I absolutely love Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday, and all of the excitement and anticipation that comes with the shopping, giving, and receiving is what makes it fun. Growing up kind of makes that excitement fade, until you have kids of your own, and then you get it all back watching them exclaim over their gifts. If you’re like me, you just can’t quit thinking about what might be in that package under the tree with your name on it. I’m everlastingly curious but too principled to peek. So this time of year always gets me giddy with excitement!
Some of the stories through the years still make me giggle. I remember the year my folks had bought me a realistic-looking carved stickhorse. I was maybe six years old, and was clueless until just a few days before Christmas when my little brother found it and galloped through the house riding it, with my mom chasing him and trying to keep me from seeing what it was. All I remember was seeing the end of the stick go around the corner with my mom hollering at him to stop. I didn’t know until Christmas morning what the commotion was all about. I loved that stickhorse and named her “Jasmine”.
I was never asked, as a child, “What do you want for Christmas?” We were a big family with seven kids, and we knew we would “get what we get and don’t throw a fit”. We all shared toys, so even if our brother got a neat gift, we were happy and excited too, knowing we would get to play with it also. But we didn’t ask for things, and we knew it was in poor taste to beg for something in particular.
So when I was about fourteen, I didn’t tell anyone what I was really wishing for….I had been using my mom’s western saddle ever since I had graduated from the vintage kids saddles we all grew up learning to ride on. Mom didn’t ride very often, having her time spread too thin between housework and gardening for a family of nine. So I was free to use her saddle whenever I wanted to…but I really wanted one of my own.
My older sister had gotten her own saddle when she was about twelve, since she was tall and had quickly outgrown the kids’ saddles. I remember that Dad had sold two or three fillies (we usually kept the geldings to train as ranch horses, and sold off the fillies we raised since we used our own stud and they couldn’t be bred to their own sire) and used some of the money to buy my sister a saddle. So for a year or so I had been feeling that it was about time that I would be getting a saddle of my own.
I waited patiently for Christmas to come, not telling anyone what I wanted or thought I might be getting. Mom would usually wrap the small gifts first and put them under the tree with strict orders to not shake them or peek in them until Christmas morning. The bigger gifts were not put out until late Christmas eve, because they were often harder to wrap or cover, and our parents didn’t want us guessing at what we were getting. So when my mom placed a large puffy-looking present under the tree on Christmas eve that was big enough to be a saddle pad folded in half, I was certain that my wishes were about to come true.
On Christmas morning, that was the first gift I opened. And pulled out a bag stuffed with newspapers that were packed around a violin case and new violin! At fourteen, I hid my dismay and thanked my parents. To this day, they don’t know that what I really wanted and had built my hopes on was a saddle. The violin was a short-lived hobby, though I still have it and will keep it forever. But it wasn’t a new saddle.
So the following summer my dad started talking about getting himself a new saddle. His was worn and a flat, heavy old roping saddle, and he just thought he’d order a new one. He showed me a catalogue where you could get a complete saddle package—with saddle pad, breast collar, matching headstall and reins. He asked what color of saddle pad I thought he should get. I said, “Well, you ride a gray horse, so I’d get the black and silver one.” I teased him that maybe he’d need to buy a fancy new horse to go with the saddle he was getting. I never dreamed my dad could be sly. But he went around to my two younger brothers and asked them the same thing.
Christmas Eve came and there were no hints or any signs of big secrets. I had learned to not build my hopes up, and I was pretty used to the hand-me-down saddle of my mom’s, so it wasn’t really on my wish list for that Christmas. But on Christmas morning, after we opened up our gifts, my dad said, “But there’s more!” He told my brothers to open up the sliding glass patio doors and go around the corner of the house and bring in those big boxes. We each got a brand new saddle package, each with the color of saddle pad we had suggested that Dad get! I had never been more surprised, and had never had a better Christmas than that one. It was the best gift ever, and even more exciting because I had wanted one for so long.
My dad is still riding his old flat roping saddle. I don’t think he’d want a new one if you offered him one, because he’s just used to his old saddle and it’s comfortable to him. And I’m still riding my saddle, even though the silver and black saddle pad has a few strings hanging and is showing its age. I’m glad I didn’t show my disappointment that day, because the violin was a very nice gift and I know my parents gave it to me with excitement. Now that I’m a parent myself, I see how much planning and hoping we do when we buy things for our children. But it was a very vivid Christmas memory for me, and one I will always treasure.
I am excited this Christmas, as even the smallest gift still holds significance and thoughtfulness. We seven siblings are all grown, most of us married with kids of our own, and we still buy gifts for each other and try to gather as a family for Christmas at our folks’ place when we can. But I am most strongly tied to my family for the memories I have of those days as a child when we were so close and so tightly knit. And I look forward to more memories to be made.
For you I wish a very Merry Christmas and hope you have an exciting day with your own family. The giving and sharing and closeness is what makes Christmas my favorite holiday. And the excitement of not knowing what surprises still await.
