Tip Archives

Christmas Story Telling!

It’s that time of year. For many, it’s a stressful time, with gift buying, planning for guests, dinner preparations and visiting. It used to be a harried time for a friend who comes from a family of nine, plus two parents. “Only funerals and weddings”, the cliché goes. Add to that, the coming together at Christmas.

For my friend, stressful it was indeed. Until … the mother/matriarch had an idea that has since become a family tradition, into its second decade. She asked all her children (ranging in age from mid-30s to late teen-age) to come prepared to tell a ‘Good Time’ story.

Although awkward at first, with at least two siblings still at odds for long-ago quarrels, the pre and post Christmas dinner event unfolded.

I’m told that laughter is heard from a block away as stories (some ‘a little exaggerated’) are told. Most of the tales are about family incidents and issues and how the fretful anxieties of their youth have been replaced with a good-humoured mindset. Other stories have never been heard, as three of the ‘kids’ were globetrotters and contribute ‘howlers’ as they’re called at this family Christmas time.

Mom sets the rules at a maximum of two happy stories each, as “We don’t want to overdue it”, says Mom, smiling broadly. Of course, Mom and Dad are able to go beyond that quota. The bottom line: the family has never been closer, youthful hurts are history and everyone (grown to include five married with families) looks forward to this annual story telling (healing?) Christmas event. Certainly, the Christmas’ of this family will be long remembered for the right reasons!