Are All Your Presents Wrapped Yet? It is almost TIME!

 J. Mark Lowe

By this time on Christmas Eve, there would be much buzzing in our house.  Likely, with the weather often like it was today (clear in the upper 50s) the youngsters would be encouraged to  play outside as long as possible.  That was a tough task if you were a typical kid In my territory.   There were last-minute presents to wrap – which meant unhiding the present, finding enough wrapping papers and tape to cover the item, finding a place where the giftee was not likely to walk in on you, then getting it all done, with an appropriate tag, and getting it under the Christmas tree without being seen.

My brothers should have been detectives on a television who-done-it show.  They were experienced with guarding the Christmas tree and knowing every package that had already been placed there. If there was a change in positioning or even a tag change, they were on top of it, and completely aware.   So, that made my job even harder when it came to putting their presents under the tree. I clearly remember one year, when my parents let me shop at Gregg 5 & 10 in Springfield. My Mom would let me shop, while she was busy at the A&P Grocery Store. The way this shopping worked was I brought all of the items to the front, while my Mom shopped was in the A&P.  My purchases would be rung up, bagged and held until my Mom finished.  This year my total was six dollars. I had purchased over ten items, including a bright red flute for Denny, a stuffed dog for my sister, Beverly, a tie clip for my brother, Joe, and a checker game for my brother, Wayne.   I even bought a roll of Christmas paper. I was very happy with all of my choices, but knew that Denny could figure out his gift unless I could keep it hidden from him. Or wrap it in an unusual box. I had hidden all my gifts under my pillow until it was time to wrap them.  My sister, Beverly, helped me wrap all of the presents (but hers) and label them with tags.  She even helped me wrap the flute, which I hid under my pillow again, so Denny wouldn’t find it under the tree.

Being in the house on Christmas Eve meant announcing who you were as you walked through the house.  This was to warn all the people who were also wrapping presents at the last minute, so they could be prepared.  One of the problems it was difficult to move around on during the holidays, was that there were often many relatives always visiting with us.  Our beds were often loaned to visitors, so we made pallets on the floor or sleeping bags.  In an effort to make our lives more difficult, my Aunt Martha –  (my Dad’s younger sister) started putting Guess Who on the gift tags in both the TO & FROM fields.  This was entirely unacceptable.  Every normal child wants to guess at the presents put under the tree with their NAME written right on the tag.  This guessing created a whole new stress level for the younger members of the family.  Perhaps their was a code written on the package paper – if so it wasn’t very evident.   The traditional effort of shaking was considered unacceptable and almost rude at our house, so were left to  mere speculation. (although if no was else was present, many gifts were shaken.)

We played horseshoes, chase, hide-n-seek, road building, and a little basketball.  It was fun playing with everyone, but we all there for one thing – PRESENTS!!!  

Finally, it was time for dinner, and we were called in to get cleaned up and get ready.  Although we had waited all year for this event - Christmas Eve finally arrived and it was time to eat in the Lowe household. We had a wonderful dinner that definitely included my Aunt Martha’s fruit salad, Miss Lucille’s chocolate pie, some juicy turkey and my Mom’s cornbread dressing. There would be so much food, and it was delicious, but food was not the primary reason we came inside from playing.  It only takes a young kid a minute and a half to finish off that wonderful meal including desserts.  “Let’s open presents,” became our refrain. No matter how often we said it – we were dismissed with  - “After dinner!”  So we would gather around the tree and try to wait patiently.  Someone would touch a present – evidently an alarm had been rigged to let my Dad know it was touched.  “Y’all get away from the tree, until we all finish Dinner.”   One time I said, “But I’m already finished with Dinner!”  My Dad’s reply was a look with those eyes that told me that if Santa had not already chosen my presents for the year – that I would be receiving a stocking full of COAL.   I quietly moved away from the tree. Minutes seemed like hours as we sat under the tree waiting for the adults to finish their holiday dinner.

Finally, everyone would crowd around the living room and the Christmas tree. Every chair would be moved into the room and once everyone was seated, it was time. A couple of the youngsters were chosen to call out the names and distribute the gifts. Once the gifts were distributed, we started with the youngest and worked our way to the oldest. At this point in time, I was the youngest and began to discover the wonderful treasures in my pile. 

I guess you all have all the presents wrapped, and are ready for the full evening.  Well, I will stop at this part of the story and finish this up later.  I have places to be and people to see.  Not really, I’m just always behind. May you and your family have a very special Christmas and holiday season. Remember to  share your memories with your family. 

 (Next Edition -  the Presents Under the Tree)