I lived a charmed childhood. My parents did the best they could with what they had and what they knew. I may not have always gotten my way; I may have even been rather hateful in my teens, but the bottom line is that I never really wanted for anything, and both my father and mother loved me unconditionally (a bushel, a peck and a hug around the neck). I have such fond memories of my childhood, and of course, this time of year, I think about our holiday traditions.
For example: my mother baked and baked and baked for days and days before Christmas, but if my sister or I or my dad tried to snatch one of those home-baked goodies, she'd slap our hands saying, "Those are for Christmas!" She baked enough to feed an army, but because we also had so much other food for our Christmas Feast, the cookies were always barely touched. She kept that up until her very last Christmas.
My little sister and I looked forward to the reading of the Night Before Christmas at the end of the local news broadcast on Christmas Eve. She and I would sit crossed legged in front of the black and white TV, our hair in sponge rollers so we'd be cute as buttons on Christmas morning, and watch as Ralph Rennick of Miami's Channel 4, surrounded by his own wife and children, read the famed poem.
Our next door neighbor, whom my sister and I called Boo Boo, dressed as Santa and came over to our house after the news was over to give us a gift for being good little girls. We'd sit on his lap and giggle and play with his beard, knowing it was Boo Boo, but never saying that we knew.
Then Mother would put us to bed, and we would anxiously await for morning to arrive. We were so determined not to fall asleep in hopes of seeing "the real Santa." Of course, we always fell asleep.
Ahh, the memory of those fun traditions takes me to a wonderful place of childhood anticipation.
Here's a fun, no-sew, no-glue project that you and your children or grandchildren can make together, perhaps creating a new tradition to share with everyone in your family. It's a Christmas pillow that's so easy to make, you can do it while watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Supplies:
fleece fabric, scissors and a pillow form
Lay whatever you are using as a pillow form on top of two layers of fleece, and cut the fabric about 5-inches larger than the form. (I used some old pillows that needed to be recovered, anyway.) And then cut away the corners, about 4.5-inches deep.
Once you have your two pieces of fleece cut, leaving them together, begin cutting the fringe. There's no measuring or worry here. Just cut them about 3/4 of an inch apart and about 4.5-inches long. Cut the fringe all the way around. This is what will be used to hold the two pieces of fleece together as a pocket for your pillow form.
Being careful to match the two sides together and using a piece of fringe from each of the two pieces of fabric, begin tying the fringe into knots, tied twice. Tie around three sides of the fleece fabric, leaving one side open for the pillow form.
Now you can push your pillow form in between the two pieces of tied fleece, and then begin tying the rest of it together to hold in the pillow form.
You and/or the children have a soft, new Christmas pillow to nestle on while visions of sugar plums dance in your heads. (And it's completely washable - just untie one side, slip out the pillow form, and put the fleece in the washer and dryer.)
I hope all of you have fond memories upon which to build and help you make this the best year, yet!
I love and miss you, Mom and Dad.
