When I think back to the Christmas vacations of my childhood, a flood of wonderful memories over take me. I remember one grandmother had a white fake Christmas tree with white lights. We had a ton of people around to celebrate Christmas because my mother’s family was huge but there was always plenty of food. I was surrounded by aunts, uncles, and tons of cousins.
This was so different than Christmas at my other grandmother’s home. The tree was always natural and old fashioned colored lights and my favorite- bubble lights. It was a much smaller gathering which usually occurred on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve at Grandma’s always meant Soup and Chili for Christmas Eve Dinner.
Christmas was always an exciting time no matter where we were. My parents never had much money but made Christmas special for us. Many of my friends got the KOOL new toys. We never got those for a few years but that didn’t matter to us. We were loved.
There was a toy that I did receive that stands out in my mind. It is my favorite Christmas gift of all time.
I slept down stairs in the basement in house my parents rented. That year I woke up around 4:00 am in the morning. I snuck very quietly up the stairs with my flashlight. I discovered my dream had come true that year. I received the Han Solo’s ship, the Millenium Falcon. I had a bunch of action figures but not many ships or other transports. This was the KOOLEST gift for a boy who loved Star Wars. I still have my Millenium Falcon today.
