The Christmas season in Canfield, Ohio during the late ‘70s was magical. I was between 8-10 years old and it was truly the most wonderful time of the year. Outside, it smelled like snow, and inside it smelled of pine from our live Christmas tree that my mom dolled up with ornate bulbs and thick, gold garland. Through the years, our traditions had to eventually change, but those early days in my childhood live with me forever.

With tomorrow being Christmas Eve, my thoughts take me back to when mom dressed our dining room with a special Christmas table cloth and shiny, holiday decor. It was such an important night because we got to eat appetizers before heading to church which was just down our street. Dad’s favorite was shrimp cocktail. There was also an array of fancy cheeses, crackers, and olives and we got to use frilly toothpicks with different color tinsel on top to pick up our snacks. Drinking pop out of spiffy holiday glasses was also a special treat. We were so lucky.

Next on the agenda came the lighting of the luminaria, which are paper bags weighed down by sand with a lit candle inside each one. Back in the day, most families bought a kit from the Canfield Junior Women’s League as a fundraiser. My beloved City of Canfield on Christmas Eve looked like a postcard. Rows of luminaria sitting on top of snow piles lined streets, sidewalks, and driveways. It lit up our town like a Hallmark movie. It was my brother and dad’s duty to add our paper bags next to the curb and light the candles inside. It was a gorgeous site seeing rows and rows of light all through our city!

After church, our tradition was to pay a visit to my mom and dad’s best friends, Mr. and Mrs. Lohr. Truth be told, as a school-aged girl, I would have much rather been hanging out with my friends drinking hot chocolate than spending time with their friends. However, Mrs. Lohr always made her stuffed mushrooms and had lots of other Christmas goodies like cookies, bowls of nuts, and sometimes we were allowed to bring a bag of mom’s homemade cinnamon hard tack candy on our outing. We ate on small, dainty china plates that made the whole night worthwhile.

After we made our way back home bundled up from the cold in our station wagon, mom and dad tucked me in but not before they turned on my plastic light-up snowman with a candy cane thrown over his shoulder that stood on my nightstand. As I fell asleep with the glow of Frosty, I felt excited for Christmas Day, loved, warm, and content with the tradition our family celebrated on Christmas Eve for many years on Dartmouth Ave. Today I hope you will think back and cherish your early holiday memories and keep them close to your heart as I do. Merry Christmas!