With great appreciation, I post the following Christmas Memories from Victoria Elliott Kendrick. She was just a little girl when our family met their family at Little Ida Church in Ecorse, MI. My Dad, Winford Riddle, and her Dad, John Elliott became best friends. Often where you saw one man, you also saw the other. Bro. John was laid back and easy to get along with. Bessie was a lady with a big heart, she loved easily and told you the truth whether you wanted to hear it or not. I loved to hear her laugh.
Little did I know when my family met John & Bess's family that one day I would be married to John's nephew. That his children would become my cousins by marriage. It's amazing how God orchestrates our lives and brings people together to not only be friends, but to become 'family'. This is a beautiful memory, enjoy!
In the photo: Bess & John Elliott with daughter Victoria
To me all my memories of Christmas are precious.
It started out as a gift to open a few days before Christmas. We would get so excited only to open it and find a pair of socks, a candy cane or some little thing to wet our appetite to open more. Mommy would always tell us we had to wait on Santa.
Dad always read the story "The Night Before Christmas" or told it from memory. He always added a few extra lines to make us laugh. It would start on Christmas Eve with leaving Santa milk and peanut butter cookies. It had to be peanut butter because Dad said that was the only kind Santa liked. (Later when I found out about the real Santa did I realize that was Daddy's favorite cookie.)
I remember Mom and Dad getting up between 4 am and 5 am to start making stuffing and preparing food to be cooked. Dad was the "chief taste tester". He always told us he had to sample everything before we did so he could make sure we would not get sick when we ate. Trust me it was his favorite job. It was the sound of them in the kitchen together laughing, talking and Mommy humming Christmas songs. Dad telling Mom to add more salt or seasonings and Mommy's reply was "John, who is doing the cooking here?"
It was the time when I could hear them both say, "Lord, thank you for the blessings you have gave us this year and the food we are about to eat today." These words will be forever planted in my memory of them.
It was the silver aluminum Christmas tree with the colored wheel to make it change colors when it turned. It was the opening of gifts that meant we were the richest kids in the world on that morning. It was simple gifts. Mom crocheting barbie doll clothes or making them on her sewing machine. It was clothes, shoes and just things we needed. There was always a gift that was something we had asked for. They always made sure we got some of the things we wanted. They gave us the best they could and it was given in love no matter what it was.
It was also the little brown bag of goodies we got. An apple, an orange, candy canes and some hard pieces of candy. To this day I can still taste how good those were. Nothing ever compared to the taste of those goodies like it did at Christmas.
These are my Christmas memories that I have tried to do some of them ever since my sons were born. I have added a few, but the open of the gift before Christmas, a stocking with the same goodies are given each year to the boys and my grandchildren. I have a book with the "Night Before Christmas", Mom bought me in 1969. I still put it out and read it to the grand children. They now tell me they are too old to hear it. I still read it whether they listen or not.
Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. Give Aunt Oma a big hug and kiss from me.
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