & step-mom. But I will be going to church services by myself. I will wake up on Christmas day in my small apartment, take Colby (my super awesome dog) out for a long walk. Drive over to my dad's house for a late breakfast and maybe a couple of gifts. I will then go home for the afternoon, call my mom in California, talk to some friends & wish them all a Merry Christmas, and then its back over to dad's for dinner and possibly a game of dominos.
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