Chandlers take Christmas seriously. I grew up thinking it was normal for the entire family to rush to the garage to witness the descent of Christmas decor from the attic. We have a home video of my dad and brother handing boxes down the ladder. The camera pans around the garage to children growing giddier as they sense the Christmas bomb ticking, about to explode all over our house. The credit must go to my parents, who added substance to the Christmas bomb over the years. They knew how to inject enthusiasm into every part of Christmas and quickly cement each chapter of the process into our book of Christmas traditions.
![]() |
Father and Mother Christmas |
- Watch every version of A Christmas Carol. The 1938 Reginald Owen version, the 1951 Alistair Sim copy, 1970's musical with Albert Finney, 1983 Mickey's Christmas, and our favorite- the 1984 adaptation starring George C. Scott (to be watched on Christmas Eve).
- Indulge in each aluminum tin filled with Christmas calories (Little Debbie trees, Mom's magic cookie bars, Mom's fudge, the inevitable gift of variations of caramel corn, Costco's holiday cookie assortment (Kirkland, where would we be without you?), and decorated gingerbread cookies.
- A ginger bread house was masterfully constructed by Mom. We four kids spent an afternoon decorating it and had an odd gingerbread house demolition party on New Year's Day. Really, we just competed to see who could grab the biggest chunks of the candied house. I did not care that the m&m sidewalk and gum drop bushes had been sitting out for almost two months. As a kid, sugar was sugar. Little Annie stole pieced of exterior decor throughout the Christmas season. Forever a sneaky, sugar burglar.
- Decorate every nook and cranny of the house. The Dickens Village is a mini-town of porcelain plugin houses my mom started collecting long ago. Each year or two a new house would be added to the village. It was a real honor to get to set up the fake snow blanket and situate the Dickens Village, porcelain Scrooge and all. Illuminating the village for the first time was as ceremonial as Chevy Chase's grandiose Christmas light reveal.
- The Glory of Christmas. A 3LP box set my folks happened upon in the 70s, not knowing it would become the soundtrack to every Chandler Christmas. If you have a phonograph, this is a grand addition to your record collection.
- Dad's Famous Chili and tamales on Christmas Eve (if this was messed with, Santa probably would not come). Tamales from south San Antonio are hard to beat.
- It's A Wonderful Life on the 23rd of December, at the peak of Christmas anticipation. I fall deeper in love with Jimmy Stewart/George Bailey every time I watch it. If you've never seen it, your heart will grow five sizes watching this flick. It's that good.
- The Snowman. The beautifully-sketched, animated tale of a Snowman coming to life and befriending his creator. It's silent, but the music somehow communicates all you need to know.
- Santa never disappointed. He displayed our gifts in the living room, with a masterfully block-lettered name tag and glitter surrounding all of the goods he laid out in Martha Stewart fashion.
![]() |
See? |
I never needed a bounty of gifts. I grew accustomed to it, but so many people grow accustomed to nothing. I grew up hearing Jesus was the perfect gift, but I do not know that I ever stomached that simple, profound truth. Santa showing up at that little girl's house with a present is a fluffy, bearded metaphor for God showing up in our lives. We may have been used to life without Him and understood others had faith in their lives, but we got along fine without it. And that was fine. Then he hands us the gift of his son. He says, "Here. He's yours. For you to enjoy. You can shelf him. Or welcome him with overwhelming joy. He loves you so much. He will die for you. Even if you put him on the shelf. He'll love you from the shelf, until you're ready to receive his enduring love."
No, in all these things we are more
than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither
death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to
come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39
Romans 8:37-39
“God, who needs nothing, loves into existence
wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love and perfect them.
He creates the universe, already foreseeing - or should we say
"seeing"? there are no tenses in God - the buzzing cloud of flies about
the cross, the flayed back pressed against the uneven stake, the nails
driven through the mesial nerves, the repeated incipient suffocation as
the body droops, the repeated torture of back and arms as it is time
after time, for breath's sake, hitched up. If I may dare the biological
image, God is a "host" who deliberately creates His own parasites;
causes us to be that we may exploit and "take advantage of" Him. Herein
is love. This is the diagram of Love Himself, the inventor of all
loves.”
The inventor of all loves. So when you feel your heart growing while watching It's A Wonderful Life or you look around at the miraculous gathering of loved ones, know that He invented what you're feeling and is the epicenter of the merriment. You cannot get away from Love if you try, Ebenezer! Merry Christmas to all!
I think this is your best post ever. Maybe because I'm partial to the Christmas holiday and traditions, but this was absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLaura! Your words are a lovely present! Thank you. Wishing you & yours the best Christmas ever! Stop by any day if the year and I'll make us cocoa and slide in It's A Wonderful Life :)
ReplyDelete