The Excitement of a Child
Christmas Eve – the excitement as a child knowing that it was the last sleep before Christmas morning; the anticipation of something new just for us. I know I’m going to date myself here, but I’m ok with that. In the 60’s children didn’t get new toys, treats, or new clothes every week, so Christmas was a huge deal. Unless a very special occasion, the average income family in my small community got their new clothes in a box or garbage bag delivered from neighbours who had outgrown the clothes. Toys were few and belonged to all siblings in a household.
My earliest memories of Christmas morning are getting up at 3 or 4 am and sneaking downstairs to see the presents under the tree we’d cut in the woods only a few days before. Mom or Dad would call us back to bed hoping for another few hours of sleep, but around 6 am they’d give up and let us stay up. We were allowed to open our stocking first while Dad (who loved to cook) made breakfast. There was always an orange in the stocking toe, a new toothbrush and paste, a new pair socks, and a barley toy candy. My stocking always held a paperback book or in later years a crossword puzzle book. That was it for the stocking.
During the teen years I remember Dad making his annual Christmas Eve seafood chowder. My siblings, half the neighbourhood kids, and I made our way across the road to the small brook that served as our skating rink. Wearing worn out skates from who knows who, we skated, played hockey, and dodged the shallow open areas where the current was strongest and never froze over. A small wood fire provided the only light unless there was a full moon. Chilled to the bone we’d return home to a big bowl of hot chowder among other treats before heading to bed.
Under the tree Christmas morning Santa always left us one new suit of clothing (usually hand made by Mom), and only one of the many toys we had dreamed of in the Eaton’s or Simpson’s Christmas catalogues that would have come to the train station next door. There was always one gift to be shared among the three of us – some kind of board game, basic Lego etc. I can’t remember a specific occasion of this, but anyone who dared suggest dissatisfaction with gifts would have been quickly reminded of the reason for Christmas, and told that Santa could always take everything to another child who got a lot less. We had one set of grandparents still living and my mom was the oldest of her siblings, so it meant that I had aunts and uncles only a year plus a few older than myself. The grandparents had their own family with which to provide Christmas, so we usually got a pretty new sweater from them and nothing more, which was fine.
The Christmas Feast
Then Christmas dinner – oh what a feast! Somehow all the things we went without all year appeared like magic. With the turkey, gravy, and potatoes, we had olives and other pickles that weren’t homemade, cheese, coleslaw, and several kinds of vegetables instead of the normal number of two per meal. And there were pies, special nuts, and candies for dessert. To this day if I have store-bought pickles and cheese in my fridge, I feel like I’m eating well.
Christmas still excites me like a child, and Christmas Eve is my favourite. It’s not the gifts under the tree, but the anticipation leading up to Christmas for myself and the children, the preparations, togetherness with family and friends, as well as the love and generosity shown among strangers that should be there all year. Many of us can’t remember specific gifts we received for Christmas, but we can remember all the terrific emotions, excitement, and family memories. I hope all of you and your families have that childhood like excitement this holiday season.
