Making memories
As I write this in mid-October, everyone is still firmly ensconced in the football-fall festival-fall break mentality. Because I’m determined to get a head start on my shopping this year, Christmas has been a topic of conversation lately with my girls and me. The holidays are sneaking in early, and Kate, for one, couldn’t be more excited. She’s said more than once over the last week or so, “Isn’t this just going to be the greatest Christmas ever?!” (She can be a touch dramatic.) It got me wondering what makes Christmas great for a child — or for any of us. Aside from the truth of Christmas — that we’re celebrating the birth of our Savior — what is it that makes Christmas a special time of year?
My best memories of Christmases past have nothing to do with gifts I’ve received or given. They’re always about the people I spend time with and making memories that will stick with me for years. The memories aren’t grand — we’ve never taken a big trip over the holidays or visited some exotic location — but I wouldn’t trade them for even the most extravagant things.
I remember one particularly warm Christmas that felt more like early fall than the end of December. Growing up in Mobile, having a cold (or even chilly) Christmas day is never a guarantee. On this particular Christmas, the rather beachy 70-something degrees caused my dad to go into holiday overdrive. He decided to crank up the AC and build a roaring fire in the fireplace. If it wasn’t cold outside, by golly, it would be chilly inside with a crackling fire practically begging for roasted chestnuts and bare feet propped in front of it. Well, Dad achieved his goal of creating a roaring fire, so much so that it caught the top of the chimney on fire and roared right out the top! Nothing says Christmas quite like a visit from the fire department.
Not long after Matt and I were married, he and I, along with my brother, Jake, and his wife, Leigh, spent the Christmas weekend together in Mobile with my parents. After breakfast and opening gifts, Matt set the camera up on a chair, and we dressed each other up in the gifts we’d received. We made crazy faces and danced around a little bit. I think my dad may have had bird feathers on his head at one point. It turned out to be a great photo, so what did we do? You know that Elf Yourself trend that goes around every year? Yep, we did that. I think to this day, my dad isn’t quite sure how our faces got on those dancing elves.
Another (less embarrassing) memory has to do with my maternal grandfather. This will be the seventh Christmas without Papa, and while we miss him all the time, his absence is felt more acutely around the holidays. Yesterday while running errands with the girls, I mentioned nutcrackers, and Kate asked how they work. As I explained, my mind went straight to my grandparents’ house and the huge fireplace that dominated their den. Next to the fireplace was a big basket of pecans and an ancient metal nutcracker. Every Christmas, Papa would keep a slow burning fire going, and I’d spend hours next to the fireplace cracking pecans and listening to the adults talk about years past.
As I think back to Christmas memories I savor, it reminds me of the importance of impressing sweet memories on my kids that they can think back on as they grow. While our worship of Jesus is the most important part of our celebrations, I think He’s also honored when we hold tightly to our loved ones and enjoy all these moments He’s given us — even if our memories include dancing elves.
Lauren can be reached at LaurenKDenton@gmail.com. You can also find her on Twitter @LaurenKDenton.