I have to say, when I was young, I always looked forward to Christmas. As early as I can remember, maybe the late '80s, I was the youngest of my mom's kids and would get a lot of presents. Even the school bus we rode would draw names, and I would receive really cool presents. I remember one was an Alvin and the Chipmunks record. I didn't have a record player, but my oldest brother did. My mom would let me listen in his room when he was not there. Maybe that's why I got most of the presents because my older siblings didn't want much, and I found myself playing by myself.
Even after Christmas, I would play with my toys outdoors—it was my big wheel, training bike, but I would play with my red wagon and my oldest brother's burger wagon. Toys would last forever and were made out of durable material. I really liked playing with his dump trucks; yes, I would get these for Christmas too, because I was a child that liked to play in the dirt. I don't remember getting a lot of dolls, but the dolls I liked, like one year I really wanted the Cabbage Patch doll and a few Barbie dolls.
Even though I didn't know how to play the piano, I would get a few pianos for Christmas; this was so cool. Just getting that piano as a toy encouraged me to take up piano lessons. I received a toy flute, but I didn't really like blowing into it. I liked the tambourine and even played it in church. One toy really stands out for me, and it was just the Barbie doll head and some really cool fingernail polish for kids. I feel like these two things helped me with my hair and nails. I started doing hair at an early age, like six years young.
Fast forward to now, I have kids and, being a single mom, I just didn't like putting up decorations, buying gifts, and then taking Christmas decorations down. Some years it would break the bank. When tax time came, I bought them even more things that they needed. When my last child turned teenager, I asked my kids if they minded if I stopped celebrating Christmas and promised to give them money when tax season came. My kids were like, "Yes, Mom, but you buy for us anyway; we don't have to wait for Christmas." They were right; they didn't have to wait for Christmas, I shopped on a monthly basis, especially if I saw a sale.
Now, since I am a grandmother, my daughter always says she likes Christmas and tries to keep the Christmas tradition going, and I notice my mom likes Christmas too. It is a very nice holiday, even though the parents have to buy the products. I never really got the whole Santa thing. So maybe in the future, I would do a few Christmases. I am blessed to have my mom around, and it just makes her so happy to see pretty decorations. I guess I'm not the only one who decided not to do Christmas because I remember a time when I could go around the neighborhood and the decorations would be so pretty. Compared to today, you have to go to a park to see decorations. I think when I do Christmas, it would be how I wanted it to look; if I decided to do the outside, it would be a few decorations, not a lot.
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