Cozy do-nothingness of Christmas

Dolores Hans
MSMU class of 2025

(12/2024) My restful slumber is interrupted when I awaken at the remembrance that it is almost Christmas. From beneath the covers, I shift my feet back and forth, carefully feeling the foot of the bed for something that doesn’t typically belong. When my foot arrives at the heavy object at the end of my bed, I am filled with excitement and fall back to sleep with a smile on my face. When I awaken again, it is morning. The icy breeze drifts through the thin slits that surround my windows, and the warmth that I had built up beneath my blanket is disturbed as I frantically search the foot of the bed once again.

The first exciting moment of Christmas Day is the discovery of the stocking full of gifts at the end of my bed. I take a quick glimpse, the first thing I lay my eyes on always being toothpaste or shampoo, and hastily, silently, make my way to the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth before the festivities begin. As I walk through the hallway to my little sibling’s bedroom, stocking in hand, I take a quick peak at the tree in the living room. The lights glisten on the tree, creating a warm glow throughout the room.

The multitude of Santa statues that have been collected by my parents throughout their marriage are scattered around the room. Baby Jesus is present in the Nativity as it is now the day of his birth. Presents line the space beneath the tree’s branches, and there is a handwritten note beside a plate of crumbs that used to hold our iconic Italian cookies. I take a deep breath, taking it all in, and then quietly, I approach the bedroom door of my little sibling’s room. I open it gently and sit beside my baby sister, gently stroking her back. I beg her softly to wake up because it’s Christmas. She sits up, her disheveled hair standing up in all directions, and she groggily wraps her arms around me, still mostly asleep. Once she has finally processed what I said, she bounces up full of energy and says, "It’s Christmas?!" She finds her stocking at the foot of her own bed, and begins to pull out the trinkets within as I go to wake my baby brothers in the same way.

Once all the children are awake, one by one, each of the rest of my siblings enter the bedroom and go through their stockings. We all compare gifts, sometimes even trading, and delight in the gifts we got, even the toothpaste and shampoo. This is my favorite time. Just me and my siblings, hanging out in our matching pjs, waiting for our parents to wake up so we can all go to the living room. My dad finally enters the bedroom that we all have congregated in, classically wearing a robe and a Santa hat. He wishes us a ‘Merry Christmas’ and gives us all hugs. Then he goes back to his room, probably to tell my mom that all us heathens are awake and ready to open presents. Once she is up, we all go to the living room, dad blasts some classical Christmas music, and mom plops herself down on the couch with a massive cup of tea. My siblings and I all claim a spot around the room and await the commencement of gift giving.

Every year, my family and I do a secret Santa, only we are required to make the gift. This is also my favorite part. Getting to see how each of my family members made something that is specifically for another person. I can recall all the best gifts that were given, but the absolute best was when my parents had picked each other in the secret Santa. My mom created a wooden manger to go on the front lawn, something my dad had been wanting for years, and my dad really broke out the carpentry skills by hand-making a bench that is a replica of one that they call "our bench" which rests at a botanical garden they used to frequent in their relationship. After this, we get to open our gifts from Santa. After all presents have been opened, we spend the rest of the day sitting around in our pajamas, and just doing whatever; ranging from crafts, watching movies, eating, playing outside, and more. I spend the day reminiscing about Christmas Eve, which for my family, is bigger and more festive than Christmas Day.

We spend the morning making Italian Christmas Cookies with my grandma, we get dressed up and go to mass, and then my family, including all of my aunts, uncles and cousins, all meet up at my grandma’s house. We have a wonderful dinner, spend an agonizing time taking photos, and then we open our first gift. It is always from my grandma, and it is always matching pajamas. My siblings and cousins and I all call dibs on the bathrooms and bedrooms to get out of our fancy clothes as soon as possible. We all emerge in the wackiest Christmas pajamas you can imagine, and plop down in the living room to continue with the gift giving with a secret Santa.

The best part is waiting to see who my grandpa had, because he always ‘conveniently’ forgets that there is a $25 limit. Then, we sing happy birthday to my grandma (and Jesus) because both were born on December 25th. At the end of the night we gather by the front door, grandma reads a classic Christmas book to the youngest kids, and the rest of us women regret not bringing a change of shoes while we stuff our feet back into our heels, which are the perfect fashion statement with our Christmas pjs. Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days. But Christmas Day is its own kind of wonderful. After the cozy do-nothingness of Christmas Day, the night ends with a massive order of the most delicious Chinese food you’ve ever tasted, brought right to our door.