Years Later, My Grandmother’s Christmas Parties Are Still My Favorite Memory

A couple days ago, my dad told me he was going out to my grandmother's house and, when he came back, he was going to be bringing back a box of ornaments to divide with me and my brother. This is apparently because my grandmother decided not to bother putting up a Christmas tree any more.

Hearing this filled me with mixed emotions. On one hand, I was glad she was giving away her ornaments to family members so we would always have something to remember her by. On the other hand, it was a somewhat depressing reminder that I would no longer experience one of my favorite Christmas memories; the annual party at her house.

My family has never had a lot of traditions; even when my brother and I were growing up. But, no matter what we did 364 days out of the year, one thing was always marked in permanent ink on the calendar; Christmas Eve at my grandmother's house. I don't remember when this tradition started (it was when I was very young) but, every year, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. would drive whatever distance it required regardless of the weather to celebrate the season in her living room and it pretty much remained a family requirement until I had kids of my own.

Everyone would bring dishes to pass for dinner (the one time of the year when my grandmother would break out her special gold plated forks and spoons)then would crowd around the tree in her small living room to hand out presents. Then on the way back home, my parents, brother and I would take the scenic route to look at Christmas lights before going to bed so we could open our own presents the next morning.

Sometimes we would have a little surprise; such as a marriage proposal. And, as the years progressed, that living room got more and more crowded as the family grew until we had as many as four generations celebrating in one living room.

Unfortunately, all good things do eventually come to an end and that was ultimately the case with this memory. My grandmother continued to host the parties up until after my oldest child was born but once she hit her 80s, it became more and more work for her to the she settled for visiting family on Christmas Eve instead. For a while, my family tried to keep the tradition going by holding the party at my parents' house or my aunts' house. But, they just never were the same and, in the end, the annual family Christmas get together became just a memory.

Now that I have kids of my own, I hope to find a way to create memories of Christmas for them. But, unfortunately, without that annual party at my grandmother's house, I'm going to have my work cut out for me.