It is funny how my outlook on Christmas has evolved. Of course, as a little kid, it was all about presents and Santa (for awhile at least). We were pretty lower class, we went out onto a place where my dad worked and cut a pine tree (looked like hell but it was free, lol) each year. One year one of my brothers and I each got a bicycle, my dad bought two used bicycles and sanded them down and painted them himself. I wish he was still alive so that I could thank him for that. I appreciate what he did now more than I did back then.
We did have pretty decent Christmases, given our station in life. My dad worked for a company that gave a Christmas bonus, something like 3% and $10 per year of service, and once I got older my mother told me about that and I knew then that was what provided the funds for our presents. That prompted me, later in life when I owned businesses, to always pay a Christmas bonus. Some years that put me in a cash position where I could not get a bonus myself, but at least they did get one.
Later in life, after marrying and having kids of our own, Christmases changed of course. Often we would go to midnight church service (ours starts at 10:30 and ends at midnight) and then when we got back home I was putting stuff together into the wee hours.
As a child, I had no grandparents. So we never had to go anywhere on Christmas Eve, nor leave our house after opening presents on Christmas day. Later in life, as my two brothers and I all got married, and had kids, it became a balancing act, since there are multiple families involved. But I took it all in stride, was not one for drama, and it all worked out.
The kids are all grown now, married, and we have eight grandchildren. The oldest is a senior at A&M, the youngest just turned six months old. Some time ago, my wife and I concluded that rather than her spend a day cooking and dealing with a turkey or the like, for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, she will buy a turkey from our local fire department (it is a fundraiser for them) or the like. This year she bought brisket from a BBQ we frequent.
I think expectations, and the hustle and bustle, can make Christmas a bit much for some. So far, we have avoided that. We will go to midnight service tonight, two of the three children and the grandkids will be there (my son is with his bride's family this year). Then back home, nothing to have to put together, lol. Just happy to have made another one and having family nearby to enjoy it with.
When we get back home after midnight, I wouldn't mind really if I did have a couple of things to put together.
