The Woman Who Taught Me Christmas

For weeks now I’ve been trying to remember my childhood Christmases.  It shouldn’t be too difficult should it really?  Unfortunately for me it seems to be quite a challenge.  I can’t remember any happy memories, but I’m sure there must be some.

The only thing that seems imprinted on my mind is getting a horrible cheap calculator and trying really hard to think how I was going to make ‘what I got for Christmas’ sound good at school.  I’m not sure why that has stuck with me quite so much.

I have no photo’s of Christmas’s as a child, in fact I have no photo’s of me as a child full stop.  Just a memory of me as a baby with rosey cheeks peeking over a cot and my school photos when I had decidedly big hair and a grey uniform with a black and orange tie.  I can’t even remember if I believed or not, I think I did in a desperate way hoping Santa would bring me something money can’t buy, happiness or perhaps an escape.

I had no idea how to celebrate Christmas but I knew I wanted to have better ones, happier ones for my children.  Presents play a big part of it for me as I desperately try and make up for all the Christmas’s that I got a horrible cheap calculator or similar.

But today it has hit me more than ever that what it is really about is memories.  I want my children to have memories of lovely Christmas’s filled with magic, maybe some mayhem, but without a doubt lots of love.

My son and I spent many Christmas’s with Granny before my husband and the girls came along.  Every Christmas she would make such a fuss over the little things.  My son would write a letter to Santa every year, and there was a real fire to burn it on so all the wishes went up the chimney.

Santa and his reindeer would be left treats before bed and the magic of Christmas was created every year with lovely rituals and traditions. All these things were a little alien to me, but I knew it was what should happen.

This year Princess gets it, and it is me, not Granny, building the suspense and magic of Christmas.  We went out at 5.22pm to sprinkle magic reindeer food in the garden and watch Santa fly across the sky.

We drew pictures for the big man so he knew what she wanted.  She wants a dinosaur by the way.  She got into her new pyjamas and hung the magic key on the door so he can leave her said dinosaur under the tree.  We left him a cookie and some ginger beer in case he needed a snack whilst he was on his travels.

She loved every bit of it and I can’t wait to see her face in the morning when we check to see if the magic key has gone, if he liked his snacks and if he has left a dinosaur under the tree.  I really hope he has as I know it will make her very happy, and that will make me very happy too.

So I hope you are all making wonderful memories filled with love this Christmas and have a very magical time with your families.  We will be busy making ours, thanks to Granny, who taught me all about Christmas.