Memories of Christmas Past

Today we were walking around downtown Ann Arbor and looked in a small store window to see a cardboard fireplace with fake lighted fire. There was a point years ago when we wanted a real fireplace, so that Santa had a way to get down the chimney into our house. First, Dad tried the old footprints on the side porch trick. There were footprints in the snow coming up to our door but not returning away from the house. We wanted to know how Santa got in the front door and why he didn't leave. Not wanting to disappoint his boys, Dad arrived home with a cardboard fireplace which he put together and then announced that now Santa could come down our chimney and leave presents for good boys. We loved that idea and for years helped put up our cardboard fireplace so that Santa could come for his annual visit.

One year we made a gingerbread house and then rather than eat it at the end of the holidays, Mom boxed it up and for several years it was placed on a cherry table in the living room. One year Dad got into outside decorations and found a Santa face that could be lit and hung it on the front porch door. The door had a red cardboard cover, and I think there were black mittens placed appropriately. This door decoration was put up for years and enjoyed. I think we even won a prize for decorating the house but am not really sure of that.

When we would go to Uncle Harold's house house or Grandma Roe's, we got to see bubble lights on the Christmas tree. They were fascinating, and we wondered how the liquid kept bubbling but did not disappear like boiling water would. For years we had several strings of lights that were single wire so that if a light went out, you had to try each light in the string with a fresh bulb until you found the one that burned out. That was a royal pain. Grandma Roe also had some fancy bulbs like Santa's or birds or other fancy things. Ours were just colored lights.

At one point we also put up lighted wreaths and/or lighted candles in each of the windows, which made for a festive scene when viewed from outside the house. Lots of the decorations on the tree were handmade. When we lived in Waterville, there was an article in a magazine on how to make 24 point stars. Mom had known how to do this when she was a child but could not remember how to do it, so she really appreciated the article, and we learned how to make the stars and then hang then on the tree. When made out of colored foil Christmas wrapping paper, they were quite reflective and looked great on the tree. We made them for years and still have a couple of stars for our own tree today.

I am sure that your memories of Christmases Past get triggered when you least expect it. The memories roll in, and you are transported to times ago when the wonder of Christmas affected you as a child. Thanks for reading about my memories, and I hope your memories come to the fore. Merry Christmas all!