FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MEMORIE(S)

Let me see, my favorite Christmas memory...Immanuel Lutheran Church children's Christmas Eve
Service...The Children's Choir annual radio broadcast on WTMJ...walking home from Audrey's
house late Christmas Eve in the snow...driving down to Lake Drive to see all the decorations...
Christmas carolling at Muirdale Sanitarium...Wayne and my first Christmas tree...the year we had
our first, second, third and fourth child and the wonder of Christmas in their eyes...the years we
really had to struggle to put gifts under the tree...the year Eileen wrapped up presents from her
dresser drawers in my towels that were in the clothes hamper.. Maybe it was the year I had the
black eye for Christmas...or having everyone over for dinner...maybe it was the year Ginny put
a diaper on the turkey before we put it in the oven (she didn't like seeing the bare naked bird sitting
on the counter, waiting to be stuffed) going to my sister's for Christmas...decorating the whole house
even the bathroom (Dad always said I competed with the department stores...going to the Christmas
parade in Hollywood (Wayne said we could leave after he saw Jayne Mansfield--I said no, the kids
want to wait to see Santa Claus...the night Eileen spied Santa and his sleigh flying high in the sky
over our hills(really a helicopter patrolling the freeway) sending Wayne and the kids to the store
Christmas Eve for the milk or soda I had "forgotten" so I could let Santa in while they were gone
to place the gifts under the tree. The kids growing up and moving out...having kids of their own
and trees of their own...brand new eyes lighting up with Christmas joy...changes all the time. The
first Christmas without my dad,then my Mom and then my husband...then the great grandbabies
started to come...more little eyes reflecting the Christmas lights and sitting on Santa's lap crying.
None of these things are my favorite memories, all of them are my favorite memories.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year--nothing else even comes close. The stores are decorated
as well as the parking lots, Christmas music fills the air, everyone (well, almost everyone) feels
the warmth and the fuzziness of the season. I LOVE CHRISTMAS I hate it that on the 26th, the
music stops, Christmas trees are discarded on the curb, the hustle and bustle is gone and so is the
warm fuzzy feeling. My wish for all of us is to maintain that feeling throughout the year.

Sorry, Melanie, I can't pick a "favorite" but if you bear with me, I will expand on some of the things
I mentioned before. I will start with Christmas when I was a little girl.

Of course, we lived in Milwaukee and it seems as if everyone there celebrated with gift opening on
Christmas Eve. Christmas day was reserved for visiting friends and families and they visiting us.
Of course, no artificial trees, no one (except the very wealthy) had them. It was Santa's job to
decorate the tree when he brought Christmas gifts. Of course, sometimes dads helped out a bit,
like putting the tree in the stand. The houses in those days were not the wide open living spaces
we see today. Most of the time you could close off the "parlor" (I think it was to conserve heat)
so about a week before Christmas the doors were shut and may mysterious comings and goings
of parents were observed. Nothing we could talk about you understand. Every night on the radio
we would listen to Billie the Brownie from Schusters and also Gimbie and Ellie the Christmas
elephants from Gimbels and they would be in contact with Santa Claus and would read letters on
the radio from boys and girls who had written to Santa. Then on Christmas Eve they would track
down Santa as he flew down from the North Pole. There was the Christmas Parade that travelled
across Milwaukee (decorated Street Cars) which was sponsored by Schusters and was routed past
the 3 Schuster dept. stores. The last car was Santa and his live reindeer. Of course this was just
Snta's Helper, because the "real" Santa was hard at work at the North Pole. The department stores
all went out of their way with their window displays. Animated scenes enough to make your eyes
pop out. At least one evening before Christmas we would go downtown and walk from one end
of Wisconsin Ave downtown section and go from window to window.

Christmas eve would see us all go to church and while we were there Santa would visit our home.
I went to the school at the church and the christmas eve service was the school children's program
We would sing the Christmas cantata which was the Christmas story we are all so familiar with, almost
word for word, with breaks inbetween for the children to get up infront of the Church to say their
"pieces" The higher up in the grades you were, the more of the Cantata you were a part of. my mom
always told about my kindergarten year when I had a "piece" to say. I was first with 11 classmates
following me. I said my "piece" then I said theirs and then we all sat down. Oh well, I guess I was
always a show-off.

Then home to open presents. Of course we always left milk and cookies an d "sugar for the reindeer"
My dad always said he KNEW Santa preferred beer and cookies, but my mom said no, after all he
had a lot of houses to stop at. This was before Rudolph was born.

I think this is enough reminiscing for now. I will share more Christmas feelings in a couple of days.
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT