Christmas Eve

Thursday, December 24, 2009


Puck’s latest obsession was measuring cups. It was the first thing he asked for when he woke up Christmas Eve.

“Thank you, Mama,” he said politely. “Thank you for da meas-ring cups. Tomowoh’s Cwistmas Eve, Mama! We get set up my twain!”
Collette had, indeed, promised him that they would set up his electric train set from Grandma Combs, although she had to explain to him that it was already Christmas Eve.

Outside was a soup. Rain came a comin’ down. Mild temperatures.
Inside, Collette mixed up the casseroles and trimmed OLeif’s hair with gift wrap scissors (which was a project just shy of disaster).

By three o’clock, the party had begun. OLeif, Collette, and Puck had arrived at the house in the still-falling rain. Grandma Combs had already come with a trunkload of gifts.
When Collette walked into Rose’s room, she could hardly believe how clean everything was. Soon, a crowd had gathered to inspect this Christmas miracle.
“This is weird!” Francis exclaimed, leaving the room in confusion.
Back in the living room, Grandma was talking about how she had a few more soup mixes that she had purchased at church, the same kind she had served at her winter tea.
“Well, I’ve decided we’re going to sift it out,” she said. “Figure out what’s in it. I just don’t know what the little green things are.”
“Defying the church ladies, Mom?” Mom asked with a laugh.
“Well, yeah,” Grandma chuckled. “Kind of.”
Meanwhile, Dad and Puck were looking like twins in their cranberry sweaters over striped collared shirts.
“When are we going to open presents?” Rose asked.
“We’re not going to,” said Dad.
“Whaaaaat?” Rose exclaimed.
“Whaaaaat?” said Grandma. “Snicketts! I’m going to chop you off at the knees!”
Dad got a chuckle.
And not long later, the Combs family plus Uncle Larry had also come through the front door. Dinner was served by three-thirty: a ham with optional glaze, hot potato casseroles, vegetables, strawberry pretzel salad, and hot buttered rolls.
By three-fifty, Collette drove OLeif over to the church, where Judah and Henri pulled up right behind them in the rain, for a rehearsal prior to the Christmas Eve service. Then back to the house for Collette, where everyone sat in the living room for awhile and talked until it was five o’clock and everyone loaded up into three separate vehicles for the drive back to church.

The service was well-attended. The lights had been dimmed, and there were carols and readings by Sinai, Judah, Henri, and his wife. The choir sang. OLeif was on the violin, Henri on the guitar, and Judah sang a solo, despite his sinus infection. And at the end, after the previous request to be very careful while holding open flames near hair and/or dripping wax over the carpet… candles were lit during Silent Night. And Puck watched in awe, having fortunately sat through the entire service, and just ending at his usual bedtime.
At the end, while they waited for OLeif to pull up the car in the rain, which had continued to fall during the service, the Salthouse family came over to wish them a Merry Christmas, and Puck returned the favor.

Then back to the house; it was time for gifts — the wealth had arrived — there were so many, Collette could not have recalled them all. But for herself and OLeif from the Combs family, there was the inevitable box of homemade fudge and a gift card to the Cheesecake Factory. And from Grandma: a winter scene painted of three snowmen, labeled: “OLeif, Collette, and Puck”, (who was holding a snowball). Then there was an antiqued floral throw for the living room for cold nights. And a mini vacuum cleaner that plugged into a computer and sucked up little bits of fuzz and stuff. Puck had never been so excited over a gift. He had already been walking and crawling under things and around people, from person to person, as they opened their gifts, to inspect what was inside all of the wrappings and boxes and bags. But this one took the cake. He was temporarily distracted by the other openings as well: three books in the vein of If you give a mouse a cookie… from the Combs, which he wanted to immediately begin reading. A tiny stuffed snowman and snowman book, a towel with trucks and cars and his name written across the front, a dinner bell with the Arch printed on it, and a coffee mug with the Arch and St. Louis scape also printed across the front from Grandma Combs. There were so many gifts: jewelry, salt and pepper shakers, candles, DVDs, hand-cranked radios, books, CDs, etc., and etc. And many thank yous and oohs and aahs.
But then it was time for the spread of desserts, courtesy of Aunt Petunia, including a chocolate Heath trifle, cookies, chocolate-covered cashews, and a plate of peanut butter truffles, prepared by Francis.

Christmas number one and two had been successfully, and enjoyably, completed.

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Jamie Larson
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