Why is it that having any control of anything related to fire is so enticing for a child? Whether it was the candle during the Christmas Eve service, sparklers on Independence Day, or throwing stuff in the campfire, kids are just fascinated with the flame! I have no doubt that we dumped a fair amount of wax on the sanctuary carpet over the years.
I remember waking up what seemed like super early and being told what seemed like 50 times to go back to bed, it was too early to get up. And then the wait for Grandma and Grandpa. I have recollections of sitting in the window on the North side of the house and watching West Charles a block away in anticipation of seeing Grandma and Grandpa's van. That's when the adrenaline really started pumping!
I have fond memories of those times at the hall with the extended family. Everyone was wearing new sweatshirts and jackets and showing off their favorite presents. It was like show and tell with all the cousins. When I think back on it, I'm not sure how it was that much different from the OTHER big family Christmas that was always did a week or two prior to Christmas. Now that I think about it, that one was focused on Mom's siblings and families, and the Christmas day get together included a lot of Grandma Birchard's siblings and extended family. Oddly enough, I don't remember much about presents at the Christmas day gathering at the hall. Didn't Grandma give us all our gifts at the other get together? What I do remember is all the silly games and shenanigans from Christmas day, usually led by Uncle Jim. He was dual-hatted in our family for a long time - Game Leader as well as Family Prayer Guy. When is the last time any of you played the "close your eyes and grab some hands and then get untangled" game?
Lots of great memories of our Christmases together... Ed, after I added pics to your post I came across these two that contain two of the presents that you mentioned in your post!
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