For example, “You stand in the steaming kitchen with people you haven’t seen in almost a year. You wish your shirt didn’t have that tiny stain on the cuff. You wish your aunt’s laugh wasn’t quite so brittle. Feet stomp on the porch and you hurry to let your tall uncle in, forgetting to keep the dog from escaping outside…”
A minimum of 250 words, due at the end of the period. The traditional could be real or fictional.
You stand around the tree at your Grandma’s house helping her decorate. The lights are all strung up and the ornaments are about to go on when you hear the doorbell ring and the aroma of fresh pizza comes in with the cold winter air. You run to door to help your parents with the pizza. The room is small and there are so many people in it but you don’t care because it’s Christmas Eve. On the TV is “Christmas Story” which you and your family watch throughout the whole day. You would think it would get bored but it never does because you have family all around you to enjoy it with. Soon you finish putting on the last ornament and finish eating all the pizza and then the presents come out. You always exchange your Christmas presents on Christmas Eve with your Aunt and Uncle and their children because you don’t see them on Christmas Day. The little children tear through the wrapping paper but you know better. You know it’s more enjoyable to open it slowly and keep everyone in suspense. You want the day to last long and you think that the slower you unwrap the present then the slower this day will take. Your family just sits there and waits for you to finish and see the astonishment on your face when you finally realize what the present really is. It’s a present that you have always wanted and now you have it, so Merry Christmas to You.
ReplyDeleteYou open your eyes for the first time on one of your favorite days of the year. It’s still dark but you can sense that it’s morning. You look out of your shades to view that beautiful Christmas morning twilight. That’s when it really hits you. There are a ton of presents downstairs under the tree waiting for you. A ball of energy builds up in your stomach and as you sneak, ever so quietly, out of your bed and to the staircase. The tips of your toes brush the top of each step as if that would prevent them from squeaking as your place your full weight on them. Finally, you arrive downstairs. With the same gentle motions that you used to move down the stairs, you creep towards the tree. That energy that has been building up inside of you seems to explode with excitement. Seeing all the shapes, sizes and colors of the various boxes under the large, tinsel covered tree nearly takes your breath away. The anticipation haunts you, but as you look up at the large, daunting grandfather clock that’s been decked out with a bow, you realize that hours separate you and unveiling the prizes inside of those boxes. In that moment, it strikes you: the stocking. You turn to find the empty sock that had been handing from the mantle had now been filled to the brim with small treasures that will surely hold you over until your parents awake. You creep again, but more hastily, over to the large, velvet covered stocking dangling from a string and remove it careful, ensuring that the insides won’t spill. You fall to the couch behind you and start to reveal what is inside. Little wrapped boxes fill your hands. With care, you un-wrap these to find small gifts that you wouldn’t expect. A new pair of headphones, a new bracelet and even some much needed socks. Warmth fills your body knowing that someone picked these out for you without having been asked. The magic of Christmas has finally began, and will continue in a few hours for the opening of the spectacular-looking gifts, all wrapped under the tree.
ReplyDeleteYou stand in the small worn down home. Far too many family members are occupying the house, and they constantly bump into each other. You smell the delicious scent of freshly made empanadas coming out of the oven. Travelling to the kitchen, you listen as a cassette player plays some Spanish music. You watch as kids of various ages laugh and dance with a man dressed up as Santa Claus. Moving in awkward ways, the man in the red suit grabs you and forces you to dance with him in front of everybody. When the song ends, a pair of twins drag you to a small kitchen table. Pouring salt into your hand, they grin and place an ice cube in your grip as well. Forcing you to clench your fist, the twins call the other kids over. Now a timer has been whipped out as your hand begins to burn for the chemical change that is occurring. Trying to keep your composure, you stay still as the other children watch. Finally, the kid with the timer says stop and you hurriedly rush to the sink to wash off the salt. Challenges like these continue until it’s time to open presents. In a kind of semi-organized mad dash, presents are excitedly ripped open. The floor is covered with colorful wrapping paper as the kids separate their new items into piles. Some of the younger ones cry about how they didn’t get what they wanted, but you and the older kids politely thank the adults. The rest of the night is spent with watching mainly horror movies and trying out the new gifts. You stay in the living room by the door and give your farewells to each relative that leaves for the night. You stay there until your mother and father tell you to pack up your Christmas presents and head out to the car. Waving good-bye and yelling, “Te quiero mucho!” you sit in your family’s car as you leave the worn down, but quaint house.
ReplyDeleteYou hear your bedroom door let out a loud, creaky sigh as it slowly opens. At first, all you see if a bright, gold light that causes you to rub your eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness that illuminates your dark room. You see a dark figure, but as the door widens a little more, you can make out the figure to be your younger sibling, whispering, “Come on, hurry!” Immediately, you jump out of bed, and take a peek at your phone. It’s 11:45.
ReplyDeleteYou have fifteen minutes.
