A Visit from Santa Claus

Someone recently asked me about my favorite childhood Christmas memory. Though I have lots to choose from, one year does stand out more than the rest (warning – yes, it’s heartwarming)
My parents used to tell my brother John and me that under no circumstances were we to come downstairs after they put us to bed on Christmas Eve because if Santa saw us, all our presents would turn to coal. At five-years-old, I believed this wholeheartedly. Nonetheless, when I woke up in the middle of the night, I quietly crept down the stairs to the living room.
My mom had a hand painted platter that hung over the fireplace mantle. You know how things can look different in the dark than they do in the light of day? For whatever reason, my young brain imagined the platter as Santa’s head. I immediately ran back upstairs, certain Santa had seen me and all my gifts were now coal. Back in bed, I cried myself to sleep. At the crack of dawn, my brother bounded into my room shouting that there were presents under the tree. I literally dragged my feet all the way downstairs where my parents waited, smiles on their faces. Why be happy, all my gifts were coal? Well, as you can guess, I opened the first package, very slowly to delay the misery as long as possible, to discover a toy. Yeah, best Christmas ever. Somehow, miraculously, Santa hadn’t seen me, though I remained convinced for four more years that I’d seen him.
What's your favorite childhood holiday memory?
However you chose to celebrate the season, I hope it’s one of your best, spent filled with joy and surrounded by loved ones. If you’re like me, you might still have more shopping to do, food to buy,  and presents to wrap. Honestly, my husband and I only just the other day finished decorating the tree and putting up the outside lights.
Warmest wishes to all, and here's to making many more wonderful memories.
Cathy McDavid

Comments

  1. A cute story, Cathy, and it reminded me of the time my brother and I found a small cache of presents in a closet. Needless to say, some of our Christmas morning was anti-climactic and we never searched again. Merry Christmas!

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  2. Cathy, I got sad for you reading how scared you must have been. I remember a Christmas about age 5 when I decided I was going to stay up all night and watch for Santa, because someone told me he wasn't real. Being a determined kid, it must have panicked my folks. But what happened was around midnight as we all sat in the living room reading, someone knocked at the front door, and we heard a HO HO. There sat all of our packages in two wicker laundry baskets. My mother said, well, you girls are lucky, because Santa doesn't want to be seen on his Christmas Eve present delivery run. We never learned who'd helped the folks deliver our gifts, but I never sat up to wait for Santa again.

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  3. Www, I felt so sad for you also imagining you crying under the covers. But a happy ending. I can honestly say all my holidays were memorable when I think back. I realized since we're children for such a short time believing in the magic of it all and now I watch my grandchildren so excited at the prospect of Santa coming that I get to feel that magic every time through them. Thanks fort sharing .
    Carol Luciano
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com

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  4. Yes, Roz and Carol, I was pretty sad there for a little while. But what's a story without conflict (hee, hee - had to put that in there) and all ended well. And my brother and I did go through a period there when we were a little older, Janice, where we tried to locate our presents :)

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  5. To this day my grown daughters insist they saw the Easter Bunny in our living room. They were looking down through a grate on the floor. We have no idea what they saw.

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  6. Such a cute story, Cathy! As sad as you were about the idea of getting coal, I bet once you saw that toy you learned to always have hope even when things seem bad ;). That...and to not test your luck with Santa lol.

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  7. What a cute story! I remember waking up one Christmas Eve and I swore I heard the front door opening (we didn't have a chimney). Every time I got out of bed, the noise stopped. I was convinced it was Santa and he knew when my feet touched the ground and refused to come in. Longest night of my life. Years later, my grandmother admitted that the screen door had come open and it WAS opening and closing all night, but because of the wind. She knew it was keeping me in my bed, so she left it.

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  8. I love that story. I would have reacted in exactly the same way. I can only imagine how thrilled you were to find your presents intact.

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