The gifts may be forgotten from year to year – but cherished memories live on forever.

Christmas is my most favorite time of year! There’s no denying that I LOVE it. I’ve always been enchanted by this special time. It started when I was a child and I’ve never lost the joy and sense of family that comes with the holiday season. For me, it’s the whole package, not only the ones under the tree.

It’s the celebration of the birth of Christ, the personification of LOVE. It’s Santa Claus, snowmen, cold weather, and darker nights. It’s the twinkling bright lights of Christmas, the traditional foods, and arrival of family. Anticipating Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day, is part of the whole experience. The build-up is such fun! Who’s coming this year to celebrate Christmas with us? Where will we place the tree? What memories will we make and what will surprise and delight us the most?

I’m all in for surprises—giving them to our loved ones brings me great joy. Seeing the surprise reveal itself through the recipient’s eyes brings the gift to life for me. It’s like seeing it for the first time. So many memories are created each Christmas that will live on long after the tinsel has gone and the lights are out.

It’s one more reason I am excited—not sad—to dismantle all the decorations and reestablish “normalcy” in our home. The ornaments are gone, but the memories we create live on. By the way, we did that today. We lovingly packed away all our special Christmas ornaments and treasures. They’re all snuggled in their containers until next year. It feels so good to have the house back to the usual décor since it puts our minds in gear to prepare for the New Year and the hopes and dreams we plan to turn into reality in 2024! Goals to set, plans to put into action! But I digressed and got ahead of myself—let me go back.

Of course the “look and feel” of Christmas is different today from when I was a child but the long-standing traditions perpetuate in the same way. Even the stockings look different. As a child in England in the 1940-50’s, my stocking was a real stocking—the kind that was actually worn by my mother back then (not pantyhose) STOCKINGS that were suspended by a garter belt! We would leave a mincemeat tart and warm milk for Santa, and he would leave the filled stocking at the end of my bed so it was there when I awoke on Christmas morning. It was a delight each year, always an apple in the toe and an orange in the heel, and Cadbury’s chocolate in between. The rest of the toys and goodies bulged and rustled as the stretchy stocking conformed to the shape of the toy—and it held a LOT! Dolls were my big passion back then and there was always a doll!

Breakfast was next and then we opened the rest of the presents from under the tree  while the Christmas carols were playing on the radio or gramophone—beautiful traditional carols, sung usually by a boy’s choir, often broadcast live from one of the British cathedrals.

That brings us back to the tree. It was always a real one, and fresh! It didn’t go up until around the 22nd or 23rd of December—some year’s maybe even on Christmas Eve, and all the family participated in decorating. There were icicles and glass balls and real candles secured tightly into clips that grasped the tree branches. A fairy adorned the top of our tree. Lastly the silver tinsel hung like real icicles, hung strand by strand, the more the better. At some point the candles were lit! Imagine that! The tree had to be fresh and green to decrease the chances of fire. It was indeed a sight to behold and a very special time. Those bygone times have vanished forever, but the memories live on, the experiences retold, and thus the sentiments relived.

If we had snow for Christmas it was perfect! Let the sledding commence! And ne’er a year went by when we didn’t go caroling door to door in the neighborhood. Times were different back then, simpler and more defined, with less confusion. If political correctness existed back then, I was oblivious to it! Yes, we had school plays that retold the birth of baby Jesus and all the kids sung carols. Dare I say it? There was a prayer spoken by the school principal, wishing peace on earth and goodwill to all! And why not? Isn’t that what everyone wants? Peace on earth and goodwill to all?

So Christmas 2023 has come and gone. The family came and went. The tree is down. All that remains is the occasional glint from tiny flecks of glitter, sprinkled about the house, reminders of the sparking tree and centerpieces. Oh yes, and a few remnants of home-cooked goodies—especially the yummy fruitcake!

Of course, we hold close the warm memories we created this past year! It will all return to delight us again in 2024. Meantime, what fun lies ahead between Christmas 2023 and 2024? Many happy surprises—that’s what we hope for, for you and for us! Make 2024 your happiest, healthiest and most successful year ever!

I wrote this little poem in 2010, after packing away all the Christmas decorations. Enjoy!

The stockings are folded with such loving care
The tree is boxed up, and the mantle looks bare.
The snowmen and Santas are snuggled together,
They’re safe and protected from outside weather.

The brilliant-lit star and nativity scene
Having brightened our lives, are off to dream
Until Christmas season is here next year,
And the colorful ornaments return to cheer.

From out of their boxes they’ll spring fresh and new
The old family favorites are most loved, it’s so true.
But not one decoration can produce such joy
As celebrating the birth of that baby boy.

Tinsel tarnishes and Christmas lights grow dim
But the everlasting light that shines from HIM
Gladdens our hearts with real Christmas cheer!
We can’t snuff it out. It shines brightly all year.
—Anthea

 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” —John 8:12