December brought excited anticipation to the young Duncan family household. In the weeks leading to the Christmas holidays, their home was transformed into a winter wonderland. Boxes of decorations and packages with gifts began to appear, pulled from secret hiding places. The three older stairstep children, Bob, Ann and Jim, released from school, livened up the household. The preschoolers, Joan and Ben, welcomed their siblings as day-long playmates. Parents had other plans. Each child was assigned tasks in preparation of the approaching holiday season.
During the first part of December, Mrs. Duncan busied herself with lists of every sort, worried she might neglect something important. Mr. Duncan went to and from work but waited, as usual, for instructions from his wife. The older children followed their grade-school schedules, but the preschoolers kept asking their mother: “How many more days until Christmas?”
By the end of the first week of December, their home was readied for the addition of holiday decorations, inside and outside. On Saturday morning, Mr. Duncan and the children drove to a shopping center to purchase their live Christmas tree and wreaths. He had difficulty herding his children who ran around the trees in different directions. He heard a crash and crying. A tree fell on Ben. Thankful for protection from winter garb, no injuries occurred, except for the mandatory purchase of the toppled tree secured atop their car. A flustered Mr. Duncan forgot the wreaths, ran back to grab two, paid the cashier, and headed for home. Wait. Were all the kids in the car?
When Mrs. Duncan frowned at the misshapen tree and pine needles sticking out of Ben’s coat like a porcupine, she gave her husband an inquiring look. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say: “What did you expect from a four-year-old boy?” While worrying about Ben, she wondered why Joan was quieter than usual. Joan was enjoying herself, playing hide and seek under the trees at the shopping center.
After lunch, with all the children now present, the decorating began. First the Christmas tree was set in its stand, the tree turned to hide its mashed and missing parts, and everyone helped plaster the tree with sparkling plastic balls, glitzy tinsel, and popcorn garland after their parents trimmed the tree with colorful lights. Joan and Ben nibbled on popcorn pulled off the garland, avoiding notice until their mother spotted two feet of missing popcorn. She was amused but hoped her little ones would not become sick from the stale popcorn. Was it fresh last year or the year before?
Bob and Jim helped their father with the wreaths, arguing where to hang them. Their father hit his thumb instead of the nail, and Bob volunteered to hang the wreaths. After Mrs. Duncan applied an ice bag to her husband’s thumb, she walked outdoors to view the pretty wreaths hanging level but upside down on their double front doors. She tried adjusting the ribbons, but like a Slinky, they bounced back to their original shape. Uttering a sigh, she wondered: “Would anyone notice?”
Mrs. Duncan awoke on Christmas Eve, thankful she had just one more day to answer her preschoolers’ incessant question. It was the final day to prepare for Christmas. Bob and Jim went to the barber shop with their father for haircuts after cleaning pine needles and other discarded items from the family car. Ann helped her mother in the kitchen, while Joan and Ben licked icing from bowls and sampled fresh-baked cookies. Following their Christmas Eve dinner, the family dressed for a special Christmas church service for children.
While helping to get them ready, Ann instructed Joan and Ben not to talk or squirm in church. Bob, too young for his driver’s permit, was allowed to start the car and turn on the heater. Mr. Duncan drove the SUV while Mrs. Duncan chatted, explaining what the younger children could expect at church in celebration of Jesus’ birthday. They arrived as snow began to fall. It would be a white Christmas. The Duncan family paraded down the aisle to their seats: Mrs. Duncan and Bob, then Jim and Joan, and Ann and Ben, followed by Mr. Duncan.
Before communion, the children’s parents were thinking how well-behaved their children were on this special occasion. A few minutes later, Ben’s eyes opened as wide as saucers. When he saw the thin, round wafer the priest held up toward heaven, Ben blurted out: “Look! Someone sat on Baby Jesus’ birthday cake!” The priest chuckled, saying to himself, “This is the reason we started the children’s church service.” Other parents were thankful their children had not embarrassed them—when one little golden-haired girl, noticing the empty manger, asked: “Where’s the baby birthday boy?” Bedtime approached after Mr. Duncan read, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, to his family, and the children stacked snacks for Santa and his reindeer. Early on Christmas day, little feet scurrying past the bedroom door awakened their parents who grabbed robes and cameras to capture their young children’s surprise at seeing what Santa brought them for Christmas.
One gift was a sled. After breakfast and opening gifts from family members, the Duncans ventured outdoors to play in the snow, a heavy wet snow perfect for sledding, snowballs, and snowmen. After each slide down the hill behind their home, the trampled snow became compacted providing a slicker sledding surface. While Ben’s older siblings built a snowman and tossed snowballs, Ben begged his father to take him down the hill “one more time” before lunch. Ben squealed with delight when they picked up speed. Faster and faster, they flew as the iced-covered pond loomed closer and closer. Mr. Duncan, realizing the sled had no brakes except himself, dragged his feet to slow descent as Ben squealed louder. Somehow Mr. Duncan was able to turn the sled just enough to avoid hitting the icy pond, but he had to let go of Ben in the process. Ben experienced his first airborne flight and crash landing on ice. But like the tree mishap, little Ben’s padded snowsuit saved him from injury.
After lunch but somewhat frazzled, Mrs. Duncan began preparing Christmas dinner with help from her girls. Mr. Duncan snoozed in his chair clutching Ben. The two older boys examined their gifts while waiting for the doorbell to ring. Shortly before dinner, the grandparents arrived with more gifts to be opened after dessert. One set of grandparents was accompanied by their dog, Jack, a Jack Russel terrier. Ben, Joan, and Jack ran around the house, chasing each other. Ben soon tired and ran into his bedroom, slamming the door. Jack chased Joan up and down the stairs and around the house until the call to dinner. As Ben opened his door, Jack jumped up on him, knocking Ben to the floor. Dinner was delayed. Jack ran through the house to avoid reprimand and sniffed yummy scents coming from the kitchen. He jumped higher and higher until he was able to reach a platter of sliced roast beef. Ann and Jim heard a noise in the kitchen and saved enough roast beef from the kitchen floor for everyone’s Christmas dinner. They decided not to say anything about Jack’s mischief, thankful he hadn’t reached the turkey. Ann and Jim savored their turkey dinners while they watched with amusement as family members chewed their roast beef. Mrs. Duncan sensed something amiss with the taste of the roast beef when her mother-in-law blurted out: “Why are your front door wreaths upside down?”
In the years following that Christmas, Mr. Duncan never sat on a sled again. Mrs. Duncan dreaded snow, ice, holidays, and her in-law’s dog. Ben, too young to remember the details, chuckled at the reminisced misadventures described by his family and wondered how he survived the holiday. Ben’s siblings voted that year their favorite childhood Christmastime.