Christmas Stockings – With Care

A couple of years ago I decided to make all the grandkids a stocking. I took each one individually to the fabric store and let them pick their fabric and trim. I did have to set some limitations because my older grandson wanted camo and a skull pattern. The girls I have to say coordinated their colors very well. Once I had all of my supplies together I sat about sewing. At some point all of my grandkids one by one (except Mathew, of course, he’s not talking yet!) came and talked with me while I sewed the stockings.

My youngest, Madilynn, spent the most time at my side. She is never short on conversion, especially about Christmas. She bragged about being the only kid she knows to ever get a letter from Rudolph. She has never once forgotten to set out food for the reindeer. It was her idea that I make the stocking curve at the toe like elf shoes. It did give them a whimsical touch. She left me no choice but make her stocking first. I loved the blues and silver she had picked. The fabric glimmered like fresh snow. The trim on her stocking looked like icicles.

Savannah’s stocking was very elegant. Hers was trimmed with intricate lace trimmings. She even drew the pattern for the shape she wanted her stocking to be in. She is almost eleven going on 18 if you know what I mean. It seems that although she hasn’t hit the teen years yet she is still dealing with teenage dramas. I sew while she gives me a play by play of everything everyone said that week in school. I was glad to have the chance to be her friend instead of just grandma (actually it’s me maw).

My older grandson, Daniel, stopped by every now and then to give me a peck on my cheek, or ask what there was to eat. However, he did sit beside me long enough to write letters to Santa. He’s at that in between point – he knows that Santa Claus is not real but he likes the magic that Santa brings to Christmas. He would never let his friends know he wrote a letter to Santa – after all, Daniel is 12 years old! He only wrote it to make me happy. It’s one of those family traditions, and this will probably be the last year that I will be able to get him to write a letter of his own. I imagine he will stop writing them all together for a few years and then perhaps help the younger kids.

One by one I finished the stockings and they all turned out very pretty. The kids were so excited to hang them up and see what Santa would put in them.

Santa didn’t disappoint them. Along with all the goodies and toys there were letters from Santa. The kids took turns reading their letters while we ate Christmas breakfast. I am so glad that I made those stockings. It gave me the chance to talk with the kids and hear about the world from their perspective. We also now a have a new way to celebrate the Christmas holiday as a family.

Christmas Lights Add A Magical Touch To The Season

My little granddaughter gets so excited about driving around and looking at Christmas lights every year. The tradition started when she was just a baby. On a very fussy night when my husband and I were keeping her so her mother could do some Christmas shopping we decided we would try a car ride to calm her down. She didn’t fall asleep on the ride but she did fall in love with the glow of Christmas lights. I can still remember her stretching as far as she could in her car seat to watch the lights twinkle. To this day that is her favorite Christmas activity.

With that in mind, when my granddaughter was three she woke up one morning to find a gift from Santa on the front porch. She made movements in blurs as she quickly unwrapped the present. To her delight it was boxes of outdoor Christmas lights. I was sure if we all worked hard she would be able to see the lights lit up by nightfall. We spent the day hanging her Christmas lights. My husband made a quick trip to the hardware store and returned with a plastic light up Santa Claus.

Every year some sort of outdoor decorations are sent from Santa to my granddaughter’s family. She has come to check the porch first thing every morning starting the day after Thanksgiving. Over the years as the collection has grown so has the glow from my granddaughter’s home. When she was still small she would cry when Christmas was over and we had to take down the lights. We told her that it is bad luck to have your Christmas lights up after New Year’s.

One of my all time favorite letters to Santa came from my little granddaughter. She wanted to have a big house covered in lights when she became a grown up. She went on to give a detailed list of things she wanted have display on the front lawn. She thought that a merry go round would look perfect in the driveway. She still thinks the merry go round is a great idea. After the lights are up she can’t wait to mail a letter to Santa to thank him.

Sally is now ten years old. There are times when I am informed by her that she is now too big to do certain things like hold my hand in public. I was happy this year when she said that she was going outside to check on the food for the reindeer.  I watched out the window as she carried out the big silver bowl of food. She sat the food on the ground and sat down on the bench. She was smiling as she looked around at the lights. I couldn’t help but smile. Watching my grandchildren do the things that their parents did as they grew up is truly a blessing. Children are what make my holidays special.