When my son was much younger, he loved sprinkles. We literally put sprinkles on everything… cookies, ice cream, cupcakes… anything he deemed sprinkle worthy. I had a specific kitchen cabinet where the bounty of sprinkles were stashed away, ready for a quick, special treat. We had multiple flavors and colors to select from and it was such a joyful experience for him.

Christmas memories are very much the same way, a sprinkle of sweetness in our hearts and minds of a very special Christmas moment. These moments can be recreated by establishing traditions that are repeated year after year during the Christmas season… like the sprinkles of sweetness on top of a very special treat.

Sometimes as I am working inside our hardware store, I often see glimpses of these special Christmas memories from interactions with our customers, or stocking the shelves with products, and yes, even the endless search for new product offerings to bring to you, can create a sense of nostalgia of Christmas past. So here’s a small sprinkling of Christmas memories through my eyes as I wander through the hardware store… I hope you will enjoy this mini series of blog posts centered around on of the most wonderful times of the year, Christmas.

Christmas Eve

Last year, Christmas Eve, 2022, ranks in the top 5 of one of the hardest days as a hardware store owner. The extreme cold snap had caused tremendous damage to many of our customers homes.

Frozen pipes were everywhere and the water issues that come with that… Power was out, and devastation was impacting our community. If I’m remembering correctly, Power outages were commonplace on Christmas Eve in some parts of the county.

Many of our employees were already spending time with their families, so Richard and I were left to deal with the day. Normally the overtones of Joy of the holiday season abounds on Christmas Eve. But the tone of our conversations with customers last Christmas Eve, was somber and often sobering… learning of the devastation that many were facing during the holiday. Gratitude and exhaustion set in by the end of that workday. Richard and I survived last Christmas Eve through the small smiles of our customers who found what they were searching for and the tired faces that thanked us for being there to help them.

It took us both a long moment to readjust and reframe our mindset after we closed up for the day that last Christmas Eve in 2022. But that’s the thing about memories, some are absolutely beautiful and precious and some are very powerful. This one was powerful. I began to think about past, poignant, Christmas Eve memories from my childhood and adult life. Christmas Day memories are something of a blur because of the endless hours of play, joy, and pure excitement of the day. I don’t truly remember a specific toy or year that I received something extra special. Each year was special! But, THE EXPERIENCE and EXCITEMENT of Christmas Eve and build up to Christmas Day seems to fit perfectly! I hope that you will enjoy a few Christmas Eve memories I have selected for you in this blog post.

1. The Trip to Granny and Papa’s House… Christmas Eve was the day that was selected for my mom’s side of the family to gather together and celebrate Christmas. A traditional big family meal was always planned and of course, presents! As young children, the morning of Christmas Eve, absolutely was the longest day ever!!!! My sister and I looked forward to seeing our cousins and opening the FIRST Christmas presents on Christmas Eve at Granny and Papa’s House. I’m not really sure how Mom survived all those Christmas Eve days with us… the excitement bubbling over all day long, the building anticipation of Christmas Day, and preparing food for the holiday meals.

Mom was a pro, and she kept us busy every Christmas Eve. The day steadily progressed and before we knew it, we were loaded up into the car, gifts in tow, all giggles and smiles… our destination, Christmas Eve at Granny’s and Papa’s House. I think before Dad could turn the car off, we were both running around the house grabbing hugs, and kisses and then we were off to play before the feast of a meal was placed onto the kitchen table. Then it was finally time to gather around to say a prayer, eating a meal together prior to celebrating the occasion of Christmas with presents.

We would OR could hardly eat anything because the presents under the tree were simply too much to resist! As our parents wanted to linger in conversation after dinner, the quick reminder came from all of us kids, that it was time to open the 🎁 presents! Hearty laughter from throughout the kitchen could be heard and footsteps would be trod towards the fully lit Christmas tree in the front living room. It didn’t take long for the litter of the remnants of Christmas wrapping paper to be found across the floor… mostly by the kids in the family. We played with our new toys/gifts while the kitchen was cleaned, and the was car packed to leave. Everyone said their final goodbyes and Merry Christmas. Mom made final plans for breakfast at our house, (Granny and Papa, made it a special treat to visit each of us on Christmas Day, they had breakfast with us, then went to visit our cousins afterwards each Christmas morning).

