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Christmas eve was the quiet before the storm. The following two days would be a blur of activity. I am a Boxing Day baby (though I wouldn't know anything about Boxing Day until adulthood!), and my mother was a Christmas baby. So, great we went to great lengths to make sure that no one felt cheated out of any celebrations!
My mother's parents always arrived at our house early on Christmas morning. We weren't allowed to get out of bed until they arrived, and we always lobbied to have them arrive as early as possible. I know that at least one year we asked if they could be at our house by 6am! My brothers and I would lay in bed, wide awake at an insanely early hour, listening for the sounds of Grandpa and Grandma arriving. As soon as they arrived, we would storm out of bed and down the stairs to the living room, still in our pajamas. Our gifts from Santa were never wrapped, and we would immediately dive into them, emptying our stockings and playing with the new toys. Shortly afterward, we would systematically demolish the wrapping on all the gifts from our parents and grandparents.
Once all the gifts were unwrapped, my mother and grandmother would go to the kitchen and prepare breakfast. Christmas breakfast was a veritable feast, with pink grapefruit (this was usually the only time we had grapefruit, and even today, fresh grapefruit reminds me of Christmas morning), bacon, sausage, pancakes, eggs, toast and juice. After we'd eaten our fill, my brothers and I would get dressed in some of the new clothes we'd received (my mother's present was always clothes, while my father's was always a toy or game), and we'd play with our new toys.
An hour or so later, after my mother's parents had left, my father's parents would arrive with more gifts to open. We would open their gifts and watch them open the presents we had for them. Then there would be a lull in the activity for a hour or so, before we piled into the car with a pile of gifts and a carefully chosen new toy. We would drive a dozen miles up the road to our Aunt's house. We would start by exchanging Christmas gifts with our cousins, and then we would play with them for the rest of the afternoon. The Christmas celebration ended at dinner, which marked the beginning of my mother's birthday celebration, complete with birthday cake. After dinner, my mother would open her birthday presents. Eventually, late in the evening, we would reluctantly pack all the opened gifts in the car and head home, where my brothers and I (and my parents, I expect) would collapse into bed, exhausted.
The following day (Boxing Day, for those of you in places where that means something!), all the grandparents, our aunt and cousins would all arrive at our house for a midday dinner to celebrate my birthday. After dinner and birthday cake, I would open my birthday presents, and we would all play games and visit until late in the evening. After these two long days of activity, Dec. 27 would arrive as a bit of a let down, but we usually managed to stay entertained by all our new gifts straight through New Year's and the return to school in early January.
My mother's parents always arrived at our house early on Christmas morning. We weren't allowed to get out of bed until they arrived, and we always lobbied to have them arrive as early as possible. I know that at least one year we asked if they could be at our house by 6am! My brothers and I would lay in bed, wide awake at an insanely early hour, listening for the sounds of Grandpa and Grandma arriving. As soon as they arrived, we would storm out of bed and down the stairs to the living room, still in our pajamas. Our gifts from Santa were never wrapped, and we would immediately dive into them, emptying our stockings and playing with the new toys. Shortly afterward, we would systematically demolish the wrapping on all the gifts from our parents and grandparents.
Once all the gifts were unwrapped, my mother and grandmother would go to the kitchen and prepare breakfast. Christmas breakfast was a veritable feast, with pink grapefruit (this was usually the only time we had grapefruit, and even today, fresh grapefruit reminds me of Christmas morning), bacon, sausage, pancakes, eggs, toast and juice. After we'd eaten our fill, my brothers and I would get dressed in some of the new clothes we'd received (my mother's present was always clothes, while my father's was always a toy or game), and we'd play with our new toys.
An hour or so later, after my mother's parents had left, my father's parents would arrive with more gifts to open. We would open their gifts and watch them open the presents we had for them. Then there would be a lull in the activity for a hour or so, before we piled into the car with a pile of gifts and a carefully chosen new toy. We would drive a dozen miles up the road to our Aunt's house. We would start by exchanging Christmas gifts with our cousins, and then we would play with them for the rest of the afternoon. The Christmas celebration ended at dinner, which marked the beginning of my mother's birthday celebration, complete with birthday cake. After dinner, my mother would open her birthday presents. Eventually, late in the evening, we would reluctantly pack all the opened gifts in the car and head home, where my brothers and I (and my parents, I expect) would collapse into bed, exhausted.
The following day (Boxing Day, for those of you in places where that means something!), all the grandparents, our aunt and cousins would all arrive at our house for a midday dinner to celebrate my birthday. After dinner and birthday cake, I would open my birthday presents, and we would all play games and visit until late in the evening. After these two long days of activity, Dec. 27 would arrive as a bit of a let down, but we usually managed to stay entertained by all our new gifts straight through New Year's and the return to school in early January.
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Date: 2005-12-21 04:42 pm (UTC)