by MaryCarole Strother
As the holidays draw closer everyone has memories of their favorite holiday traditions that make Christmas a magical time of the year. My childhood Christmas memories are centered around finding the perfect Christmas tree. We lived on a 40-acre farm in Arkansas and every year we would start looking for the perfect tree that we would cut down and bring back to the house for all of the five girls in my family to decorate. My parents had a special ornament that was carefully hung on the tree that came from their first Christmas together. After the tree was decorated we hung up our stockings. Each of the stockings had our names outlined in glitter at the top.
Our Granny had a special tradition that she would have for us at her house every year. It was a Gumdrop Christmas Tree. It was made of clear plastic and sat in the middle of the kitchen table. We decorated it by sticking gumdrops on the tips of each of the branches. The finished tree was a sparking delight. We would decorate the tree and then eat the gumdrops from the tree branches until it looked bare. Then the decorating would begin again.
On Christmas Eve, we watched intently to the 10 o’clock news and listened as the weather man showed the radar with the imprint of Santa and his reindeer as a blip on the screen. He told everyone it was time to go to bed and that Santa was on his way. WE BELIEVED. So off to bed we went trying our best to fall asleep to hurry the arrival of Christmas morning.
On Christmas morning the first kid to awaken would wake up all the other sisters. The door to the living room was closed where the tree and the presents were waiting to be opened. We lined up single file at the door waiting for my parents to wake up and then open the door and usher us in for the opening of the presents and the stockings.
When my two boys were young, our favorite Christmas memories were putting up the tree, hanging their stockings on the fireplace, putting out the Christmas village, reading the story of the nativity and going to church on Christmas Eve.
Another special tradition that we began when they were young was building and decorating gingerbread houses. We had cast iron molds and would bake our houses. The smell of fresh baked gingerbread filled the house. They loved tasting the icing and sampling all the candies. We learned how to make sleighs out of candy canes, place Santa on the rooftop coming down the chimney and create a path to the front door of the house lined with sparking gumdrops.
The finished creations would be placed on the fireplace mantel so our dachshund, named Snickers, would not devour them when we weren’t looking. Of course, opening presents on Christmas morning would be their favorite part. Through the years Santa brought roller blades, ice skates, Dallas Stars jerseys, a trampoline, bicycles, video games and stockings filled with fruit, nuts and candy.
As the boys grew older and became “too old” for making gingerbread houses I continued the tradition with neighbors and friends that had younger children.
Now I finally get to carry on the tradition of gingerbread house making with my own grandkids. It brought such joy to my heart when we built our first house together, to see the same look of excitement in their faces just like my boys had so many years ago. I know there will come a day when my grandkids will outgrow making gingerbread houses. Until that day comes, I will enjoy every moment of creating these holiday memories with them.
If you want to begin making gingerbread houses with your family you can buy the premade kits at the grocery store. Instead of using the icing that comes with the kit you should make a batch of Royal Frosting icing. You can also buy more candy to make the house more colorful and festive. Remember your house doesn’t have to be perfect. Every house is as unique as the person creating it. Have fun and enjoy your time together creating memories.
During the holiday and winter break, bring your family to the Collin County History Museum in historic downtown McKinney and enjoy spending time together and learning about the rich history of McKinney and Collin County.
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