HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

From neighborhood caroling to Dad’s home movies, Christmas was a series of delightful activities.

As the song says, “there’s no place like home for the holidays,” and our expanded seasonal feature highlights the lengths we go to celebrate with family and friends at home. Plus, a look at the much loved Sears Wish Book and a fun photo collection of kids visiting Santa Claus.

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN THE 1960S,

our Christmas began the day after Thanksgiving. Mom would start on her cookie dough for spicy lebkuchen, buttery snowballs, snowy wreaths, spritz cookies, toffee bars and the much-loved cutouts. All were carefully decorated and stored in gallon jars with the levels marked on the outside to keep our little hands out until Christmas Day.

Next, the call would go out to all the kids on the street to meet at our place to practice the Christmas carols that we would sing around the neighborhood. At each house we’d deliver a small plate of Mom’s cookies. Then it was back to our house for hot chocolate and treats.

We decorated the house in the second week of December—greens on the windowsills and mantel, wreaths and lights on the doors, and the most beautiful fresh tree $10 could buy. The old big lights were the first to go on the tree, followed by carefully placed ornaments. All the while, we’d be listening to Christmas carols. I can’t count the many nights my sisters and I would forgo TV to sit and watch the tree while enjoying those Christmas LPs.

Christmas morning had Dad with his HewlettPackard movie camera, complete with light bar, blinding us as we came down the stairs dressed in our matching holiday pajamas to see what Santa had brought.

Everything seemed touched with magic—a blaze in the fireplace, presents under the tree, carols on the stereo, hot chocolate and cinnamon buns on the coffee table.

These were our beautiful traditions, which I still carry on today with my family.