The two of you creep down your dark hallway, making sure you both are extra cautious when you pass your parents room. Loud, lazy snores ensure that they are fast asleep. You finally make it to the stairs—over the past few years, it has proved to be the most challenging obstacle in this annual mission. You let your sibling go down first, sliding down the endless railing of the stairs, because you know you’re the heavier one. Now, it’s your turn. You crawl onto the rail, wrapping your arms around the top and your legs right beneath you. When you’re ready, you slide down with ease.
Without even speaking, you two make it to the kitchen. Your sibling switches on the lights gently. Then, you dash across the room, open the fridge, and reach your arm to the very back, grabbing a frosted glass of 2% milk that you discretely stored earlier that day. You turn around, and your sibling already has the next item on the list—twelve dozen chocolate chip cookies tucked into a Ziploc bag and a clean plate. After giving each other a nod, you make it to the final destination—the living room.
Rainbow lights outline the ceiling of the room. There is a fresh smell of pine coming from the corner of the room. It’s the Christmas tree. This year has to be the tallest of them all. It nearly touches the ceiling, topped with a beautiful angel. The tree is decked with ornaments—red, white, and green—and wrapped with lights similar to the ones lining the ceiling. The sight is breathtaking. There’s nothing underneath the tree, however—except for a red and gold tree skirt—for now, that is.
You turn to the fireplace suddenly, accidentally bumping into your sibling, and the plate goes flying!
“Catch it!”
With catlike reflexes, you place the glass of milk on the table next to you with perfection—then dive to catch the plate. You land on floor, but the plate is safely nestled in your arms. It didn’t hurt that bad—thanks to the carpet.
Phew.
You place the plate on the table, and your sibling pours out the cookies. Almost done. You reach into the back pocket of your Christmas pajamas and pull out a note:
Dear Santa,
This is all for you.
You and your sibling exchange another nod and this time, you both creep back upstairs, separate to your bedrooms, and nestle underneath your covers, anxiously waiting for Christmas day.
Every Christmas eve you always go to church and have dinner. You wake up in the morning and the feeling of Christmas begins as you walk down stairs to your parents making a big Christmas breakfast with eggs and a lot of bacon. The smell in the house is amazing and you can tell that your parents have been up for a while making food. Then after you eat and the rest of the day is spent with family and listening to Christmas music. After a few hours or so the TV will be turned on and the Christmas story will be turned on and you will watch Ralphie and his family during Christmas time. It’s a movie that is played for 48 hours straight on Christmas and Christmas eve. Then night time will roll around and you will need to get in the shower for church. There is always a big rush for who gets to use the shower first. After you shower then the time for getting dressed and you wear the cloths that you only use once or twice a year. They always fit a little too tight for comfort but you can deal with it for an hour or two because it is Christmas. By the time you are ready to leave you are already running late and everyone is rushing to leave. After 2 hours spent at church everyone heads over to your grandma’s house for a big dinner and some very good desserts.
ReplyDeleteYou are woken up not by an alarm clock, or the sun’s rays on your face, but the begging of your younger sibling overcome with joy and suspense. However you’re older now, and less excited about the presents downstairs than you are the extra sleep. Despite this, you struggle out of bed, put on your robe and shuffle downstairs to your immediate family awaiting your arrival with smiles on their faces. You then glance over to the presents under the tree. In that instant, your mood is quickly changed from tired to excited, almost matching your younger sibling’s feelings. Each gift you open raises your happiness. New items for enjoyment, money, everything you wanted. The most pleasure is earned when you give a gift, though. Thanking your parents for everything with a gift and seeing their reaction is priceless. That day continues in a very relaxing manor. The gifts are all used and enjoyed. You’ve got your eggnog and henny and a little Christmas cheer. Time is gracious and goes by nice and slow, letting your day off take its time. All of the enjoyment leads up to an amazing dinner with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and a sweet aroma for the rest of the day. Christmas comes to an end and then you get in bed and sleep it all off, leaving the holiday season behind you until next year.
ReplyDeleteIn The Meza family household, for years have gone by a Christmas tradition. The tradition is much more different from one’s typical tradition. Your holiday spirit is at its peak on my brother’s birthday. You start your celebration early on December twenty-third on the eldest son’s birthday. On his birthday you and the family throw a little get-together for him. It’s not a few hours; it’s more like a party until the next day. You’ll usually go to sleep really late after the celebration. Then on Christmas Eve you wake up usual time and have a big breakfast, after you eat, you clean up from the night before. After everything is all cleaned up you all relax in the living room and watch old family home videos and Christmas movies. Later than night you’ll go to your grandfather’s house to exchange gifts with uncles, cousins and grandparents and have a nice dinner. After that you’ll come back home and wait until twelve to open all your gifts. On Christmas day you’ll stay home one last day as a family and enjoy each other’s company. When the holiday is over you can go about the rest of your break.
ReplyDelete