The Best Christmas Ever
Heidi MadsenA “Little House” Christmas? It sounded exciting! In 2001, my parents had decided that we would spend Christmas in the mountains. But we weren’t going to some fancy ski resort. No, it was going to be a little more…well, primitive. We were going to a cabin that was built in the eighteen hundreds, which meant no running water and no electricity.
Our old yellow Mercedes Benz rumbled to a stop at the base of the hiking trail that led to our cabin. My sisters and I excitedly jumped out of the car. “What are those?” Laura, my six year-old sister asked. “Animal tracks!” my older sister Missy replied. She always seemed to know the answers to questions that Laura and I had. “What kind of animal tracks?” I questioned as my voice pitch raised. “Bear tracks!” my dad interjected. As my Mom looked around nervously, we realized that our “Little House Christmas” had begun!
We grabbed supplies from the car and began to climb the trail. Halfway up my shoulder began to ache from the four foot Christmas tree that I had slung over it. But the struggle was worth it, after all, it wouldn’t feel much like Christmas without a Christmas tree! As we trudged on we got colder and colder. Finally we rounded a bend in the trail and our destination appeared. Resting on top of a hill our log cabin waited for us. My Dad opened the door and after walking in, we gratefully set our supplies down. As my mom, sisters and I organized the cabin, my dad started a fire in the old potbelly stove.
Now that we were settled, it was time to decorate for Christmas! Missy, Laura and I went outside to gather “decorations.” Satisfied that we had enough, we headed back to the now warm cabin and began to decorate. When we were finished, the tables and windowsills boasted beautiful arrangements of pine branches, berries, and small candles that we had found in one of the cupboards. After my dad set up the Christmas tree, we worked on stringing cranberries and popcorn. My fingers ached from the pointy needle that managed to find its way into my thumb more than once. After adorning the tree with our “yummy” garland, we hung metal cookie cutter ornaments from the small branches. To finish it off, we hung a red metal star on top of the tree.
After supper we sang carols and read the Christmas story from the Bible. Before we went to bed we had to make a trip to the out-house. It was already dark. The cold night air wrapped its icy fingers around me as the frosty ground crunched under my feet. The pine trees swooshed and swayed as our lanterns cast eerie shadows up and down the trail. Once there, we all took care of business very quickly and then rushed back to the cabin. I crawled into bed as my dad blew out the lanterns. I didn’t sleep well that night, not only was I excited about Christmas morning, but I was also worried about mice getting into the cabin and crawling into my sleeping bag!
As the sun began to creep through the windows, we happily proclaimed “Merry Christmas!”After eating breakfast, it was time to look into our stockings! Since we were having a “Little House Christmas” we left the presents at home, and our parents had stuffed our stockings with “Little House” gifts. As our happy fingers reached into our stockings our faces lit up with excitement. I got some licorice, a wooden candy cane ornament, a red apple, and a shiny new penny!
Christmas Dinner never tasted so good. We had Corn on the cob, rolls, sweet potatoes, and ham. We had to cook all of our meals on the potbelly stove which was fun but made us grateful for our gas stove at home.
After eating, Missy, Laura and I decided to go outside. As we stepped out into the meadow we gazed up in wonder at snowflakes that drifted down and landed on our red noses!
A lot of times we think that in order to make Christmas memorable, December 25th has to meet certain criteria, like lots of presents, or a fancy resort. But my truly memorable Christmas experience was found in simplicity, doing things the old way, getting away from the busy schedule of everyday life, and spending time with my family. After that Christmas I could exclaim, as the character Laura did in the Little House on the Prairie series, that my “Little House” Christmas truly was, “The best Christmas ever!”