Christmas Fruits

Christmas as I remember it from my childhood was very different from the ones my kids experience. It was a much calmer time. My mom didn’t work until we were all grown up and moved out of the house and our Christmas holiday gifts were normally a surprise. We always thought they were the best most Unique Christmas Gifts ever. Mom would wrap and hide Christmas gifts while we were at school. I have to wrap them in the dead of night so that my kids don’t see them and then hiding them is even harder. My kids can wiggle into the smallest of places to search for their Christmas gifts.

I remember one such episode where in an attempt to hide presents I pushed a long thin box too far under a dresser and we had to use a broom to force it out on Christmas Day. We all looked forward to Christmas dinner. My Mother, who is an excellent cook, would make roast, meat pies, and mashed potatoes with cranberry sauce. At that time Christmas fruit baskets were very popular. We would receive a lot of Christmas fruit and mom would put it out for us to snack on. It was one of the greatest and most peaceful moments in my life. I’ve tried my best to give my kids the same experience. I feel guilty when I’m busy at work and they’re fixing lunch for themselves during the holidays but they are very understanding kids, and don’t complain about it.

I have however managed to keep the Christmas Fruits tradition alive. Christmas fruit has changed too over the time. Instead of the fruit bunched together in those brown baskets, they now have fruit bouquets and fruit dipped in gourmet chocolate. My kids love these Christmas gift baskets and it takes away a bit of the guilt I feel for not spending as much time with them.