One of the blessings of this crazy year has been that, once we got past the initial few months of isolating ourselves from everyone, we expanded our bubble to include my daughter’s family, including our two grandsons, ages 6 and 3. It’s meant that, while we’ve seen far less of a lot of friends and family, we’ve actually spent more time with Sean and James and their folks than we likely would have in a “normal” year. That’s been a special joy in the past several weeks as we’ve prepared for Christmas.

It started just after Thanksgiving when Sean and I visited the Gingerbread Jubilee and marveled at all the creative entries. Since then, the boys have helped me do some decorating, they’ve kept track of the passing days with the help of my many Advent calendars, and we’ve admired Christmas decorations on walks through our neighborhood.

We all like cuddling up on the sofa and reading from my vast and varied collection of holiday books. Many of these I read to their mommy and aunt when they were little, and so it’s a double joy for me as I recall those memories as I build new ones with the next generation.   The boys also like to check out our 9-foot-tall tree boasting ornaments from all over the world; some are older than me, others were purchased when their mommy was little, and others have been added just this year.  We play a sort of “I Spy” game, where the players try to figure out which ornament the “It” person is staring at, a game their mom and aunt invented decades ago. With such a big tree and so many ornaments, it can be quite a challenge! I also challenge them with a Christmas tree scavenger hunt, directing them to find, for example, three angel ornaments, or an ornament depicting an animal.

Last weekend brought a special treat and, perhaps, a new tradition for our community. Because of health restrictions, visits to Santa at the mall have been abandoned, but local organizers came up with a solution and brought Santa to our neighborhoods, instead. Last Saturday Santa drove in a bright yellow fire truck on an elaborate and all-encompassing route through our small city, waving at children along the way and shouting greetings and admonitions to “Be good!” We ran outside when we heard the sirens approaching,   and the boys were very excited to be able to see Santa so close and to be able to wish him “Merry Christmas!”

Just a few days later, what I believe is the boys’ favorite Christmas activity (besides actually opening presents) was spread out on my kitchen table. They contributed to a bright and sprinkle-laden collection of cookies,   with 6-year-old Sean sticking with the chore for almost an hour and decorating an impressive number of them.  James did his part, and both boys laughed and laughed when their mom made her “signature” cookie, one she has been doing every year since she was a teen: a snowman shape with a dash of yellow sprinkles, supplied by an imagined passing (and pissing) doggy.

Of course, Christmas morning saw the pinnacle of excitement. It had been tempered slightly by the time the boys arrived at our house, as they had already unloaded stockings and opened presents brought by Santa to their house earlier in the day. James was positively fizzing with excitement, though, and Sean made straight for his stocking before everyone else had even come through the door. Hours later, after stockings, breakfast and more presents, the fun of playing with all the new stuff commenced, and Legos constructions, puzzles and Checkers spread across the floor.

Yes, it was a different kind of Christmas this year, and we sorely missed sharing our baby granddaughter’s first Christmas with her and her parents, but we feel blessed to have experienced all the excitement and fun through the eyes of our little boys. No Grinchy virus could steal their joy!

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor