By Allen Hamrick
With Thanksgiving 2025 in the books, hopefully you took the time to think about more than your stomach. Christmas 2025 is just a few weeks away and already yards are being adorned with the finest lights Wal-Mart can sell. Trees are being raised in living rooms with bulbs, bells, lights, candy canes, and all sorts of different baubles that bring the trees alive. Lists circle through families of the desired gifts they would like to see under the tree or anywhere for that matter. Plans are being made for family gatherings, and home cooked cookie recipes are the gossip.
It’s December, it’s nearing the end of the year, and it is the biggest month for end of year reflections on life in 2025. From tragedy to joy, the world has felt it all, and as in the words of a monk, “Who can see tomorrow? Any glimpses into what it may bring are only products of our imagination.” So, we take it a day at a time and do our best to enjoy the time given us. It is truly Christmas season now, after all, and if you’re reading this, you made it this far into the year. Who knows what tomorrow brings?
Take this month to reflect on the positive and that positive will rub off on somebody else. Throughout generations the phrase “Boy, I remember the time,” was used quite frequently. However, it doesn’t seem to be used as much these days because generations change with the tides. Truly, it’s time to make good memories because they are getting scarce as wormy chestnut lumber.
These days, Amazon and Google, among others, have opened a whole new world for people to explore. There is seemingly no question that can’t be answered, and research is just a flick of the wrist. Shopping – well let’s just say the internet has taken effort out of the equation and made it a task that you can do without ever leaving your recliner. Most would say that it is a great thing to have, but exploring from your recliner will never give you the opportunity to fight traffic and people, so where’s the fun?
What happens though? Quick as a cat, the good times are here and then gone. Christmas comes and goes, and you realize that you spent way beyond what you should have. The lines at the return desk are nearly as long as they were at a Journey concert. New Year’s Day comes and goes, and on January 2nd, you realize the promises made would take way too much effort, so you save them again for next year’s toast.
There were people that, as I take the time to remember when, truly lived each day to the fullest whether it was hard or somewhat easier. Some of their stories would make families pass out these days if they lived when they only got fruit in a sock as opposed to the lavish gifts expected now. Many stories are just when the family was together, when snowflakes made a huge difference in how the day went. The smell of food cooking, the taste of freshly made cookies and songs sung in earnest are all experiences that bound families together. Those were good times.
Catalogs were a big part of people’s lives. Sears, Montgomery Ward, J.C. Penney, Spiegel and various other sales flyers that came in the mail from stores like Hecks, K-Mart, the Five and Dime store and Reed’s Department Store, just to name a few, made every mouth water. Catalogs served not only as something to dream about but be realistic regarding what you couldn’t have, but as wall coverings, bathroom necessities, and outhouse insulation. Other uses were covering plants, making paper airplanes, and research material for future clothing designers. So, what can Amazon, Google and Wal-Mart do to compete with that?
Families would get together and offer to help each other, and it was everybody’s duty to make sure that the less fortunate were taken care of. Generally, gifts were handmade from pipes to rocking chairs, from toys to food, which is probably the best gift of all. This season, make your memories the best you can; be creative and make it fun. Remember the gifts you give now, you may be able to buy back in the spring at yard sales, so whatever you make, be sure that it’s something you want.
