Christmas Catalog

I  remember growing up how my siblings and I would eagerly wait for the arrival of the Montgomery Ward's  Christmas catalog.
It was heavy, glossy, smelled good, and full of colorful and exciting new  toys and games.

We  would take turns reading it, dogear some of the pages, make our list from the catalog and mail it to Santa  Claus.
We  knew that the arrival of the catalog meant that Mom would start her  Christmas baking- there  would be fondant, fudge, shortbread, and of  course the ever popular  Toll  House chocolate chip cookies.
My  mother would assign us chores during the baking, so we all learned how to make the various cookies, and it gave us a chance to lick the bowls and eat raw cookie dough- and we never got sick from the ordeal.
During this time  my grandfather-Mizzi- would get his Spanish Christmas recipes out and make mantecados- an almond cookie and some kind of a cupcake- He would make a big production out of it- but they were good.

On the weekend, my father, me and my brothers and sister , would pick up a live Christmas tree- no fake tree for us- and we would carry it home- my father did not drive and in our early years we did not have a car- so we would drag the tree about a mile to our apartment.
The tree was still intact when we got home.  My father would trim the bottom and set up in the stand..  my mother would make hot chocolate bring out the cookies and we would spends hours decorating.
One of the most prize possession of my mothers was an  ornament that she had made during WWII- it consisted of blue and silver foil
it was not the most prettiest but it meant a lot to her.
I miss those days of Family get togethers- the aroma of fresh baked
cookies, the aroma of a fresh pine tree,  the lights in the window and most of all  my parents.
There was a magical feeling then- some people may say it is corny and those days  were  from another  era-- it may be true- but it was a time of happiness that one never forgets- if I am grateful for one thing during  Christmas it would be for my memories and if I had to choose a second thing it would be my Family and friends today.

Merry  Christmas  to all of you.