Why I still love Christmas

Sure, it's become too commercialized and the true meaning for celebrating it has been lost on society for decades now and going anywhere in public anywhere near Christmas can bring out the Grinch in anyone. Regardless that it isn't what it once was, I still find a great deal of joy around Christmas.

Christmas for me brings back fond memories of wonderful times spent with the ones I love the most. Some of those loved ones are no longer with me and often the hustle of everyday life leaves little time for thinking of them but I find myself remembering them fondly this time of year.

I'll be celebrating my 48th Christmas this year and thought I would share some fond memories that hold a special place in my heart.

I remember the excitement and anticipation of Santa's visit every year when I was a child. My inability to fall asleep on Christmas Eve at a reasonable time and waking up way too early the next morning with my brothers to run to the living room and see what gifts we had been brought during those few hours we had actually slept. I know our excitement probably brought a great deal of joy to my parents knowing they had come through again and made their children happy.

Christmas Eve was spent at my grandparent's house. We would gather for supper with all of my aunts and uncles and cousins waiting for the sun to go down as that was the time we would get to open gifts. The tradition was that all of the grandkids had to sing Christmas carols before we were allowed to open presents. Getting us started was always a chore and my grandfather always ended up kicking things off with "Silent Night". He's been gone for about twenty-five years now but his voice is as vivid in my head as anything I can remember.

I have memories of gifts that I just knew I wasn't going to get for one reason or another yet somehow my parents made it happen. We were a family of five and my dad was the sole earner so we didn't exactly get things we wanted but somehow the presents we wanted always seemed to show up under that tree on Christmas morning.

As an adult, I remember going out of my way to make Christmas special for my children the way my parents did for me so I have fond memories of the joy in the eyes of my kids at Christmas.

Christmas is now spent with my extended family- my wife's parents, her brothers and sisters, and all of my nieces and nephews. While you don't get to choose those people (they are just kind of bundled when you find that love of your life and marry her) I couldn't have asked for a better group of people. Not one bad apple in the bunch. Each and every one of them embraced me as family from the moment I entered their lives and there isn't anything they wouldn't do for me.

I hope each and every one of you can reflect on fond memories of your experiences and your loved ones this season and find joy and peace.

God bless each and every one of you and Merry Christmas to you all!

Merry Christmas.

May the blessings of out Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be upon us all.

Christmas Eve was spent at my grandparent's house. We would gather for supper with all of my aunts and uncles and cousins waiting for the sun to go down as that was the time we would get to open gifts.


We'd walk around the block in Brooklyn to the grandparents apartment[s] as both sets lived 2 building apart. Our mom was an only child, so that was a small affair with those aunts joining in.


Our dad's side of the family He had 6 brothers and a sister, raised in a 2 bedroom apt. The adults would side in one room for dinner, all 25 of us cousins would sit in the entry hallway. 4'w x 15' long. Grandmas kitchen was her domain. You didn't enter w/out her ok, you didn't leave empty handed or on an empty stomach. It's where we always remember her being anytime we visited.

Interesting that's where she had a heart attack and passed on

Our uncles and grandpa would sit in the living room watching football all day cursing at who ever they liked when the other team scored. While us cousins ran wild all over the neighborhood. Till we heard that GET IN HERE NOW, IT's TIME TO EAT. Yelled out the window across 92nd st.


63 yrs later we're the seniors .


Thanks for your memories of the Christmas Season and what it means to you.


God Bless you Cheeto Ray ;)

My family doesn't do Christmas in the traditional sense (long story)...

But, we get together with family and just spend the day, which is worth more than any commercial gifts that you could buy anyway. We all have the day off, and we all have the time to get together, so we do.

Besides all that, my mom has been annoyed by the fact that her three boys (for a long time) have been impossible to buy a gift for because we just buy what we want anyway...

As a follow up.
While the uncles, dad and grandpa were in the living room watching football. My mom, aunts and grandma were in the tiny kitchen, or dining room fussing over seating, table settings etc. The women were smoking cigarettes, the men cigars, or a pipe. The only time a window or the front door was open when grandpa yelled It's Too Damn HOT! open a window dammit!
That's when Fran Tarkinton, Joe Namath and Frank Gifford were on the field, not behind the mic.

I've smoked some of those same cigars...

I always go overboard when it comes to Christmas. I like making it great for my son.

I was raised in a financially modest home but Christmas time always brought the gifts my brother and I really wanted. About half of the time we enjoyed Christmas at home, just my parents and my brother and I. The rest of the time we'd trek the 100 miles south of Kansas City to Nevada, MO where my dads parents and my moms mom lived.

We spent most of our time with my dads parents since my mom was a bit of an outcast in her family for siding with her father when her parents divorced. I remember my dads mom always cooking up a wonderful holiday meal. During the Christmas season she used to have two dishes of "traditional holiday candy" set out in the living room. There were red, green and white gum drops in one dish and assorted hard candy, including ribbon candy in another. I've been reminiscing about that candy the last few years and finally found where I could buy it (all except the white gum drops) and ordered some right after Thanksgiving. Tasting the candy brought me back to my grandmothers kitchen as a little boy smelling the feast cooking in her gas oven. I now have two bowls of candy out and will continue this tradition until I pass.

Christmas doesn't feel the same to me as it used to. My kids are grown and out of the house, but come over once a week for a family meal. My brother and parents are in Missouri. My grandparents have all been gone for 30+ years. The simple life of my youth is long lost. The magic of Christmas for me disappeared far too long ago. But, I have two wonderful grandkids now that I'm working hard to provide them with that same awe and splendor of Christmas magic I once felt. I want them to have the same type of wonderful memories I once enjoyed.

I actually spend Christmas Day remembering all the great folks I spent past Christmases with, Most of them are gone now but they left great memories for me.

For the percentage of folks that had less than favorable childhoods, families, circumstances or having a really tough time with something right now, etc... I would say try not to dwell on any of that if you can. Take some time to create a positive situation for yourself and the folks around you that you care about. If you might need some help, please reach out for it. There are a lot of resources that you can take advantage of, and I know there are many members here that would be helpful if you simply ask for it.