Christmas “ gift at Thanksgiving ” a reminder of Mom ’ s love
BY TRISHA GEDON | STILLWATER STYLE
My parents started my Santa Claus collection many years ago . At Thanksgiving , Mom would give me and my sister a new Santa to add to our collections . Some are from travels she and Dad took to Alaska , Mexico , Nova Scotia and around the United States . One year it was a Santa cookie jar . When she passed away in July 2011 , I decided I would go ahead and continue the tradition for my sister , so I spent some time trying to find just the right Santa to add to her collection . It was hard to do because it was our first major holiday without our mom .
Unbeknownst to me , my sister had the exact same thought and got me a new Santa too .
To add to that , our dad didn ’ t know what our plans were , so he had gotten us each a Santa that year because he knew how important this tradition was .
Lots of tears were shed that year as we exchanged our Santas .
Each year as I unbox them to decorate for the Christmas season , it brings back such sweet memories of our mom . I can just imagine the look on her face when she found just the right one each year .
Our tradition continues today , although it ’ s not always a Santa .
After all these years , my sister and I
neither one have any more space left to keep adding to the collection . But we do other things .
Old family photos made into pillows or Christmas ornaments have been a big hit .
It ’ s just a fun way for us to continue the “ gift at Thanksgiving ” tradition our mom started with us so many years ago .
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