Well I think it’s just about time for my annual, or at least almost annual, Christmas blog.
I was thinking about Christmas over the years. Although Christmas is always a bit hectic, the last few years it’s been crazy. What with all the lockdowns and medical restrictions, it’d be hard to classify the past few Christmases as “normal.”
I’m not sure how Christmas will play out here this year,but I think (and hope) it becomes a little bit more normal.
But anyhow I was thinking about the 79 Christmases I’ve experienced and how things have changed… and stayed the same.
I don’t remember any special meal at our house on Christmas. We usually went to one of my grandparents houses at Christmas when I was little, so we probably had whatever “grandma” prepared. I don’t remember any “traditional” dishes. I know Claire had lots of traditional foods at Christmas time and I think our kids, if asked, would say the green bean casserole was a tradition when they were growing up I don’t remember having it until I was married — I suppose that makes sense, since the green bean casserole wasn’t invented until 1955 (by the Campbell Soup Co.)
Shortly after I’d left home, one Christmas when I cam home, my parents had put up an aluminum Christmas tree. I think it was in the very late 50s or maybe early 60s. I thought it was just about the ugliest thing I’d ever seen, and my dad agreed. I guess my mother was the trend setter for the family.
I remember before I left home, bubble lights were all the rage. Our “real” Christmas tree (not the aluminum one) was decorated with bubble lights for a number of years. If you’re too young to remember, the lights looked a little bit like a candle filled with a liquid and when the liquid reached a certain temperature, the lights would “bubble.”
Seems like every year, the toy companies would introduce a new toy for Christmas — and of course they were almost impossible to find in the stores. I remember Silly Putty, Mr. Potato Head, Frisbee, Hula Hoop, match book cars, etc. But dolls always topped the list for being new every year. The Barbie doll had a lot of knock-offs every year, like the Ginny dolls, Sweet Sue dolls. Just about every year there was a new have-to have doll like the Cabbage Patch doll….
When I was younger, it was common for people to dress up for Christmas. I remember having to wear my “church clothes,” and my parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles always dressed up for Christmas.
I did a little extensive research and found out that Christmas the year I was born (1938) sort of kicked off the superhero era — Action Comics #1 introduced Superman, and from what I’ve read, that comic book became a major Christmas gift.
The year of Claire’s first Christmas saw the release of the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” that became a Christmas classic — that you can watch every year on various TV channels.
Kelly’s first Christmas (1976) was a routine year in that new dolls were introduced — the trend that year was to model dolls after famous people. The popular dolls that year were Cher and Muhammad Ali.
And in 1980, Dave’s first Christmas, the new toy of the year was Rubik’s Cube.
So no matter what my 80th Christmas brings, it’ll be special — all the Christmases I’ve experienced are special….
Merry Christmas to all!
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