Comments on: Christmas Trees Past http://popgoestheculture.com/archives/42 Susie Watson, trend analyst and pop culture pundit teams up with cartoonist Barbara Luhring. Together they tear through the real and manufactured trends in pop culture today. Listen in! Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:30:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Susie Watson http://popgoestheculture.com/archives/42#comment-108 Susie Watson Wed, 27 Dec 2006 15:14:09 +0000 http://popgoestheculture.com/?p=42#comment-108 Helen, presents from Santa were always unwrapped at our house, too, since he didn't have time to wrap the gifts as well as make them at the North Pole. Also, that made it easy to see the additions from the night before, because everyone else's presents were already there. I still feel that anticipation the night before and wouldn't think of opening on Christmas Eve. Christmas day would be so anticlimactic, and I've never really given up on Santa Claus! Bernadette, I forgot it would be the hot time of year for you, sorry you can't have a blizzard at the appropriate time. Of course it makes Santa's job all that much easier. ;.) Helen, presents from Santa were always unwrapped at our house, too, since he didn’t have time to wrap the gifts as well as make them at the North Pole. Also, that made it easy to see the additions from the night before, because everyone else’s presents were already there. I still feel that anticipation the night before and wouldn’t think of opening on Christmas Eve. Christmas day would be so anticlimactic, and I’ve never really given up on Santa Claus! Bernadette, I forgot it would be the hot time of year for you, sorry you can’t have a blizzard at the appropriate time. Of course it makes Santa’s job all that much easier. ;.)

]]> By: Helen http://popgoestheculture.com/archives/42#comment-107 Helen Wed, 27 Dec 2006 13:40:35 +0000 http://popgoestheculture.com/?p=42#comment-107 I grew up opening presents on Christmas morning, but we had friends that opened on Christmas Eve. My husband's family also opened on Christmas Eve ... the kids would go to bed, the adults would go to midnight mass and one adult would stay home. When they got back home, they would wake up the kids and Santa had arrived! I have seen home movies of the kids coming into the livingroom rubbing their eyes and then lighting up to see Santa had come. Personally I liked the thrill of anticipation. Creeping downstairs multiple times to see what Santa had brought. Checking to see which present was for which person. Did any of the presents look big or small enough to be what we had asked for? We also were allowed to open up our stockings before we were allowed to wake our parents up. Two of my friends over the years had a tradition that presents from Santa were never wrapped. The wrapped presents were only from parents, relatives and friends. Has anyone else heard of that? My family used to put the presents from relatives under the tree as they arrived. When I got married we used to do that, but then we got a dog early in our marriage who always liked checking out what was in those wrapped boxes (you never know, it could have food in it! ), so that stopped. So, nothing is under the tree until Santa comes as we have always had dogs since then even though that original dog is no longer with us. One year, when I was very young, my mother had told me that I couldn't go to the livingroom and look until I had gotten dressed. She thought that would cause me to sleep longer. I woke up, got dressed in the dark and went to look. Santa had come!! I woke up my parents ... it was 2:30 in the morning :-) As a parent, I enjoyed hearing my kids try to sneak downstairs to check out the presents :-) Now that my kids are teens and in college, it is nice to be able to get a full night's sleep on Christmas Eve. I am usually the first one up and I do still enjoy coming downstairs in the dark and seeing the tree with all the presents underneath. I grew up opening presents on Christmas morning, but we had friends that opened on Christmas Eve.

My husband’s family also opened on Christmas Eve … the kids would go to bed, the adults would go to midnight mass and one adult would stay home. When they got back home, they would wake up the kids and Santa had arrived! I have seen home movies of the kids coming into the livingroom rubbing their eyes and then lighting up to see Santa had come.

Personally I liked the thrill of anticipation. Creeping downstairs multiple times to see what Santa had brought. Checking to see which present was for which person. Did any of the presents look big or small enough to be what we had asked for? We also were allowed to open up our stockings before we were allowed to wake our parents up.

Two of my friends over the years had a tradition that presents from Santa were never wrapped. The wrapped presents were only from parents, relatives and friends. Has anyone else heard of that?

My family used to put the presents from relatives under the tree as they arrived. When I got married we used to do that, but then we got a dog early in our marriage who always liked checking out what was in those wrapped boxes (you never know, it could have food in it! ), so that stopped. So, nothing is under the tree until Santa comes as we have always had dogs since then even though that original dog is no longer with us.

One year, when I was very young, my mother had told me that I couldn’t go to the livingroom and look until I had gotten dressed. She thought that would cause me to sleep longer. I woke up, got dressed in the dark and went to look. Santa had come!! I woke up my parents … it was 2:30 in the morning :-)

As a parent, I enjoyed hearing my kids try to sneak downstairs to check out the presents :-)

Now that my kids are teens and in college, it is nice to be able to get a full night’s sleep on Christmas Eve. I am usually the first one up and I do still enjoy coming downstairs in the dark and seeing the tree with all the presents underneath.

]]> By: Bernadette in Australia http://popgoestheculture.com/archives/42#comment-106 Bernadette in Australia Wed, 27 Dec 2006 07:51:29 +0000 http://popgoestheculture.com/?p=42#comment-106 Hi ladies Here in Australia real Christmas trees are a very new thing...when I was a kid (I'm 39) there was no such thing as a real tree. My family always had this hideous green plastic thing that only vaguely resembles an actual tree and all my friends had the same thing. Within the last few years it has become possible to buy real trees but it's usually so hot at Christmas time they don't last very long. Hi ladies

Here in Australia real Christmas trees are a very new thing…when I was a kid (I’m 39) there was no such thing as a real tree. My family always had this hideous green plastic thing that only vaguely resembles an actual tree and all my friends had the same thing. Within the last few years it has become possible to buy real trees but it’s usually so hot at Christmas time they don’t last very long.

]]>