For the past few years, the boys wait patiently each Christmas season to help Papa set up the Dickens Village that we have collected over many years. Long before they were here and even before their Mom and Uncle, Jim and I started to collect this Dickens village, piece by piece, from a company called Department 56. At the time and even today, it is quite expensive. All the pieces are made of porcelain and are hand-painted. The Villages consist of little houses, trees of different kinds and sizes, people in period clothes and numerous other things one might find in an old fashion Village. All of the major houses light up and the entire village, when put together is just so very festive. Each year Jim and I would plan which pieces we would add to our collection and then go to the same store every year to make our purchases. When we got the Dickens Village nearly finished we then started on the North Pole series, adding Santa Clause and his reindeer and workshop. Mrs. Clause with her chubby little smile and small hat stood outside her kitchen door. As the years went by we included A New England Village, very much like where we now live but more "back in the day". We had it all. Skating ponds, bridges, benches for the old man to sit on reading his newspaper as the kids went skating by with the dogs running behind them. Also in the New England Village, we had an ice truck with little cubes of ice and tiny tongs. That addition is very special to me because my grandfather was an iceman when I was a little girl and I remember so well the tongs and the cubes of ice he carried up many flights of stairs when he was delivering to his customers. He was not a big man but he was a strong man and the only thing protecting him from that cold ice block was a piece of leather wrapped over his shoulder when he wore it. Most often he didn’t. He even had his own ice truck. I can still remember when he came home at night, he would let us kids eat all the ice chips that were left melting on the floor of the truck. We didn’ It's a fond memory of days gone by. I loved my grandfather most of all back then. I knew he loved me unconditionally. He was my shining star.
The villages were packed away for many years after our kids outgrew them and we no longer wanted to deal with setting up all the tables we would need to display them. We did keep out one Village which we displayed in the bay window of our T.V. room after Liam and Jaxson were born. Each year the boys waited for Papa to set it up, complete with snow and stars in the background. They would just look at it in wonder because of course they were not allowed to play with it. I can remember my grandmother setting up a skating pond under her Christmas tree when I was a little girl. She had a round glass mirror, sprinkled with snow. There were many little skaters all dressed up in colorful skirts and sweaters. We too, were not allowed to play with those either but I would lay on the floor, on my belly, my chin in my hands, legs up, ankles crossed and just drift away and be with those skaters for a time. That was how the boys were, just dreaming of life in that village.
This year when the village came out, the boys, once again were very excited. A few changes happened though. The boys were finally big enough to help Papa set up our little New England Village and also, I have now let them play with the pieces. They are old enough to respect it and are very gentle with it, but they do love moving all the people around. Also, this year we went up to the storage closet and we let each boy pick out his own village to take home. That was an wonderful afternoon for all of us. They opend all the boxes and each picked a special village. They already have the North Pole village that we gave them when they were really little. Liam choose the Christmas Carol village with Scrooge and Marleys houses and all of the little pieces that went with that. We have taken both boys to the Christmas Carol play so that is one Christmas story that they are familiar with. Jaxson choose houses and pieces that he just liked. He sort of made his own village. He has the church and the train station and an English cottage, with people and baggage that goes with it. And this year for the first time in a long time we set up two Villages in our house. Now all of the villages and people are back out again for the first time in many years. It was a wonderful memory making day.
So the boys took their villages home that night and Jenna just shook her head when she saw all the boxes. Papa went over and helped them set their villages up. Then all the lights in the houses were turned on and it was magical. Christmas was everywhere and the Villages will always be a wonderful memory for them as each Christmas season arrives. Childhood memories, just like mine from my Grandmother's skating pond. I leaned back against the wall, saw their shining faces and happy smiles and heard their little voices as they explained to their Mom about each house and tiny porcelain person, cart, bench and tree. Jaxson went on about his hotel and the train station and the little man that loaded luggage on his green cart. Look at the lady with her dog on a leash. And see: "people going to church just like we do on Christmas eve." Quite amazing. I knew in my heart that we had picked the perfect time to send our beloved villages to a new home. I think those villages were the best gift we could have ever given them. Not so much because of the pieces but because of the memories that they already have and will continue to make and maybe even someday share the story or their Nana and Papa each Christmas season.
Generation to generation we are always making memories. Some like this are wonderful and lasting. That is what I want for my Grandsons. I'm happy for my own Christmas memory of the skaters but so many more memories live in us. The boys love their new Villages. They love that they have their own but I have yet to tell them how those village really came to be and why their Papa and I started collecting them. Those villages have very strong memories for us also...because many years ago, when we didn't have a dime to our name, we were building the roots of this village and we didn't even know it. But that is a story for another day.
“Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. I love everything about it, from the event that inspired it, hoping for a white one, to wrapping presents, but mostly I love having family and friends gathered and sharing traditions.
Ellen Hopkins”
Thank you to all who visit here. Please feel free to leave a comment and perhaps even a Christmas tradition that your family celebrates. I will answer all comments left here as I enjoy reading them so much…
