The week between Christmas and New Year's brought the Christmas
visiting season. The relatives came to our house for Christmas Day to
see Grandma. An open house all day for anyone to pop in, too. One year
the chex mix was the hit as everyone had tired of sweets.
Visiting
let you see the toys and gifts that the other cousins got. They were
displayed under the tree and shown off. Coffee for the adults and pop
for the kids, cookies and other deserts brought out so that rolling out
of the homes was expected.
One year, I ventured out on Christmas
Day with my new bike to my neighbor's house, the Powell's. That was
highly unusual to actually visit on Christmas Day. The day had been one
of those green Christmas and we were older.
I mostly remember
driving around in the gray, everything seemed dull outside, but inside,
oh, the fun of seeing the others' toys. One year, even Uncle Dale had a
fun "toy," a cigarette roller. I rolled a cigarette or two that day.
As
sisters grew older, they came home with children. One of my gifts from
my oldest sister was picking out a movie to see over the Christmas
break. Such a hard choice since this is when all the Oscar movies
opened.
A cousin, Paula, insisted on treating us to lunch at the old Masion Buhl. We were amazed to see
the price of coffee double for the evening meal. We dressed in our best
clothes and enjoyed the "girl" talk in the rich, dark setting. It seemed
a rite of passage to me, and the older nieces, too.
This
week, anyone could show up. Life held that wonder of who could walk
through the door. Did anyone work that week? It sure seemed that no one
did.
1978, Mom had the open house for all the family on both
sides, the Saturday between Christmas and New Year's. Again, everyone
dressed up and we all visited with a lots of food, probably the punch
bowl set on the dining room table.
My dad's niece then took over
for this party when the years and illness slowed down my parents.
Christmas time, a time to be together and eat.
Come, visit!
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