Photo Source: Joe Buckingham
One of the great things about siblings is getting to share the excitement with one another. Today's Monday's Moment is more of a culmination of similar moments that happened on Christmas Eve growing up. After the Shepherd Meal and caroling together as a family we would of course open our one gift. Surprise, it's pajamas... again. Then we would go down to our rooms, fall asleep quickly, and sleep in until 8 or 9 in the morning. Ha ya right.
The family rule was that we weren't allowed to wake Mom and Dad up until 6:00 A.M. and we couldn't go upstairs and peek at our presents until they had gotten up. After all, Santa is watching our every move to know if we are being good or bad.
Between the time we "went to bed" and could wake mom and dad up were the longest hours of our very existence. The boys had a room and the girls had a room but on Christmas Eve it wasn't uncommon for us all to end up in one room, each counting down the minutes by increments of 15. I remember one particular Christmas Eve we tried to stay up ALL night long and we made it until probably 4:30 or 5:00 bouncing with excitement, wondering what we would get, analyzing each sound wondering if we had just heard the reindeer on top, etc.
Another night I remember being so excited that I couldn't sleep, which was pretty much every Christmas Eve. Anyway, I lay in my bed when I swear I heard a sound coming from the fireplace in the next room followed by a creak on the stairs. It had to be Santa and since he know's if your sleeping I hurried and shut my eyes hoping he wouldn't skip our house.
As I got to be a teenager it was still fun to have my younger siblings come wake me up wondering if we could get Mom and Dad up yet. The funny part is that my youngest sister sleeps like a log and out of all of us kids could totally sleep through Christmas morning if we didn't wake her up.
Confession: I still get a little giddy on Christmas Eve and wake up more than usual wondering how long until we can get up out of bed.
It's funny but no matter how old I get I don't think I will ever outgrow the "Christmas Magic" especially since so many fond memories are attached to it.
What were your Christmas Eve traditions?
Sounds like fun times in your house!
ReplyDeleteShannon and I have a sister who's three years younger. When she discovered that Santa was not actually from the North Pole, she made us promise not to tell our parents. She was afraid we wouldn't get any presents.
We didn't tell. :)
Wait you and Shannon are sisters? How did I not know this?
ReplyDeletewe will never grow to old for christmas its keeps us forever young.
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