Blog 58 - My Memories of Christmas - How My Christmas has Changed

Christmas Holidays Spent at the Beach

My earliest memories of Christmas are of being in a caravan at the beach at Bribie Island. We would go to the Bongaree Caravan Park and I remember as a toddler carrying a lantern in the Christmas parade that was led by a beach mission group, meandering through the park.
After a few years there we went to the Beachmere Caravan Park where we camped in a large marquee tent. Dad would load up the trailer and off we would go. Dad was always well prepared with a real double bed for Mum and Dad and bunks for us kids. A curtain up across the middle of the tent to separate bedroom from the living room gave some privacy. An ice box was the fridge. The beach and swing set were our playground. I remember learning how to do the time warp in the laundry room!
Dad would chop down a pine tree on the side of the road, we would plant it in a bucket, and decorate the tree with foil, crepe paper and some decorations. Simple but special.
When I was a teenager and the Beachmere camping sites were closed down, we went back to Bribie to the Banksia Beach Caravan Park and camped in a caravan. My childhood and teenage years were filled with days of salt water, sand and sunburn.

Christmas Day - Changes over time

Santa always found us in the tent and caravan. I especially remember getting my first bike when I was 11 years old - I was so excited! And every year we got a packet of lollies with our one present. The present usually included a few things but there was only one parcel (now my children's gifts are wrapped separately so they get many).

Christmas lunch was always held at my Nana and Pop's house. They actually lived next door to us, which I loved.

From mid-childhood it became my job to put up their Christmas tree which I continued to do until they moved into their nursing home.

On Christmas Day we would open our presents and go to church. Dad was always like a big kid with his infectious anticipation of what was in our presents. No matter what he was given he was always so excited and happy.

My Dad's parents lived in the next street so we would go and visit them after church. Often my cousins from out west would be there and we would play in the backyard, running around the garden paths. My grandfather was a prolific gardener.

For lunch we would go over to Nana and Pop's. My cousins, aunts and uncles, would all come. And what a wonderful time it was! Nana cooked a traditional hot roast (chicken or turkey or pork) and vegie lunch with plum pudding, custard and jelly for dessert. In the home made plum pudding  Nana would put threepences and sixpences - if you got one it was meant to equal good luck - we were always excited to know whether we were going to get one!
In the afternoon the adults would have a nap and the children would play. If it was really hot we would play under the water sprinkler, or in their old metal bath tubs filled with water. There were no water restrictions back then and no air conditioning.

After Nana and Pop went into the nursing home Christmas lunch moved to my parent's house, minus the cousins, but with occasionally an aunt or uncle..but not the big get-together we previously had. A bbq lunch with roast turkey, salad and prawns, became the new Christmas lunch. Desserts consisted of plum pudding, custard, trifle, jelly and fruit. Dad would wear a Christmas hat and be happy. Mum would be teary and stressed. One Christmas Dad burnt off his eyebrows whilst turning on the bbq and blamed Joe for it - too funny - that was my Dad...he had a sense of humour.

 

Nana then passed on, so Pop just came... then Pop passed on so it was just our family,,,then Dad passed on..and Mum didn't want to do Christmas.... So Christmas moved to our place for a couple of years with Mum and my brother and his family coming to us. We went back to a traditional hot roast chicken and vegie lunch, with ice-cream for dessert. I wanted to stay with my happy childhood memories. But no water play - just air conditioning. But we did include a pinata and a chocolate gold coin hunt when Melissa and Nick were little.

 

After a few years Mum decided that she wanted to do Christmas again so we now go to her house after church, and we have cold roast turkey and salad. Mum and I have plum pudding and custard, for dessert and everyone else tends to have fruit and/or ice-cream. It's a combination of the old and the new.

The kids spend the day playing with all my old toys and in my old room, or trying out their skates/scooters/bikes on the long concrete driveway.

Their memories will be very different to mine.

Times have changed and my childhood memories I keep close to my heart. Even though my children's memories will be very different to mine - they will remember the opening of presents, going to church, then going to Gran's house to have lunch (and sometimes dinner as well) where sometimes my brother and his family would also be..other times it would be just us....but that is ok...because  Christmases do change over time.

© 2012 by Jenny Woolsey

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