On Decorations
We dream of a shimmering Christmas tree standing proudly in the window of our house, luminous and beautiful for onlookers to appreciate. But the lights on our tree are broken, and we vainly try to make them work. We plug the cords into different outlets and sockets, even trying out new strings of light. Still, sections remain dark and the aging tree looks dimmer every year. Now, we’ve embraced our broken tree and lovingly call it our tradition.
On Traveling
Nothing says Christmas quite like waiting in line at airport security with TSA agents yelling inconsistent and confusing directions while you stand helplessly in your socks. One year we spent all of Christmas Day watching our flight’s departure time tick forward by hours. Meager decorations lined the ticket counters and fellow stranded passengers congregated at the gate. Only one person was working in the only open restaurant, struggling to keep up with the orders that wouldn’t stop coming. Finally, we boarded and settled into our seats, ready to sleep the flight away. Until, our flight was canceled, and we filed back onto the jet bridge, sharing frustration instead of a Christmas dinner.
On the Desert
Listening to holiday music in the desert is a cruel juxtaposition. I sing along to songs of snow and blistering cold while I drive with my air conditioning on full blast, trying to cool down after an 85-degree day. It becomes even harder to feel festive in Phoenix after you visit other cities where winding country roads are flanked by piles of snow and the trees wear blankets of white. It just doesn’t feel quite right to watch movies of blizzards and snowball fights while still wearing a t-shirt to school. Maybe it’s just the movies and the songs that have it wrong; maybe they have just set our expectations too high.
On Baking
The greatest part about watching reality TV shows where there are competitions for a grand prize is when you begin to think that you should be competing right alongside them. Particularly, baking shows. It’s so easy to judge when they overbake the cookies and or add too much flour. You start to think to yourself, “How hard could that really be?” The answer is that it’s considerably more difficult than you had anticipated, but you only begin to realize that when you’re knee-deep in a batch of extravagant Christmas cookies and trying to achieve the perfect consistency of royal icing. Maybe the cookies taste decent, but the frosting sure doesn’t look like it. Slowly the glamorous cookies that were going to be gifts to all your friends and family morph into a level of artistry rivaling that of a second-grader. The only option left is to eat them in disappointment while criticizing the slightly chewy consistency of the celebrity baker’s macarons on TV.
On Growing Up
I used to not be able to sleep on Christmas Eve. After impatiently sitting through church and having to eat with my best manners, I would lie awake for hours just waiting for the day to come. Early in the morning, I would sneak out of my room and look downstairs at the Christmas tree overflowing with gifts from Santa, our stockings full to the brim. As soon as it was a reasonable hour I would run into my brother’s room to shake him awake. I think most kids felt this way. December 25th was the pinnacle of the year and the countdown until the day was truly the most wonderful time of the year.
Now I sleep soundly on Christmas Eve and wake up late. The countdown until Christmas has turned into counting the days until I’m done with school and finals. I barely even realize that Christmas is next week. I’ve started to look forward to the decadent meals and desserts more than any presents.
But, when I watch my young cousins fervently open their gifts and whisper with excitement about Santa’s latest adventure, I start to miss that feeling of childish joy. That feeling where Christmastime is second to none, the single greatest day of the year. It’s nostalgic but also a bit sad to know that Christmas will never feel like it did in your young memory.
Yet at the same time, Christmas becomes more meaningful than it ever has been. I finally understand that it’s not about the presents, it’s about the time you spend. After all, who wouldn’t want a few days off to celebrate with loved ones?
