Our house was always decorated to the nines and we always had a beautiful tree with tons of presents under it on Christmas morning. We had certain traditions, the three of us, when it came to Christmas morning. My brother and I would get up super early and wake up our mom and then run into the living room, our little fingers just itching to tear into the dozens of gifts that Santa had left for us under our tree. Mom would get out the camera and the garbage bag (gotta keep it clean!) and we would have a blast opening our gifts. When we were done, Mom would pour us some egg nog and herself some coffee, and make us breakfast while we listened to Christmas music and looked over our loot. I was always the one who got to put the little baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas morning, so I would run to our Moms room and retrieve him off of his place on her dresser, where he had been for weeks, and carefully place him in his cradle alongside Mary and Joseph. I really loved that little baby Jesus. I felt special to be the one to reunite him with his family every year.
The rest of the day was always spent at Nana and Papas house, where the whole family gathered to eat a big dinner and open gifts from under their huge fake Christmas tree. My Nana always made lots of homemade pies and Italian cookies and placed them on the hutch, where we kids would look them over deciding what we were going to dive into first, after eating the required turkey and fixings. And by fixings I mean homemade lasagna, shells, and sauce, along with the usual mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, etc. Italians!
My grandparents always spoiled the eleven of us grandkids with nice toys. But our favorite gifts, without fail, were from Papa, who every single year gave each of us his own special and unique gift consisting of a deck of cards, a bag of goldfish crackers, and one dollar. I don't know why but it was something all of us looked forward to every year. The adults would all laugh at our excitement, passing over the brand name toys while we opened our Papa gifts. The Papa gift was special.
Christmas was always a fun day for me as a child. It was a day filled with love and family and lots of joy. I hold my Christmas memories dear and it's why I'm so excited to have the chance to supply my own child with wonderful memories too!
I'm discovering that Christmas, as a parent, is even more fun than usual! Everything Scott and I are doing this Christmas is for Henry. Our tree is "Henrys tree", we got him a huge stocking with his name on it and hung it by the fireplace, he has a Baby's First Christmas ornament, and we can't wait to show him all his gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. We decorated our house and tree the other night, while we had a toasty fire going in the fireplace, a glass of wine in our hands, and Christmas music playing in the background. Scott held Henry as they placed the first ornament on the tree and I snapped a picture. It was really special and it warmed my heart to see our baby touching his very first Christmas tree with so much wonder in his big blue eyes.
It was really important for Scott and I to have Henrys first Christmas at home and to make it special for him. There's just something about a New England Christmas that you can't get anywhere else. It feels homey to me. Maybe it's because of my Christmases growing up in Massachusetts, but I feel like a New England Christmas is as classic as a Norman Rockwell painting. I'm really looking forward to seeing snow on the ground outside and sitting by our tree with our baby, with a fire roaring in the background on Christmas morning.
We won't be having a big family gathering this year though because people are spread all over. That made me sad at first. Scott and I envisioned a big family Christmas for Henrys first but it's just not a possibility this year. But remembering my childhood Christmas mornings made me feel a lot less sad and more excited for our little, intimate family holiday. My Christmas mornings as a child consisted of only me, my brother and mother, and it was never sad because it was only the three of us. Quite the contrary! It was always fun and never felt like we were missing anything. So I can't wait for Henrys first Christmas morning! I can't wait to bring him downstairs and show him all his gifts under the tree. I'll put on Christmas tunes and Scott will start a fire. We'll pour some egg nog and coffee, open gifts, and take lots of pictures. It will be the first of many Christmas memories that Henry will carry with him throughout his life.
I'm looking forward, with so much excitement, to all the Christmas mornings to come and to seeing our sons joy as he sees what Santa left him when he runs downstairs to the tree. I hope Henry will have warm and wonderful memories of Christmas just like I do. I know Scott and I will always do our best to make the day magical for him.
Yup, Christmas is so much better with Henry around!
I hope all of you have a warm and magical Christmas and a happy new year! God bless!
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