Our Family - Christmas Traditions

 Merrick Family Christmas Traditions

by Cheryl Groom Merrick

When we were first married, my husband and I discussed how much we wanted Christ to be the center of our Christmas. Over the years we read the story of the nativity on Christmas Eve from the scriptures, and performed our own nativity pageant on Christmas day. We also played beautiful carols, displayed pictures of the Savior’s birth, and sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus, complete with a birthday cake on Christmas day.

One of the most important things we did, though, was to change the emphasis from gift getting to gift giving. We knew that we remember Christ most when we act like him – when we give and love. Most adults enjoy Christmas because they spend so much of their time and energy giving to others. We didn’t want our children to miss out on this experience, so instead of encouraging greed in our children by asking, “What do you want for Christmas?”; we asked, “What are you going to give for Christmas?”

We explained that Santa was anyone who wanted to give a gift to others, but didn’t want them to know who gave the gift. We had fun as a family as our little Santa, complete with a red hat and cotton ball beard, would drop off a goodie at a friend’s home then run, sometimes in circles!

The weeks before Christmas went quickly. It was a busy time filled with secret plans and present making. My husband and I kept our decorations, food, and present buying simple (just one present each), so we could enjoy helping our children make their presents. Even the baby gave her hand print on a piece of paper.

No presents were put under our tree until just before bed on Christmas Eve, then Santa and his elf (our younger children) would bring in the unlabeled presents and place them under the tree.

On Christmas morning we take turns giving presents. The youngest child begins, then on to the oldest person in the family. Presents were opened one at a time, admired by all, and thanks given.

Keeping our Christmas preparations simple and giving small presents helps us remember our Savior at Christmastime and brings His Spirit into our home.

A Few Other Christmas Memories

By our second Christmas, I had learned that mailmen are not very jolly at Christmastime. In fact they aren’t even home much. 

When I began to bemoan all that I needed to do for our first Christmas, Garrett looked me in the eye and firmly stated, “Then we will not celebrate Christmas!” I knew he was serious, and I knew what I had to do. I needed to cut down on what I thought I “had” to do, so we could enjoy this special time of year. 

When our oldest son was little, he insisted on putting all the ornaments on one branch. When he turned away, I watched as each ornament slowly slid off the branch onto the floor.

One Christmas when David was little, I decided to make Garrett a new robe for Christmas. When David saw me working on it, I asked him not to tell his Dad because it was a surprise for Christmas. The moment Garrett walked in the door that day, David, bursting with exciting news, said, “Guess what Dad! Mom is making you a robe for Christmas!”  I learned that toddlers can’t keep secrets.

At this time, Garrett was having to work long hours, since not only was he working overtime at the Post Office, but he was also trying to finish his courses at BYU. We hardly saw Garrett at all. One day, David thought he knew how to solve the problem when he told me, “Turn on the porch light Mom so Dad will know where we live!” 

Each of our children started out as Baby Jesus in our Nativity pageant. Later, they could be Mary, Joseph, Wise Men or Wise Women, or angels. Usually, we did the pageant several times each Christmas so they could try out different parts. Garrett was always the ever patient donkey or camel which carried everyone around. I directed the play and helped act the parts. Stuffed animals helped fill in when needed. We always had a toy lamb for the shepherd to hold and a baby doll to be Jesus when we no longer had a child who was a baby. The angel had an important part. He held the star high and led the way which was long and winding to the manger where Jesus lay.  

When we had the Cambodian family living with us, a neighbor gave David her now grown son’s old train set for Christmas. David loved it! All the Cambodians were fascinated. They had never seen anything like it before.

When Laura was two, we all made a small kitchen for her. David wanted to make something just from him, so he made a doll cradle which he gave to Laura at Christmas.

Our first two children were only 13 months apart, but the next child didn’t come for seven years, then the last came four years later, so it was almost like having two families in some ways. With such large age gaps between our children, we encouraged our children to pass down their now unused toys. This is how the small blue rocker Garrett and I made for Julene for her second Christmas was shared with all her siblings and, now finally, with the grandchildren. Besides toys, the small yellow rocking chair, the rocking horse, and the small maple beds Garrett made for Julene and David were shared with Laura and Dan. Passing something down was a special event. It was something special that person had to give. I even gave my daughters my dolls which I still had from when I was a girl. 

One thing we enjoyed doing at Christmas time was making gingerbread houses. We got lots of graham crackers, frosting, and candy and let the kids design their own little house. Of course, lots was eaten along the way. 

I made felt ornaments for our Christmas tree, and the kids glued sequins on them to decorate them. I liked to tell what each ornament meant while we put them on our tree. The canes reminded us that Christ was the Good Shepherd. The star reminded us of how Christ’s birth was foretold, and of the night when he was born. The red and pink hearts remind of the love Jesus has for us. The pine tree reminds us that Jesus’ love will never end, and the snowman reminds us that Christmas is in the winter time for us.  

In 1986, we decided to get an artificial Christmas tree. Each year we had colds for the entire Christmas season, and now suddenly they were gone. We learned that several of our family were allergic to pine trees!

I loved it when our children played Santa and his Elf who brought in all the presents on Christmas eve and placed them under our Christmas tree. Since I didn’t want to overly excite the children, I didn’t label the presents. Therefore, it was a challenge on Christmas morning to remember which present went to the right person. 

For the children’s last present, we had a note for them hidden in the Christmas tree. On it was a clue which led to other clues and finally to their present. It was a fun way to end our present opening. 

When Dan was little, he loved his toy dinosaurs. One day he brought them in and put them in front of the Nativity scene to adore baby Jesus. It was such a serious and touching moment. He left them there the whole Christmas season. We felt that our children were truly learning what Christmas really meant. 

Daniel 2nd Christmas; Laura passing down blue chair and car