The Magic That Can’t Be Wrapped

This story first appeared in the pages of Front Porch Life magazine years ago, and it still feels just as true today. It’s a heartfelt look back at the Christmas mornings, family traditions, and small moments that make this season so special.

It is that time of year when the madness starts. Christmas always makes me feel like everyone is in a hurry. We’re all running from here to there and trying to get so much done. If you’re not shopping for gifts, then you’re shopping for food to make for the people that you bought gifts for, who will be at your house at some point during the season. Honestly, it can become a chaotic mess. Every day of the month, going out to do something for the holidays. It becomes almost a rat race of spending and wrapping and spending and wrapping. 

Yet, as I look back over my 40 years and my Christmas memories, let me share with you what I truly remember. 

I remember when Anne and I were maybe 5 years old, our neighbor stopped by our house dressed up as Santa Claus. I was so excited, and Anne was terrified. She went and hid under her bed. My father had to drag her out. When she finally came downstairs, she looked outside and saw his red Ford pickup truck and asked where his reindeer were. My father said that Rudolph was only allowed out on Christmas Eve, and it wasn’t Christmas Eve yet. That totally made sense to us. I know Anne and I got some great gifts that year. I don’t remember a one.

As we got older, I remember a  Christmas when Anne and I were in college. We both worked through school so we had money to buy our own gifts for our family members. I remember going out shopping and looking for things to buy for my Mom, Dad, grandparents, etc. I don’t remember one thing I bought for any of them. I don’t remember one thing I got that year, either. What I do remember is my father reading “Cajun Night Before Christmas” on Christmas Eve, just like he did every year. It was a very special tradition that I always looked forward to.

Several years after college, Anne and I bought a little farm outside of Lexington, and Mom came to stay for Christmas, just as she does every year. I don’t remember one thing any of us got. I remember getting up super early on Christmas morning with a blanket of snow on the ground. I remember feeding my horses that morning and how pretty they looked trotting through the snow.  I remember Mom and me in our pajamas, wrapped up with our quilts on the couch, drinking coffee, eating sausage balls and jam cake, and talking for hours in the stillness of the morning. You can’t put a price tag on that memory; it’s priceless.

I remember my grandmother always making a Christmas ham. A ham that she went and got out of her attic because my father cured all our hams himself. I can still see them up in the attic picking out the perfect one for the holidays. I remember her always having beaten biscuits on the table, and what I wouldn’t give to have one more Christmas with her and my father. 

Last Christmas was my first holiday in my new house with my husband. Mom spent Christmas Eve night at my house, and we woke up the next morning to no electricity. Once again, Mom and I huddled up on the couch and reminisced about all the years before growing up on the farm and the fun we had. Not once did we mention what any of us had gotten each other the day before. 

These are the highlights of my past Christmases. There are too many to list here, but my point is, gifts come and go. You won’t remember what someone gave you from one year to the next. Stop stressing over the perfect gift. Money can’t buy you time with your family. Presents will not make you remember how you felt with your loved ones. Cherish the time you have with them now so that you can fall back on it later. Listen to them, ask tons of questions, laugh, and reminisce. Start traditions that have nothing to do with presents. Those memories will mean more to you than anything that can be placed under the three.  They will also stay with you long after the wrapping paper is torn off and the tree is taken down. Making memories with your loved ones is the real magic of the season.

This story first appeared in a past issue of Front Porch Life magazine. Become a member today and start reading immediately!

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