Christmas Memories: Santa Claus, Charlie Brown, Babies
Yes, Katie. There is a Santa Claus’
Christmases at the farm when I was a little girl were magical. I think they were extra special for me being the youngest of the Drummond clan. We had certain traditions, as most families do. Mom and Dad would get up early so Mom could put the gigantic turkey in the oven and start making Grandma Maclennan’s famous Christmas pudding sauce. Mom and Dad slept upstairs, and all of us kids were in the basement. I vaguely remember sharing the biggest bedroom with my sisters Valarie, Kristine and Carrie. Pam was the oldest, so she had her room, and Garth was the only boy and had his bedroom.
L-R: Katie, Carrie, Kristine, Pam, Garth and Valarie Drummond (approx. 1978)
We weren’t allowed to come upstairs until we got the okay from Dad, who would send a cheery, “Ho, Ho Ho” over our Radio Shack intercom system. It isn’t like any of us were still sleeping.
Christmas Eve night always seemed to be the longest night. The anticipation of what Santa may have left in our stockings was always too much for me to get a good night’s rest.
We would all clammer up the stairs and wish Mom and Dad a Merry Christmas before seeing what was in our sock.
I don’t remember when I figured out when there was no Santa Claus, but I do remember when I still believed. My favourite gift from Santa was a wind-up bathtub toy. It was a blue and white dolphin. Its little nose would spin round, allowing it to move in the water. I’m not entirely sure which of my siblings wound it up and stuck it in my hair, making a small bald spot.
We would gather around the tree, and one by one, from youngest to oldest, we would open up gifts. Dad would sit on the ottoman beside the tree and hand them out, while Mom would have her coffee and a notepad, making sure she knew who received what from whom. We always were expected to write thank you notes for gifts received from aunties, uncles and Grandma Drummond.
Kate Winquist
Brock
“Charlie Brown Trees”
Christmas traditions I remember as a child were attending Midnight mass on Christmas Eve where the life sized nativity scene made the birth of Jesus seem very real to me. In our home, Christmas greeting cards were strung up all around the kitchen. We lived on a farm and every Christmas without fail, by the time we made a trip into town to pick out a tree, only the scraggliest Charlie Brown trees were left.
The only advantage was we didn’t even notice when the needles started falling off. This is me at age 5 beside our Charlie Brown tree. I think that was the year I ordered Allsorts licorice, the cheapest item in the Sears catalogue, for a gift for my dad cause I only had two bucks to spend. He had dentures and couldn’t eat them, so we helped him out.
Joan Janzen,
Kindersley
Babies are the best Christmas present
My best Christmas memory was Christmas 1977 when Greg and I were living in Calgary and came back to Sask. to spend Christmas with our families. I was pregnant, but not due for six weeks. I started to have a few pains on Dec. 22 so we went to the hospital in Calgary, and was reassured everything was good to go. We arrived at Greg’s mom and dad’s in Brock on Dec. 23. I didn’t feel that great but never thought about it because it was awesome to be back around family.
Christmas Eve morning Greg’s mom (a mother of 10) said to me “You’re in labour. Go to the hospital.” We went to the Rosetown Hospital and Michelle Lee was born at 4 that afternoon. She weighed less than five pounds and had to stay in the hospital for a while. Best Christmas present ever. And I enjoyed turkey dinner in the hospital with two other moms who delivered on Christmas Eve.
Laurie Kelly,
Brock