Journey of Santa box
We have had a tradition in our family for 35 years. We have a Santa box that is passed from one family member to another every Christmas. We never know who will be the recipient, and the box always holds a small treasure. To receive it is an honor to be treasured until the next year when it again goes on its journey to another person.
SALLY GOSS
Little Rock
Breezeway to holiday
Temperatures in the low teens last week brought back memories of Christmas from 60 years ago when I was a teenager living on our farm near Forrest City.
Boiled custard and ambrosia were special treats for our extended family during the Christmas holidays. Our home had an unheated breezeway between the breakfast nook and the garage, and when the temperatures dropped low enough it was a perfect place to keep food cold, especially the boiled custard and ambrosia that were made in Mom's kitchen. The breezeway also served as the family entrance into the home, so anyone entering the house caught a whiff of these holiday delicacies.
The kitchen became the center of getting everything ready for the big day. Pecans were cracked, pies were made, hams were cooked, eggs from the henhouse were incorporated into recipes, and vegetables from the garden that had been canned a few months prior were opened. The warmth and aromas of the kitchen let us know that Christmas was near. After preparation much of this food was also kept in the cold breezeway just waiting to be warmed up on Christmas day.
We have kept many of these Christmas and food customs into our own family traditions, but alas, we don't have a breezeway. The elevated deck adjacent to our kitchen serves just as well.
MARKHAM HOWE
Little Rock
Wonder of childhood
One of my most favorite Christmas memories was from the year my oldest daughter was 3 years old. Our family had just gotten home from attending midnight Mass, and our daughter was wide awake, and of course excited about Christmas. My wife and I were wondering how we could get our daughter to go to sleep.
It was a cold and clear night, and as we looked up into the sky we happened to notice an airplane flying overhead. The plane had a blinking red light on it, so we took that as an opportunity. We told our daughter to look up. We told her that the blinking light must be Santa Claus with Rudolph leading the way. Of course, she believed us, and told us that we all needed to hurry and get to bed since Santa Claus was so close. We got her to bed quickly, and of course, when our daughter got up the next morning, Santa had come!
That was such a special time for us, and of course it is a memory that we cherish every year.
TED BECK
St. Vincent
Festive celebrations
My father was in the USAF 20 years. We spent Christmas in various locales where he was stationed. There are so many Christmas celebrations and so many memories. My first Christmas memory (1959) was from Kadeena Air Force Base in Okinawa. I was pushing my baby doll buggy to show my friend Pam my Christmas present and met her halfway as she was pushing her baby doll at the same time; what a coincidence. The weather was perfect for an island in the Indian Ocean. We were transferred to Grand Forks, N.D., the next year. What a climate shock at Christmastime.
Our parents provided a hasty Christmas (1960) while we were in Chicago, where we stopped to visit my Dad's parents. My paternal grandfather passed from a fatal heart attack between our arrival and Christmas. Christmas for my father was never the same; he tried to push the loss of his own father back for his wife and children.
John Brummett's column of the aluminum Christmas trees with the color wheel of revolving lights reminded me of that time when we came back to the States that I wished we had gotten one. My sister and brothers and I were in the back seat of the car and my parents were in the front seat and almost every block had a window displaying these marvels.
Christmas of 2008, my mother went all out decorating the inside and outside of the house. We had purchased the small portable trees with lights and decorations, and they were all over the house. My dad really liked how festive and pretty the house was that Christmas. This is one of my mother's favorite memories; this was also Dad's last Christmas with us. Merry Christmas and may God bless and keep every one of us close.
BECKY TARVIN
Jacksonville
Skepticism takes seat
When I was 11, and my little sister 5, she was a pretty smart cookie. My folks had a tradition of putting up the tree and taking the presents from their hiding places and doing any build-it-yourself needed, tacking the Christmas socks to the mantel, etc., in order to keep the belief in Santa alive as long as possible. (I never did find out where they hid that tree.) But my too-smart-for-her-own-good sister was catching on to the fact that Santa wasn't quite what she was being told; her friends had trees up, with presents already sitting underneath, and she was becoming skeptical.
This was the year that the Patty Play Pal doll was the big thing for young girls. It stood about as tall as my sister. While I was reading my sister to sleep, and making sure she stayed upstairs in her room, my folks put everything in place for Christmas morning. My sister was getting the Patty Play Pal doll, which my folks sat up at the dining room set they bought, with the full set of plates, knives, forks and spoons, and cups for four. Sitting right next to that was the refrigerator and stove to complete her playhouse setup. Behind that was the tree, with the other presents around it, and the cotton for snow, and the mirror for the ice-skating pond, and the little town Mom always arranged so neatly.
On Christmas morning, when my sister came downstairs, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she stood in the doorway from the hall, just staring into the living room, her mouth open in amazement, her eyes as wide as saucers. Dad took a picture of her standing there, and her eyes were open so wide, you could see the tree reflected in them!
To this day, that is my favorite Christmas memory.
DENNIS DONAHUE
Mount Ida
Lights of community
At this time of year, many people invest considerable amounts of time, effort, and money to decorate their homes and lawns with Christmas lights and other features. They and their families undoubtedly get great pleasure from their creations, but the rest of us, with no effort expended, get to enjoy what they have done as well.
Thanks to all of you. You have made all of our evenings and nights much brighter, both literally and figuratively. It is particularly special for our children and grandchildren. May you enjoy a Christmas as cheerful, caring, and special as what you have done for the rest of your community.
MIKE WATTS
Little Rock
Editorial on 12/25/2016