Back about 1975, Christmas at our house looked like this:
A $5 permit in hand, we trudge through the snow in the mountains picking out the perfect tree to cut down. We never wanted to cut off more than we had to, so sometimes the tree had to duck the ceiling a little. Not many decorations, but we would buy one new box of Christmas ornaments every year knowing that eventually we could absolutely overload a tree.
A legacy from my childhood, there was the American Flyer train layout, different every year, with the Lionel transformer so the locomotives would have plenty of power. Lots of practice putting train car wheels back on the tracks. Drops down the smokestack of one of the engines would provide chuffing smoke (and a special aroma). As presents started to accumulate they could be arranged as backstops and tunnels. Running the trains was good for a week or two, until the tracks were overwhelmed by presents, even if we had to take the pack of a dozen Hot Wheels cars apart and wrap them all individually to accomplish our goal.
Reflections of my own overwhelming Christmases with presents piled high. Later in life Mom told stories of Dad telling her that Christmas needed to be different this year. We were just going to buy a few presents, then looking at the tree right before Christmas and declaring that this just won’t do, and going out shopping for a giant bag of toys because Christmas morning just has to “look right”. So, Dad’s legacy to our legacy, Christmas just has to “look right.
