Christmas Eve Gift

As long as I can remember, my family has always been in a pretty stiff competition of who can say, "Christmas Eve Gift" first. My Nanny was the pro of all pros. She would call us early in the morning on Christmas Eve and greet us with her cheeriest "Christmas Eve Gift" when we answered the phone. The tradition did slide a little bit as she became older and her health declined. But she is looking down on us today and smiling because the tradition is alive and well.

I finally took the time to come in and see what research results I could find on the Internet concerning this tradition. I was quite surprised to find several hits on the subject "Christmas Eve Gift tradition." It seems that whoever offers the "Christmas Eve Gift" greeting first is to receive a small gift on Christmas Eve. We have never actually bestowed a gift on anyone. My family is rich with the gifts of love, support, and commitment to each other. Christmas has always been special in my family. Both of my parents are "only children," which obviously means that my sister and I have no aunts or uncles...except for those that I adopted (Aunt Nell and Uncle Jim). I say that I am the one that adopted them because I am the oldest and had that privilege because they were close friends to my parents. My mother taught school so she shared the same holiday with us. My dad was a farmer and it was imperative that the farm work continue. So both sets of grandparents spent Christmases with us. It was a very laid back, simple type of holiday. Then I met Benny and was introduced to a whole new set of events and activities at Christmas.


Benny's mother and brother owned a department store which meant working until the evening time and making sure everyone had picked up their wrapped gifts. His parents had quite a few brothers and sisters. So as soon as the store closed we would make our way to Grandma and Grandpa Balls to have Christmas with them and Donnie Ray. There would be a quick supper before opening gifts. Then we would rush over to Grandma and Grandpa Drapers. Their little house on West Harris would be bulging at the seams with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins. Of course, there would be plenty of food to enjoy there and then it was time...time for the infamous Chinese trading game that would bring out the deep competition within each member of the family. Oh the stories of conniving and sneakiness that could be shared today. Thank heavens those walls don't talk. It would be very close to midnight before getting away from there and make our way to have Christmas with Ila and Wilburn. Everyone would then make their way home, awaiting Santa's arrival. That left Christmas Day for my family. You can imagine how quiet Christmas Day was after all the hustle and bustle of Christmas Eve. That tradition continued as long as we had grandparents. Benny and I joined the rank of retail stores and with two children of our own, it became more hectic than ever. As you can imagine, Christmas is much slower today. Of course, our children are grown with families of their own. Our Christmas celebrations are different from year to year in order to share them with their in-laws and work around firemen and military duties. But it is joyous, none the less. The love we share makes it Christmas all year long.

It was a joy to wake up to a blanket of beautiful snow covering everything. Of course, the biggest joy is that we are staying in and don't have to venture out. But our prayers do cover those that are out in this. The road crews have been out early this morning trying to make everything as safe as possible. And there are those that have to go to work. There are others that still have some shopping to do and will feel that there is nothing they can do but go out to finish making all their gift purchases. So we wish a safe Christmas Eve to everyone, too.

But more than anything, we wish a very Merry Christmas to everyone. It is important to remember that the real reason we celebrate this season is the most wonderful gift of all that God gave to each of us...his precious son, Jesus. My Pop always told me that he worried about us because there is so much "meanness" in the world. That is true. But there is also a lot of "goodness" in the world. We just need to continue to build that goodness until it completely envelopes the meanness and dissolves it completely. Another great gift that God gave us is the freedom to choose for ourselves. He loves us unconditionally and waits patiently for us to choose Him and the saving grace he has offered through Jesus Christ. That is my choice.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and we pray for God's richest blessings to you and your families in the new year.