Christmas

Growing up Amish, we had no decorations inside of our house. I didn't have a christmas tree until after I married. So Ed and I had the biggest and bestest tree ever. Decorated beautifully! I invited my mom and dad and brother and sisters; but that year they had the flu and no one could come. So Ed and I enjoyed our tree alone.

Growing up we received gifts at Christmas. I so totally treasured that gift. I learned early on to ask for something that would last and last. I hated broken crayons, so that was on my list often along with a coloring book(big book!). I would color one page at a time so it would last longer. Another gift I ask for several times was a blackboard and chalk because I could play school with that and it would last. That breaks too and I didn't like broken or cracked boards so that was asked for several times.

My first memory of Christmas growing up, we set the kitchen table with a plate at the "spot" where we sat and in the morning we would have an orange on our plate. That must have been a "big" thing. Several years I remember my dad would hide our gift and we'd run around looking for it. I loved that!

One year my older sisters made cloth dolls for my younger sisters. These dolls were pretty modern because the arms and legs moved. Of course all the dolls had no faces. (graven image - - forbidden!!!) Sometimes English people would feel sorry for us "poor children", playing with dolls and no faces, they would bring us a plastic doll, my parents allowed us to play with them that day and than after we'd go to bed, they would forever disappear.

One year my dad built a big barn for the boys and a doll house for the girls. Another year he built a cupboard and dry sink for the girls. One year the "older" children received an ice cream freezer. To this day I love popcorn with ice cream. We would make homemade ice cream and pop popcorn. Yummy!

At our family reunions (the Amish can't call our get togethers reunions), my parents were excommunicated and shunned.

I loved Christmas growing up! We would have big family dinners. After we started raising turkeys for sale, mom would bake the biggest turkey for dinner. She would get it into the oven early in the morning so it would be cooked in time for dinner at lunch.