Christmas Memories by Jenna Vick Silliman

Dressed up for Christmas Caroling in the nursing homes.

I have lots of fun and happy Christmas memories. Cliff and I got engaged on Christmas Eve 33 years ago! Our first home was on a Christmas tree farm in Northern California. We cut our own little tree and set it up in our living room, but we didn’t have any ornaments so I tried red ribbon into little bows all over it. The first ornament I bought was a tiny three inch teddy bear with a red bow around his neck. He’s been on our Christmas tree every year since!

In January Cliff and I decided to dispose of our first Christmas tree by burning it in the fireplace. We got the fire going and started shoving the tree into the fireplace. At some point it dawned on us this was not a good idea and we pulled the tree out before we had more of a blaze than we bargained on! Hahaha! Talk about learning the hard way!

It seems like events stick in the memory banks when something goes wrong. About Christmas 1992 we gave our kids one of those little log cabin play houses that is really made out of brown plastic. Cliff and I thought it would be easy to put together on Christmas Eve after the kids had gone to bed, so we could surprise them on Christmas morning. We spread all the pieces out on the back patio and got a big mallet and started to try to bop the pieces into place. I don’t know if it was because of the freezing temperature or if we didn’t have the right tools or what, but those plastic logs did not want to go together no matter how much we pounded on them. At midnight we suddenly heard knocking on our front door. It was the police! Our hammering was disturbing the “Silent Night” for our neighbors!  We shoved the pieces back in the box and surprised the kids with a great gift, a build-it-yourself play house.

Some of our other fun activities at this time of year include, making snow men with my kids, taking Christmas pictures of our family, baking and decorating Christmas cookies, cutting snowflakes, reading stories aloud, my daughter playing the piano, watching a Christmas play with my son Stephen in the lead role, hearing my husband read the Christmas story out of the Bible, driving around town looking at beautiful Christmas lights, and serving homemade Texas fudge (and not telling the secret ingredient is refried beans instead of butter).

One of my favorite things to do at Christmas time is get all dressed up in bright colors and a funny hat and go caroling in the nursing homes. Today I will wear a shiny white skirt that is long and very twirly, a red top and a red and green elf hat with bells on it. Today my friend Charli and I will go a-caroling and enjoy some beautiful smiles light up the faces of our friends living in nursing homes.

'Tis the season to be jolly, so have a merry day!