More on Christmas Thoughts

                                                     More on Christmas Thoughts
             
Something I truly want to say.  We never had a bad Christmas, but it was celebrated differently when I was young.

Dad and Mom were both very family orientated.  So major holidays meant getting those that were near or almost near together to spend time.  The spending of time and sharing was more important than material objects.

We had our Aunt Etta Jones Morelli's family near. We had Ralph Scott's family a wee farther away but within 2 hours could be to our house after 1948--9..  Aunt Ruth's family lived Oregon and would come when Uncle could get an extra day.  During the War Aunt Bethel Jones Cooper and Aunt Muriel Jones Collins would some times come for a week or more.  Seems the Uncle's spent time at Letterman Hospital in San Francisco, Ca. Later Aunt Ruth's family moved next to us when we were in Valley Ford. This being after 1948 when Dad bought our home in Valley Ford.,CA.
I know Dad shared money for gas for Aunt Ruth to come more than once.

We played cards, games, and if outside ball games, jump rope too. Yes, they all jumped rope at one time or another both male and female.  Great exercise also.  We would have contests about whom jumped the longest.

Having said that and being a military family, sharing how we overcame much limited funds.
Our first Christmas as a small family brought a major strain to our budget but with family help it happened.  The Elder Pentico's sent us a small sum of money, my parents sent us funds also. We were able to buy the roaster We still have and a small turkey. The store had some cute children chairs from Mexico and Ed fit perfect setting in it.  So we bought it for his Xmas present. Aunt Etta' sent us a candy dish filled with homemade candy, Aunt Ruth gave us their old blue ornaments at Thanksgiving,  and we scrounged for a very small tree.  We then drove to my parents and Aunt Ruth's for dinner when it was the weekend and Fred was off work.  We generally had brunch at Aunt Ruth's the day before the event and on to parents who were farther north because Aunt Ruth's family had moved to Sunnyvale, CA.  We were stationed at NAS LEMOORE. Fred was the 33rd aboard and a PLANK Member.
Over time a cousin moved to Atascadero and that was a stop coming and going when it worked out right.  Ken Foulk drove Greyhound bus.  Dad's first cousin. Ken's daughter was the first baby Fred held, at that time they lived Santa Clara until he moved south to Atascadero. I baby sat his children before I married Fred living in Sunnyvale with Aunt Ruth's family after Graduation.

So back to story at hand.

First the children were given lists and it had 2 columns.  Things they felt that they personally needed.
Like Shoes, jeans, warm jacket, new binder for school.

Second they were to put some of their I would like to have on the second page. Of course in the order of desire and thinking of cost. Many times they were surprised.

Personally I think this a much better way to handle Christmas.  They 1, learned the difference between I want, I got to have and Need. They also received items that they could appreciate a wee longer it seemed.

Christmas has to me always been a giving season.  Seems I read it often in the Good Book also.

The hardest Christmas I remember for our children was the year, all five of them had outgrown their shoes. Two were in Jr Hi and needed PE shoes plus school shoes so that is 7 pair of shoes.  They so badly wanted slippers for in the house. I went to our most used shoe store on 3rd and Palomar and the manager asked me what I needed. I told him. We outfitted all the children with shoes.  Then he went and got slippers for them to try on and later I went back and got those slippers for them. He nearly gave them to me. I definitely did not pay the price of the slippers. The family was very surprised but so excited to have both,  plus the new PE shoes.  Dad came home 2 months later and that was always a major plus also.  That was also the year we had snow on our ground and the boys made a snowman and we put him in the stand up freezer for DAD to see when he got home. It has shrunk about 2 inches but still there standing in the freezer for Dad to see.  We did not have a tree that year, we decorated a manzanita Branch with lights and were thankful for what we did have and then received money from Dad to drive home for 5 days between Christmas and New Years because the children were out of school the first week of January also. God was good.

WE had each other, we had food, we had a roof over our head, we also had my Uncle in Lemon Grove to assist when I asked, when he was home as he was military also.

Did Christmas teach your family the difference between want and need?