The most precious gift of all

Do you have a funny Christmas memory? My favourite is of a year when Santa brought me a baby doll that actually drank from a bottle and then miraculously managed to wee! The fact that she could do this was so impressive and I was so proud of my new baby doll! That same Christmas my brother’s present from Santa was something he cherished equally – a new Zippy board! Now being so little and SO excited, I didn’t consider the consequences of my next move! I proudly rested my new baby on his board and proceeded to demonstrate to my brother how my doll could drink and wee. All went well until she did her wee all over his new board! To say he was upset would be an understatement! All hell broke loose and there were tears before bedtime! My doll was never allowed near the Zippy board again!

I have very fond memories of Christmas as a child. A beautifully decorated Christmas tree, Christmas ornaments in the house, Christmas records being played over and over, the delicious aroma of Mum baking the Christmas cake and her yummy shortbread (which we still all look forward to every Christmas!). Then came the excitement of visiting Santa at the shopping centre where I secretly hoped he didn’t know about the trouble I’d been in throughout the year! Finally it would be Christmas Eve and the excitement was almost too much! The glass of milk and piece of Christmas cake for Santa and a carrot for his reindeer would all be placed carefully where we thought he’d easily find it. There were a few moments of concern about how he was going to get into our house, as we had no chimney, but Dad assured us he’d leave the door open and that was good enough for me! We’d be bundled off to bed with the tale that Santa wouldn’t come until we were asleep! Sleep… You’ve got to be kidding! But eventually my eyelids would grow heavy and the quest to see Santa would be put off until the next Christmas.

Christmas Day dawned and that wonderful moment when I realized it was actually Christmas Day would send me racing in to wake my brother. Had Santa been? Yes, the milk had been drunk, the cake eaten and the stub of carrot that was left definitely had reindeer tooth marks on it! We’d creep out to have a peek at the tree before exploding into Mum and Dad’s room calling “Santa’s been!” Finally, there we’d all be, around the Christmas tree in our PJs, marvelling at the goodies Santa had left overnight.

And of course it wouldn’t have been Christmas without the family gathering for Christmas lunch; Aunts, Uncles, cousins, Grandmas, Grandad and Pop. We’d all pull the bonbons, don our paper hats, laugh at all the bad jokes and tuck into a fabulous spread. By Christmas afternoon we’d all be weary. The kids from the excitement, Mum from all the preparation in the lead up to the big day, and Dad, Grandad, and Pop from perhaps a few too many coldies! Fun and mischief usually followed and I still remember the look of glee on my Grandad’s face when he managed to pull a prank on one of us and the sound of Pop giggling as he watched it all unfold – happy days!

As a young child I thought Christmas was wonderful because we had a beautiful Christmas tree and received exciting gifts. Now when I look back I realise that the real joy of those Christmases was sharing the love and laughter with the most precious gift of all – FAMILY.

Has Christmas helped you to really appreciate the importance of family?