Christmas Past - 1965 - The Good Ole Dayz - @originalcontent

I was rummaging thru some ole photos and found this Christmas photo of myself, two younger sisters, 1 older sister and my elder sisters 2 stepsons. Oh the memories!

I was raised in a welfare family of 8 children, 2 boys and 8 girls, so Christmas around our house was always scarce. However our parents always made it special. It started with daddy taking us in the woods to pick out our tree, usually around the first of December. He would chop it down, through it over his shoulder and carry it home. It was up to us kids to decorate it. We were able to scrounge up enough money to buy a couple packages of tinsels and if we were lucky, a few cheap ornaments and and an angel for the top from the dollar store in town. Daddy would give us all a dollar to spend however we wished. We usually bought cheap toys. Daddy would buy one coconut and a huge peppermint roll and a bag of popcorn kernels. Then back home to decorate our tree and play with our toys.

When we got home, daddy would throw some unshelled peanuts on the wood stove to roast and oh the smell! While the peanuts were roasting, daddy would crack open the dried coconut and cut us all off a piece. Us kids would pop the popcorn and after enjoying our piece of coconut. We then all start stringing the popcorn to hang on the tree. Of course we also had to eat our fill of buttered and salted popcorn. Eventually someone would get around to making hot chocolate with marshmallows on top. By this time the smell of the roasting peanuts had filled the air, so daddy would start pulling them off the stove for us to eat.

After all the popcorn was strung, it was now time to start the decorating. First the store bought ornaments and any handmade ones we had the materials to make (usually strips of white paper, colored by us kids, glued together to make round strips along with anything else we could put together to bring the tree alive with Christmas. Then came the tinsel. I would sting the tinsel one at a time so they would hang long and beautiful. My brother and my younger sisters would just take a handful and throw it on the tree. My older sis and I would "chew em out" and make em "do it right!" And last but surely not least, putting the Angel in her place of honor on top of the tree. I think this particular year, my older sister who was working, sprung for some nice shiny and colorful garland. I think one year she even bought us a strand of pretty blinking lights.

Later that night, daddy would bring out the long awaited peppermint log! He would take the cellophane of the log, get his hammer and crack us all off a small piece of the peppermint. MMM, time for more hot chocolate! I use to add slivers of the peppermint to my chocolate. I still to this day love peppermint and chocolate as it reminds me of my childhood Christmases. Daddy would make that peppermint last all the way up to Christmas Day.

Christmas was always exciting. We would all go pick our favorite sock to hang for Santa to fill with goodies. The Christmas packaged candies we so much better and tasty in those days. I loved the chewy ones with different flavors. And of course the dollar store red and white peppermint sticks. Last order of tradition, open one present under the tree with out name on it and then put out cookies and milk for Santa.

By Christmas Eve night, there would be mounds of presents under the tree. We started early making gifts for each other or wrapping up anything we could find and putting our siblings name on it. A lot of times I would get an item that was already mine that had gone missing. We didn't care, it was the excitement of opening gifts wrapped in newspaper or colored paper on Christmas morning.

Christmas morning us kids would be up by the crack of dawn. We weren't allowed to open presents until everyone was awake and up. Anyone that wasn't awake, got shaken out of bed. "Git up, git-up..It's Christmas!" Sometimes we would hear daddy shout from his bedroom "you kids better quiet down or I'm gonna whoop your ass!" Then he would giggle and say "where's my coffee?" or "where's my breakfast!"

Christmas Dinner was always a traditional Southern feast! Mom started baking homemade pies several days before Christmas. She always made Pecan Pies, Pumpkin Pies, and Green Apple Pies. Her crust alone was to die for! She made the southern cornbread dressing of which part was stuff in the Turkey and the rest was put in a pan and baked. She would pre -make everything she could and have it ready to go in the oven on Christmas Day. Oh and her homemade yeast butter rolls would melt in your mouth.

Our typical Christmas Dinner was Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, cream corn, green beans, rolls and lots of deserts. Relatives would bring in all kinds of side dishes and deserts. Our house was always alive with lots of laughter, love and food! I still follow those traditions today and so does my daughter..I sure my grandkids will pass these traditions down to their families.

Ahh, those were the "Good Ole Days!"

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Happy Holidays ~ Hau'oli Lanui (pronounced how-oh-lay la-new-ee) from The Three Hugs!

Mahalo for your support!