Grandpa Freeze and the Boom Box ~or~ Why my family believes in Santa Claus
Dec 26 '00 (Updated Dec 31 '00)
We joke around a lot this time of year. We're the kind of family that kind of gets stuff done at the last minute. I'm not personally this way by nature, I much prefer to be prepared in advance, but I have begrudgingly fallen into line with my spouse and our seven kid blended family.
We got our tree the day before Christmas at Wal-Mart for only $5. We didn't have a tree stand, and neither did they, or anyone else within a 50-mile radius. This sparked a big family brain storming and experiment session where various methods were attempted in order to sustain the tree in a vertical position. The final solution was to put an eye bolt in the ceiling and suspend the tree. The base is sitting in a bowl of water. I was asleep long before this was finally completed around midnight. When I woke up, the tree was there, all decorated with the lights blinking on and off. It was great.
We have a friend of the family, actually a friend of the kids, whom we have known since they were all in high school. We'll call him Ivan. He is an immigrant from Russia who does not get along with his family here. He has always supported himself, and is currently putting himself through the community college while working full time. He stopped by to visit with all the college kids who came home for the holidays. When we found out he was going to be alone on Christmas Eve, we invited him to stay with us. What's one more when you've already got nine in the family at the table?
Since my husband follows the German tradition of opening all the gifts on Christmas Eve, we were feverishly busy with last minute shopping, wrapping, and kitchen patrols. Naturally, preparations were in full swing at the very last minute. Ivan jumped right in and started peeling the potatoes.
By chance, my husband had purchased one gift that was unallocated to anyone: a boom box. He had bought it on speculation with a gift certificate from his place of employment, thinking that one of the kids would want it. It turns out that everyone had one who wanted one, and we were perplexed at what we would do with this gift.
What a coincidence that we had an unexpected guest! We decided to give it to Ivan, so he would not be the only person who did not have any gifts. Hopefully, he would have a need for it. We also took some of the plethora of candy that we had bought for all the kids and redistributed it to include him.
Over the course of dinner, Ivan told us about how in Russia there was no Santa Claus, but they did have Grandpa Freeze. Grandpa Freeze has a flying sled with reindeer and drops the gifts down the chimney just like Santa Claus. Ivan looked a bit wistful when talking about Grandpa Freeze. I think it had been a long time since Ivan had a visit from the jolly old man in the red suit. I shot my husband a knowing look across the table.
Following the tradition of reading the Christmas story, the youngest in the family would be called upon to deliver each gift one by one to the recipient. Everyone watches as the person opens the gift. This process takes quite some time in our house due to the number of people, but it's fun and gives both the recipient and the gift giver a great opportunity to express their surprise and thanks. We all get to see each gift and make comments about them. I think it gives the kids more of an appreciation for each gift and each other.
I watched Ivan watching the proceedings. I admit, I can sometimes get impatient at the whole thing. Waiting and waiting while person after person opens up each gift one at a time. But watching through Ivan's eyes gave the whole event a lot more meaning for me. And as the kids got gift after gift, small to large, they seemed to have more of an appreciation too. What was normal for us was obviously missing from someone else's life, and we all could see that.
When Ivan's name was first called out, everyone was very surprised. How could we have known that Ivan would be there? He was very happy to receive a nice box of Reese's peanut butter cups. As the evening went on, he got a box of Mike and Ikes, and he had a great time ripping the package open and sharing the candies. And finally, about a half-hour later, he was presented with a big box. All eyes were on Ivan as he incredulously began to rip off the brightly colored paper. He was practically speechless when he saw what it was. A big boom box with a CD player and everything.
It turns out that Ivan had just moved and had to sell his computer. Since his computer was his only sound system, he was without anything but his clock radio. He really needed the boom box. How did we know, he wondered? How could we have possibly gotten the one gift he really wanted when we didn't even know he would be there?
He looked around the room, very grateful and amazed, and expressed his profound thanks, and disbelief. How could this happen, he asked out loud.
I told him it could only have been Grandpa Freeze, who must have followed him to America this year.
Ivan smiled a big smile. Finally, Grandpa Freeze had found him again.
We don't have a lot of money to spend on Christmas, and with so many kids, we have to use a lot of creativity. I think we often forget that there are so many people who are alone. It's not really a gift that they want as much as they are grateful to feel like a part of a family.
As the fire roared, and everyone laughed and ate desert, I think this greatest gift, of being a part of something bigger than just yourself, was not lost on our family that Christmas Eve night. Talk about family values... we got the gift of valuing our family more than ever.
And that's how Grandpa Freeze and a boom box made us believe in Santa Claus, and each other, again. :)
From my family to yours, we wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season and an excellent New Year.
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Member: Kat
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Analytically inclined mom, bank officer, freelance writer, and internet addict.
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