My sister and I loaded up our enthusiastic little bodies back into the car to await Santa’s arrival. I’m not really sure how much sleep we actually got on those childhood Christmas Eve nights. I feel pretty confident that our parents were sleep deprived the next morning… but these Christmas Eve memories were joyful and some of the absolute best Christmas memories ever.

2. Christmas Eve Cookies for Santa, Reindeer Food and the Santa Key

When Benjamin was little, we established the tradition of making Chocolate chip cookies each Christmas Eve before bedtime. B would put a few of the freshly baked cookies onto the Santa plate, ready for him to grab a snack as he was placing gifts from the North Pole, under our Christmas tree. Benjamin would always assist in making cookies, never wanting to alter the type of cookies, because Santa liked Chocolate Chip cookies the best!

After Santa’s cookies were made, we would turn our attention to his reindeer… And… Santa’s reindeer had to be fed! They must be starving by the time they arrived at our house!!! Carrots and celery were placed onto the plate next to the cookies and milk for Santa. Lastly, the Santa key had to be placed on the front door, hanging in view of Santa’s sleigh arrival. Sleepy slumber would soon follow and he was off to bed from the busy Christmas Eve activities.

It was always so exciting each Christmas morning to see the “nubs” of the reindeer food that was left. Santa was always so kind, leaving a note to thank Benjamin for the cookies and reindeer food. That small little tradition created so much fun and excitement for B when he walked into the living room every Christmas morning, checking the empty Santa plate, FIRST, before moving to see what was under the Christmas tree.

3. Christmas Eve Church

There’s absolutely nothing more powerful than a beautiful Christmas Eve service filled with music, and the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The joyful sounds of Christmas carols ushering in the reason for the Christmas celebration ending with a beautiful favorite, Silent Night.

The events of last Christmas Eve were heavy on the mind and in our hearts … the extremely cold temperatures, frozen pipes, busted water lines…. but as the Christmas Eve service began, the sadness of the day lifted and the joy of Christmas came to the forefront… “Silent Night, Holy Night…”

Everyone who attends Christmas Eve church brings an extra bit of joy, happiness and warmth into this special Christmas Eve service as they enter into church and leave with a glow of light and peace… “ Son of God, loves pure light… radiant beams from Thy holy face with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth!”

Our family tradition of Christmas Eve church began many years ago when Benjamin was younger and involved in the children’s church Christmas play… held every Christmas Eve at the 6pm service. He loved to be one of the shepherds watching in the field during the play… “Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar,
heav’nly hosts sing, “Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born!
Christ the Savior is born!”

As he grew older, his role changed as his responsibilities became more important as an acolyte. He served as an acolyte in the Christmas Eve late service, beginning at 10:30 pm. This Christmas Eve service became the traditional Christmas holiday service that we enjoyed the most.

Nothing is more beautiful than enjoying the extensive variety of Christmas music (especially the vocals, strings, brass), the message of the birth of Jesus, partaking in communion, and the service ending with the traditional candlelight vigil and concluding with Silent Night.

Each person in the church holding a single candle, sharing the light of the flame with each other… “Wondrous star, lend thy light; with the angels let us sing
“Alleluia” to our King:
“Christ the Savior is born!
Christ the Savior is born.”

The sanctuary is darkened and initially only a few small candles are visible… the flame begins to slowly spread across the room… creating light. In a matter of a few moments, as the first few verses of Silent Night concludes, the glow of candlelight can be seen throughout the entire church. and the many Faces of the crowd are highlighted by the candlelight. The old, vintage, stained glass windows are illuminated by the mass of candlelight across the sanctuary… “All is calm , all is bright.”

As I conclude this series of Christmas memories on the blog, I would just like to leave you with one more thought. Christmas is a very special time of the year. Make the memories, all the other things will fade with time. Memories will last forever in your heart and soul. Merry Christmas Y’all!