Mama D's Childhood CHRISTMAS

I Love Christmas! Christmas is an amazing time of year. First and foremost it's the day we celebrate Christ's birthday.

I grew up in a Christian home. Christ was an ever present person in our family. Maybe not in a human form but in our hearts and heads. My parents talked and lived Christ every day not just at Christmas and Easter.

Christmas was always about Christ, family, love and getting together. Christmas Eve we would go to church for the Christmas Eve service, usually a Children / Youth play. This is when I was young (1960s and early 70s). Every Sunday before Sunday School, we gathered for opening exercises where we sang Happy Birthday to those that had birthdays during the week. We put money in a jar totaling our age. (It always confused me when adults would put in a dollar.) That money was used to purchase Christmas gifts for the kids on Christmas Eve. We also got a small brown paper bag with an apple, orange, tangerine, box of raisins, peppermint stick and some chocolate and nuts. I was reminded that daddy would help us crack the nuts and sneak a little for himself every once in a while.

Christmas morning started with one of us (5 kids) going into mama and daddy's room and telling them, "It's Christmas". According to what time it was, if it was 4:00 AM we were told to go back to bed for a little while. But if it was 6:00ish we would get up and get cleaned up and dressed for the day. (The excitement built until we could all get dressed.) Then we would stand along the wall at the top of the stars. At mama and daddy's call we would be allowed to go downstairs to the tree and the gifts.

The gifts Santa brought were never wrapped. They were in piles for each child.  We would eat something, but I can't really remember breakfast! I remember reading the story of Christmas from the bible. We would play with our toys until it was time to go to Grandma and Grandpa Humphrey's for dinner (lunch). This is one of the reasons for having us get dressed first. Another reason was so daddy could get a little more sleep. After all the presents were opened (gifts we made or bought for each other) we would pick up all the trash. We would pick out one present to take with us. For us girls that was usually a doll, (until we got older.)

Grandma Humphrey always had a spread, mama and our aunt helped. I remember grandma made two platers of chicken salad, one with celery and one without. We always had homemade pickles. (Mama and grandma canned the pickles during the summer.) And her homemade biscuits were awesome. Of course she always said they were burned or under cooked but I never remember one being left at the end of the day. Papa made the tea. We drank a lot of tea (sodas didn't enter the picture until we were nearly grown) and he had making it down pat. We knew the tea was getting low when the tea pot was in the bathroom sink sitting in cold water. There were several pies and cakes but the creme da la creme for me was grandma's Pineapple cake covered with 7 minute frosting.


We played with our cousins until time to eat. As we got older we helped set the table, counter, etc. We sat anywhere there was a space. I remember not being allowed to eat in the living room until we got to big for the rest of the house. The food was on the stove and kitchen counter, top of the washer to the back had pies and cakes. Someone stood at the front of the washer to eat. (I think that's when grandma gave in to letting us sit in the living room. The men went to the den. After we ate we would help clean up. Then we would play for a little while longer and have desert. After the eating was done we opened presents. And played with our cousins again until time to go to Grandma and Grandpa Richardson's for supper (dinner).

Grandpa Richardson

Grandma Richardson

At Grandma Richardson's we all (mamas mostly, until we were older) brought food and put it out on the counters and tables. Again because of the number of us we ate wherever there was a space. We never thought anything about it. Some of us may have sat on the floor or chairs grandpa borrowed from the church and sat around. We were just excited to have everyone at grandma's at one time. My mama was one of five kids and you add aunts, uncles and cousins you have one BIG HAPPY family!!! We drew names for Christmas presents. Passing out the presents was almost as much fun to do and watch as getting the presents. People went from room to room looking for the people on the presents. The men were usually in the den with the TV. The women would be in the kitchen putting the food away and taking turns holding the babies. But us kids would move around looking to see who may have our presents. We could hardly wait till we could be the ones to pass them out.

One of my favorite memories was the year I went to one of my aunts and thanked her for the gift. She said, "Danette can you remind me what we got you? I bought it after Christmas last year and went ahead and wrapped it."  That memory puts a smile on my face every time I think about it. Note to self, buy early, wrap later.

Have a Blessed Day,
Mama D

Luke 2:7 NIRV
"She gave birth to her first baby. It was a boy. She wrapped him in large strips of cloth. Then she placed him in a manger. There was no room for them in the inn."