My family has a lot of Christmas traditions. Some extend
back to my mother’s childhood and others began with the arrival of my children,
but the most notable was the tradition started during my elementary school
days.
For several years in a row, our house was filled with
family. My grandparents, my great uncle Cas, my aunt, my uncle, and my three
cousins joined my brother, my parents, and I for Christmas. For a joyous week,
the house was filled with laughter and people. It was a time of barely
controlled chaos. I cherish the memories of those years together.
In our family, we open presents on Christmas morning and
have a fair system of taking turns to ensure everyone shares in the excitement
of each gift. Organizing that many people, however, takes time. To be sure no
one snuck down to the tree and opened a gift early, the kids were stationed on
the stairs.
When I was a kid, my dad and my uncle took turns monitoring
that none of us budged an inch. My mom, grandma, and aunt took their sweet time
brewing coffee and baking cinnamon rolls. My brother, my cousins, and I were
tortured, near enough to see the tree but constantly denied access. We tried to
bargain and bribe our way downstairs, but until the women were ready, we
weren’t allowed to move.
My kids now wait on the stairs. When my parents join us for
Christmas, they are stationed together and I take extra care preparing
breakfast and coffee. My sons complain far less than my brother, cousins, and I
did. They still try to bribe my husband into sneaking a peek at the tree and
the gifts, just like we did. I hope my kids continue the tradition and I’ll be
more than happy to join my grandkids on the stairs one day.
Rachelle Paige Campbell
Rachel, This is such a cute tradition and one I've never heard of. I love it. Imagining the woman in the kitchen taking their sweet time with the coffee while the kids can hardly sit still. What a great time.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of the tradition of waiting at the stairs while the food is cooked before opening gifts. My parents woke us up after midnight services and told my siblings and me that Santa "came." I think they would rather keep us awake in the middle of the night so we could all sleep through the morning hours. Nice that you continue your tradition with your kids.
ReplyDeleteThat is a sweet tradition, and maybe a way to teach kids a little patience? I'm not sure I'd have been able to wait when I was young, but these days those cinnamon rolls sound even better than the presents! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteI love this! For Chanukah, we place all the gifts out as soon as they're wrapped, sometimes a week or two in advance, but no one is allowed to touch them. So we torture them too. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tradition, Rachelle! Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOur house was a big old Victorian and had sliding French doors between the living and dining rooms. It also had 15-foot ceilings so our tree was almost that high. We would open stockings in the living room, then have to troop around to the kitchen and have breakfast before my father was grandly slide open the French doors to reveal the tree. It always seemed to grow taller over night (like the Nutcracker tree). A magical time.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great way to make memories and what a fun way to torture the little ones, lol. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWhat a way to teach patience--I can't even think how that would go over in my family. It's bad enough we have to wait until everyone arrives in the morning at our home, now that the kids and grandkids are grown, and everyone gathers for brunch, then gifts. Waiting is torturous enough just looking at all those gifts under the tree and not being able to open them right away.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting tradition. Never heard of waiting on the stairs until food and drink was prepared in the kitchen. Bet those kids were beyond excited when the time came. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat Christmas tradition. Your children are very patient. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI love the waiting on the steps tradition. This makes a great perch for Christmas pictures too! Happy holidays!
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