My heart breaks for all of you spending Christmas in the hospital. And for those of you stuck working or having a holiday alone.
For as long as I can remember we have always celebrated Christmas at my house (my parents' old house). We'd bring my grandmother over Christmas Eve, come from college or out-of-state when working internships just to be together. My aunt would send care packages from Europe when my uncle was stationed abroad and then they'd visit us on Christmas evening when they moved back to the States. Now that my mom and grandma are gone, my dad and I still keep up the tradition. Christmas is the only holiday we really get to host for the family. Everyone else has Thanksgiving, Easter, New Year's, summer picnics and BBQs. So obviously we go all out preparing for it.
We've been building a massive train garden every year for the last 10. I start my planning and gift buying somewhere around Halloween. And we all get into the spirit of things. My nieces and nephews chip in to lend a hand with decorations. My SILs, sis and I each do part of the potluck menu (a tradition that started after my mom died and they wanted to help share the burden more).
So usually my sibs hold their Christmas mornings and Eves at their houses for the kids and in-law families. Then they come here for the afternoon/evening of Christmas Day. It gets pretty lonely here before they arrive. Like being inside a quiet Winter Snowglobe with the lights twinkling, presents under the tree and treats waiting to be eaten.
My dad and I are usually up early starting dinner. For the last for years, inevitably we'd start to worry no one will show up as the lure of staying home and playing with Santa's gifts beckons and the clock ticks on (my family are known procrastinators and we try not to set a firm time people have to be here). But then just when we think they won't show, the door opens and the deluge begins.
All told we have 17 people in our house on Christmas Day. My dad and I live for those few hours. It's not that our family doesn't get together throughout the year but that day is extra special to us. To have everybody here together in the place my sibs & I grew up, where our family has always celebrated the day together.
See the year my mom died we weren't sure how to handle it. Should we shift the holiday to another house, go lowkey, get together later as an extended family? My sibs all had young families and one had an extensive family gathering with his in-laws on Christmas Eve. But my sibs and I agreed it just wouldn't be the same if we weren't together.
So I made the decision that I'd do everything I could to make it as good a Christmas for the family as it could be. We all chipped in and we all got into the spirit of it. Dinner became more potluck, gifts became more Kris Kringle and we started a happy hour to kick off the festivities. Christmas, we decided, was a time to cherish our family and thus show how much we loved our mom and this gift of family she left us. It turned out to be the best Christmas ever and solidified the tradition. (My dad and I even added to it a bit by holding a second gathering a few days later for his siblings, including that aunt who now celebrates with her grandchildren Christmas Day.)
Saying that, this year may be a trickier one. The forecasters keep talking about snow on Christmas Day. I've been watching and waiting. I fear Mother Nature might conspire to keep us apart. I've already invited a cousin who's also alone this Christmas. His sister moved to Florida years ago and his parents just moved to Vegas for the winter. Because of work he can't fly out to see them until New Year's.
I sometimes hear the rumblings from a few in-laws that they'd prefer to stay at home that day. It is a struggle getting the family dressed and out the door when Santa's presents beckon. And if there's a big snowstorm headed in that day... well no one wants to risk life or limb over it. But if we do miss it, well I know my dad and I will be blue this Christmas. Because of New Year's plans we won't have a chance to get together until January.
We'll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile my preparations continue. Gotta head to the mall in the morning for some last minute gifts and still have a ton of wrapping to do. But the train garden is up, stockings hung, tree is trimmed, cookies baked, and the dining room cleaned today. If my dad and I do spend the day alone at least this will be a beautiful Christmas Snowglobe to watch the snowfall outside in. (The blizzards last winter were gorgeous.)
Hugs to all in the hospital or with loved ones in the hospital.
