Christmas

“Christmas was always magical in the Polson house. Mom and Dad had the best Christmas decorations. At least we thought they were all beautiful. After they died, we went to split the decorations up and realized they really weren’t that great. But there was something about how my Mom put it together that made it all very magical.

Christmas Eve we would have relatives over including my Aunt and Uncle Will and Anna Spiess and other Robinson relatives including John and Cynthia and their family. As well as many others not pictured below. Santa Claus would visit every Christmas Eve once there were Grandkids. With the addition of the New Room, we got to have two Christmas Trees and there were so many presents that it was definitely warranted.

We cut our own Christmas Tree for many many years. Dad had to go get a permit on a specific day. Then we would go out in the wilderness to try and find a tree. Eventually we started going to the Tree farm in Payson, which was a lot better. The tree always seemed a lot bigger back at the house than it did when we cut it down. My Mom’s favorite part of the tree were the icicles, but nobody puts them on the Christmas tree anymore.

After the big feast on Christmas Eve, my Mom and Dad had to stage the Christmas wonderment that would be hidden behind the sheet. They would be up all night. Everyone would gather again on Christmas morning and we had to have a sheet up to hide what was in the New Room. My Dad would go into the New Room to inspect it and come out and announce that Santa Claus didn’t come this year. But by then we all knew his tricks. We always went into the room from youngest to oldest. I think my Mom and Dad were always more excited than any of us. Mom and Dad were so worried about everything being even that it took a long time to figure out what to get everybody and to make sure no one would feel bad. Mom would buy Christmas presents all year long and keep them downstairs. She would have to buy 3 of everything so that we could exchange it for a different color if we wanted. But sometimes she would forget some of the presents she had already bought.

After opening presents, we would eat the leftovers from the Christmas Eve buffet. The food always included my Mom’s wonderful potato salad, red jello with raspberries and whipped cream, turkey sandwiches, potato chips and clam dip, lots of sugar cookies, brownies, and all sorts of delights. I loved watching Daddy carve the turkey with his electric knife. It was always a treat to get to eat the skin off the turkey. In the evening on Christmas Day, my Mom and Dad would visit each of our houses to see what all the grandkids got.

Christmas was always magical and none of us would miss it for anything. It really kept the family together.”

-Shelley Polson Johnson