Mom’s and Dad’s love of Christmas was not necessarily inspired by religious conviction, but was motivated by what an intense love of the season would mean to me, their only son.
Tradition I—The Quest for the Perfect Christmas Tree
Caused by the shortages of WW II, large, full trees were hard to find. Dad would buy two trees. He would put the better in a tree stand and then cut limbs from the “donor tree” and drill holes in the better tree into which the “donor tree” branches would be inserted. Voila! Perfect tree, year after year.
Friends and neighbors would ask, “Bob where did you get that tree? It’s perfect!” I don’t know if Dad came clean or not but I always wondered!
I carried this tradition on in my family using the branch scraps found on the ground of every tree lot to create my “perfect tree.”
Tradition II—Mom’s Rules!
Mom’s Rule #1
No decorated tree or presents would be seen before I came down on Christmas morning
Everything would be put out after I went to sleep on Christmas Eve. Santa brought everything! I was to see nothing until I came down on Christmas morning.
Imagine my reaction year after year! Talk about Christmas magic!
Mom’s Rule #2
I was born on December 30. Mom decreed that no member in the family would give me a present and say, “This is for Christmas and your birthday.” No way! She reasoned, “Jerry’s birthday is special. He deserves a present celebrating just his birthday–Jesus on the 25th, Jerry on the 30th.”
This rule really had a significant effect on my life—If I didn’t get a present I really wanted on the 25th, I knew the chances were pretty darn good, I’d get it for my birthday.
The Most Incredible Christmas Ever
One year, our basement was off limits to me for about three weeks before Christmas.
A cartoonist at the time named Al Capp created a comic strip featuring a little bowling pin shaped character named a Shmoo. My dad bought a set of plastic nesting dolls shaped like shmoos. He placed a rhyming set of clues in every shmoo that led me to a new place in the house. The last clue was at the top of the basement stairs. It told me to turn on the basement lights and not to wet my pants in the excitement! I clicked the switch and much to my surprise, the basement had been turned into a recreation center!!
There was a full-sized juke box full of Spike Jones records. (Spike Jones was leader of a band in the 40’s and 50’s that recorded comedy songs full of all kind of crazy sound effects.) There was a full sized commercial pinball machine. Both machines had been modified so they could be played for free.
This Christmas present was the culmination of mom’s and dad’s master plan to create a house that all kids would like to come to. Thus they knew where their son was, and they got to know the kids with which he was becoming friends. Turning the basement into a community rec center was the final stage. When they bought the house, they bought the vacant lot next door which comprised the outdoor department of the “facility.” That’s where we played football, baseball and basketball. Now our house was THE place to be year ‘round.
The Last Tradition
After high school, college, marriage, children and grandchildren, we visited mom’s and dad’s house for one more late-fall, pre-Christmas visit. Mom was beginning to slow down quite a bit. I asked if she would like to go for a mother-son visit to an upscale gift shop in the neighborhood. She said she didn’t think she was able to make it. As I surmised, that was her last Christmas.
The Udell family Christmas traditions continue in the hearts and minds of two grandparents, two children, and five grandchildren spread throughout North America in Rockville, MD; Victoria BC, Canada; and Atlanta, GA.