Holiday Memories

Christmas Eve is once again upon us. The cocoa is flowing, with marshmallows, of course, and Dad throws one more log on the fire. The snow has started to fall gently outside and the girls are so excited about having a white Christmas.

Our Christmas tree is about 7 feet tall and fits into the cathedral ceiling in the family room. Andy had to decorate the top with a ladder. The girls took turns putting their special ornaments on the tree …. A special one from grandpa, a red ball from the teacher, skates from the elderly woman next door, some that Mommy made for each big event that year and a picture of grandma who we lost in October.

Our daughters learned a valuable lesson last year when Emma was 8 and Judy was 6 years old. They will be reminded again tonight.

Last year, Christmas morning came and presents were opened. There were games to play, legos, wooden blocks, coloring books, new crayons, and dolls that talked. After the last package was unwrapped, they both looked up and asked “is there more?”

Andy and I looked at each other and frowned. The children were just not getting the idea behind the season of giving. Andy said “I have an idea”. He whispered in my ear and I grinned, thinking this might be the perfect solution to the “is there more” question. He left the room for about a half hour and then came back into the room.

“How about we all take a ride in the car?”

“I want to play with my new dolls,” Emma said.

Andy chimed in “Come on, this will be fun. We are gonna take you someplace really special.”

Emma and Judy looked at each other and squealed with delight.

We put on our coats, hats, gloves and scarves as it was a very cold winter morning, climbed into the car and were off.

“So, where are we going?” Emma asked all excited.

“Oh, you’re going to see and learn something really special,” I answered.

Andy knew the way and the girls just kept looking out the window trying to figure out our destination. As we pulled into the driveway, Andy said “we’re here.”

The old brown building looked like it was falling down. There was an old man sitting outside in the cold smoking a cigarette. There were two little girls in light coats trying to build a snowman. They kept shaking their hands because they weren’t wearing mittens and the snow was very cold.

As we walked through the door, Emma said “wow, there’s lots of kids here.” The homeless shelter was busy and their tree was a little bit sad. Very few decorations, no tinsel, broken lights and no presents under the tree.

Andy stooped down next to the girls to explain. “This is a homeless shelter. All the people here don’t have a house to live in. The children don’t go to school right now while they are in the shelter. They don’t have very many clothes, no toys, no games, very few books and they have to wear worn out shoes.”

Emma looked at me and you could just see the confusion and sadness in her eyes. “I feel sorry for all the kids that don’t get a Christmas morning,” she said.

I hugged her close and explained that we could help. “Daddy and I put some of your old toys in the car. Would you like to go outside and choose some to give to these children?”

Emma’s face lit up and Judy started to giggle. “That would be so much fun Mommy. Let’s do it.”

We all walked out to the car to find that Andy had put three boxes of toys and clothes into the trunk. “Pick some things that you would like to give to the kids”, I said.

Emma and Judy looked at each other for a minute and Emma whispered something in Judy’s ear. Judy hesitated and then said “ya” with a big grin on her face.

“Mommy, we’d like to give all these things to the kids. We just got new things this morning and we never play with some of these toys. Do you think the kids would like to have our old toys?”

I glowed with pride as I pulled the boxes out of the trunk. Andy and I carried them into the shelter and told the girls it was their job to give the toys away.

We walked over to the director and explained and she called the room to attention. “These two little girls would like to give you some of their things for Christmas.”

The children gathered round and everyone got something from the boxes. We left the sweaters, boots, pants, mittens and hats with the director to disperse as she saw fit.

Emma and Judy stood there and watched the children take the donated toys. When we had finished visiting, we headed home to our house for Christmas dinner.

“That was fun, Mom,” Emma said. Judy agreed. “We have everything and those kids had nothing.” “Do you see now how lucky you are?” I asked. Emma and Judy reached out and hugged Andy and me.

That was the first year of our new tradition. Now, we save during the year … soap, shampoo, gloves, toys, puzzles, shoes, socks, etc. and on Christmas Eve, we go to the shelter armed with boxes and boxes of things and several plates of cookies and cupcakes. We spend most of the evening there at the shelter with the families, sharing treats and stories.

Emma and Judy got the most important Christmas present every year on Christmas Eve when they were reminded how lucky they are.

Prologue: Emma and Judy are all grown now and have families of their own and have carried on our Christmas Eve tradition. We are still very proud of them.