Well I think it\u2019s just about time for my annual, or at least almost annual, Christmas blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was thinking about Christmas over the years. Although Christmas is always a bit hectic, the last few years it\u2019s been crazy<\/em>. What with all the lockdowns and medical restrictions, it\u2019d be hard to classify the past few Christmases as \u201cnormal.\u201d But anyhow I was thinking about the 79 Christmases I\u2019ve experienced and how things have changed\u2026 and stayed the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t 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 \u201cgrandma\u201d prepared. I don\u2019t remember any \u201ctraditional\u201d 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\u2019t remember having it until I was married \u2014 I suppose that makes sense, since the green bean casserole wasn\u2019t invented until 1955 (by the Campbell Soup Co.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly after I\u2019d 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\u2019d ever seen, and my dad agreed. I guess my mother was the trend setter for the family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I remember before I left home, bubble lights were all the rage. Our \u201creal\u201d Christmas tree (not the aluminum one) was decorated with bubble lights for a number of years. If you\u2019re 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 \u201cbubble.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seems like every year, the toy companies would introduce a new toy for Christmas \u2014 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\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I was younger, it was common for people to dress up for Christmas. I remember having to wear my \u201cchurch clothes,\u201d and my parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles always dressed up for Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I did a little extensive research and found out that Christmas the year I was born (1938) sort of kicked off the superhero era \u2014 Action Comics #1 introduced Superman, and from what I\u2019ve read, that comic book became a major Christmas gift. So no matter what my 80th Christmas brings, it\u2019ll be special \u2014 all the Christmases I\u2019ve experienced are special\u2026. Well I think it\u2019s 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\u2019s been crazy. What … Continue reading
I\u2019m not sure how Christmas will play out here this year,but I think (and hope) it becomes a little bit more normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The year of Claire\u2019s first Christmas saw the release of the movie \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life,\u201d that became a Christmas classic \u2014 that you can watch every year on various TV channels.
Kelly\u2019s first Christmas (1976) was a routine year in that new dolls were introduced \u2014 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\u2019s first Christmas, the new toy of the year was Rubik\u2019s Cube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Merry Christmas to all!
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"