wow. this week is Christmas. that’s hard to comprehend.
so to really make it sink in, i’m going to visit some of the components that make up a classic Tomko family Christmas.
#1 – lots of people
Not every year, but definitely since I’ve been away for college/post graduation, Christmastime is usually a good bet that lots of people will be in town. So we like to all pile in the house with one excuse or another to eat food, laugh, and catchup. I love a house full of people.
#2 - Christmas Eve
Family tradition dictates that Christmas supper be held at my grandfather’s house with all of the extended family, but on Christmas Eve, my mom usually puts a dinner together for just the immediate family. And of course, she loves the decorations almost more than the food.
#3 – the Advent calendar
You can’t see it very well in this picture, but ever since I can remember, this little sleigh-turned-advent-calendar has been in this very spot for Christmas. The little sis and I used to always take turns putting an “ornament” on the tree. For the longest time, I would cheat and say “Hey Kris, you can take the even numbered days, and I’ll take the odd!” (she could never figure out why i always got to put the star on top on Christmas morning).
#4 – the woodstove
It’s not Christmas if this guy isn’t ablaze. As our main heat source in the winter, there were many a Christmas Eve night that we got tucked into bed with a woodstove warmed blanket wrapped around us.
#5 – Christmas morning
Everyone has their Christmas morning traditions, and we were no different. Kristen and I weren’t allowed to come out into the living room until the parents were up, mom had been caffeinated, and dad had set up his mammoth of a video camera. So Kristen and I would wait in the hallway outside our bedrooms, wiggling with anticipation. It was also tradition for each of our gifts to be in one kind of wrapping paper, we’d never find out which one was ours until that morning.
#6 – Pre-meal festivities
When we were little, we used to come up with all sorts of things to keep us occupied while dinner was being prepared. Now, we use that time to let all the dogs (between us all there are 6!) run amok.
#7 – Christmas dinner
Most often we take the party to my grandfather’s basement, where we toss out formality in exchange for enough room to all be at one table.
#8 – Family present time
This part of the day has gotten exceedingly calmer over the years. It used to be a free-for-all of gifts, squealing, wrapping paper, conversation, and general chaos. But now that the four grandkids are all grown-up, there’s less gift frenzy and more “thanks for the christmas money!”. we still have a good time though. and i can only imagine that this is the calm before the storm before we all start having kids ourselves. yikes, not that i’m wishing that anytime soon!
#9 – Family. period.
I’d be happy just getting the whole family together and hanging out. Sometimes our busy schedules get the best of us, and we don’t do it nearly often enough. But I’m so thankful that when we do get together, you know it will always be a memorable time.
I hope everyone has a peaceful, restful, fun, and Christ-centered Christmas. It’s almost here!
pictures are all from Cmas 2K6 and 2K7. who knows what happened to Cmas 2K8.
