Special Events

Christmas was always a special time of year. Mother always was armed with her camera and was always ready to start taking pictures. What a wonderful time of year just after we got home from church.

As a man, I found it to be very wise to make sure the cook of your dinner is happy. So, we three men did what we were told.

Christmas was always a special time of year for my family. I remember going back to when I first entered the Vanderwoude family in 1968, the excitement which was created by my parents.

The tree was put up with care with all the decorations including those large lights which were so popular back in the 1970’s. When the tree was first set up, they were real trees. Father would place the real tree in a bucket with real soil placed in that bucket. Every day the tree would be watered.

The Christmas experience was different from year to year. In the early years of my Christmas experience, our family had a special time at our house on Christmas Eve. Mother would make special foods which we never had for most of the year.

There was mom’s famous fudge which was made in two flavours. Chocolate and Maple which was cut into squares. Every year around the middle of December was the Killam Baptist Church’s Sunday school Christmas program.

In Sunday school, our classes worked on our program parts. Around the first part of December on a Saturday was the Christmas program practice which was held at the church for at least two to three Saturdays before the Sunday night performance.

Father made sure that we got to all of these practices since the church was in the next town, 11 km away. Then there was the Christmas program at the school for the School’s Christmas program. I do remember that the school’s Christmas program was on a week day night which was held at the school’s gym.

Every year, my parents were never happy with the quality of programming which the school had put on. There were a lot of Christmas plays which each class prepared to do for the entertainment of the community. I am guessing that since the programme was not like the one at the church, was why they criticised the quality of that program. Father was on the church board so he had a lot of influence on the type of programming which the Sunday school did for the entertainment of the church body.

Then there was the Christmas program at the Community Hall for the families of the County of Flagstaff staff. A large man known as Dick was always the Santa for this event. As a child, I thought that this was a church service since the program was like a service. I do remember one time when we were all in this service or so, I thought when the door opened and this large man in a red suite ran down to the front yelling. I was shocked when the police did not arrest him for breaking in the building therefore causing a huge scene.

I remember how happy people were to see this criminal and they had their kids run to him. I was so scared of him that I refused to go near him. You see, Santa was never talked about in our home or in our church. I was given a rubber gorilla which because I was so afraid of it, I wanted nothing to do with it. I found out about Santa after when I had gotten much older.

The Sunday before Christmas was always the Christmas concert. After the Christmas program candy bags were passed out which we as kids took home. Mother always controlled how much candy we got to eat. I was used to go to services in the evening. Our church had a Sunday evening service every Sunday. Our family was at every service including Wednesday night Prayer meeting.

Then we as kids got off for Christmas break which started from the Christmas concert for two weeks. This was so exciting for us kids to be able to stay home from school.

In the later years when I was bullied at school, this was a break from the torture of these kids. Church was always a safe haven from these bullies. Whenever someone from school went to our church, it was if they were invading my safe haven.

Routine was key to my familie’s success. This made me feel secure and safe. I am as an adult all about routine which makes me feel safe and secure.

Christmas Eve was very special for our family. I remember one year, my sisters made homemade pizza. I remember the homemade crust which had tomato sauce, cheese, pineapple, mushrooms, tomatoes and slices of ham. I also remember that the night after eating the pizza, I got flu like symptoms. Getting the runs is not very exciting. I must not have been used to some of the ingredients of that homemade pizza. Back in those days, my stomach was very touchy. When I was a baby, I always had the runs and my stomach was alway getting upset. I also had bad diaper rash which I had to have special creams to help with that problem.

I do remember some of the special foods which mother prepared for our special family time together. Some of the foods was of course the homemade fudge, pop corn which Joy made with the pop corn air popper we had, the Christmas cake, and other special foods which she prepared that year. Her famous chocolate squares, date squares, chocolate chip cookies, oat meal cookies as well as carrot cake. Milk was a favourite drink for me personally. Juice was the main favourite of my sisters. Deneena who was very fussy would not touch the raisin cookies or the potatoe salad which mother had for supper or the peas which Deneena thought were gross. I thought it was funny one time when mother made half raisins and half chocolate chip cookies. Deneena was eating them really enjoying the cookie experience. Right in the middle of her eating the cookie, mother leaned over and let her know of the presence of raisins in her cookie. Deneena started to spit the cookie out of her mouth, shouting that she knew there was something wrong with that cookie. Yeah right! It was obvious to all that her dislike of raisins was right in her head.

Then there came the event of opening the Christmas presents. Peter would play funny Christmas songs like the paradox of the song “The night before Christmas.” Father would read the Christmas story from the Bible. Then he would pray a blessing over the family.

In later years, the person passing out the presents was called Santa. Later, Mother requested that we all take turns opening the gifts to see what each other got for Christmas. I do remember the Stanfield underwear and cologne, which I received from Dad and Mom.

When I was a child, I received toys, and I was so tough on them at times, they broke. Then there was the clean-up, and we all went to bed for the night.

Christmas Day, Mother made a huge dinner which was a Turkey-type meal. We had food which we usually did not get to eat. Punch was served. There was the turkey which Father carved while standing at the head of the table. There was mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, peas, a salad, pickled beats, pickled cucumbers and a tossed salad.

I believe on Boxing Day, we went to our Grandparent's place for the first part of my childhood, and when they got too old, to Uncle Morris’ place, which was in Forestburg. Uncle Morris was a teacher in the local school.

One memory I had of Uncle Morris was how he ate his food. His routine must have driven my Father crazy. He would rearrange his plate as he babbled on and on. Dinner conversation did not exist in my father’s little world. One time, my mother was talking when Father interrupted her, demanding that she stop her jabbering and to eat. My Mother corrected him informing him that this was dinner conversation.

I remember how he would put his face in his plate and shovel the food into his mouth. Afterwards, he would be farting and burping. Sometimes he would burp his food back up, and he would have to re-swallow it down. My brother told him that it was rude to be farting and burping. My father responded that he could not help it. My brother replied that if he would eat slower, he could prevent that from happening.

After Mother passed away in 2004, Father ate his food much slower and enjoyed his food a lot better. He also learned how to cook, and he became an excellent cook for the rest of his life.

In the later years, he drove our family to Uncle Morris’ place to spend Christmas with the rest of Mother's family. Aunt Sybil and family, Uncle Morris and family and our family got together, along with Grandpa and Grandma, which included gift opening.

I remember how slowly Grandpa opened his gifts. He used a pocket knife to open each gift seam after seam, where he kept all the wrapping paper and took it home with him.

Then, after a while, we would all pile into the car, and Father would drive us home.

Christmas was always a particular time of year for me as a Child. I remember one gift was a cardboard Fort; you had to take out a book and put it together. My brother commented that since I had gaps under my fort walls, the Indians could get through my defences.

Christmas as a grown-up is much more fun and meaningful. Celebrating Christmas with my wife is so awesome. She keeps our Christmas tree up for months. She makes my life so worthwhile living. Christmas as a child was special. But Christmas as an adult is the best that it has ever been in my life. I am blessed to celebrate this particular time of year with my best friend.

Life is a gift. Time here on earth is a gift. Memories which Mother helped make happen are priceless. Memories my best friend and I make are the best gifts a man could have. Money is a tool to pay for the things we need. Time is a gift from the one upstairs, which we should never waste.