As my loyal readers know, Christmas celebration covers at least two weeks for me.  (A month if I count CoCo’s and my annual “Count Down to Christmas” holiday movie-watching marathon.  Something I resisted, but now look forward to.  What better time to knit and crochet all those hand-crafted gifts?

First, there’s the Crandell Christmas.  The weekend before Christmas my parents’ offspring and their offspring and now their offspring all get together to celebrate.  We’ve gotten so big, we need a hall to gather in.  These days, the only gifts given are to Mom. And I distribute the photo calendar with all our birthdays and anniversaries.  We take turns organizing the event.  I organized the 2020 Crandell Christmas.  The most difficult of all Crandell Christmas’s of all.  CANCELED.  Yes, I did cry a little.

Next Christ’s Christmas.  A supper at CeCe’s and midnight mass with our little parish.  Christmas morning with Loved-One and a simple gift exchange.  Cuddled up together, we sip hot cocoa and watch It’s a Wonderful Life. In 2020, Church on-line. A bit depressed, I missed my friends.  Still, listening to The Pope was a beautiful experience.

New Year’s Eve sleepover with the grandchildren, followed by a pancake breakfast and a traditional Polish meal for a late lunch/early dinner. We have a grab-bag gift draw and a photo-op at the Epiphany candles. In 2020, Canceled sleepover. This one really made me feel blue. But, some of us will get together, wearing masks and keeping our distance.  Not everyone.  

All this made me think of one of my favorite childhood memories.  One where everything seemed to go wrong.  Maybe 2020 will leave behind memories that we look back on with appreciation, if not fondness.

I hope you’ll jump over to Once a Little Girl and read about the year Santa’s sleigh didn’t deliver. Just maybe, Christmas will be memorable in spite of all that’s gone wrong this year.