Christmas With Family

I didn’t enjoy Christmas much when I first arrived on Bequia, there was too much I missed from the festive ones I was used to in Canada.  Back then there were no Christmas trees, no lights and very little in the way of the foods I was accustomed too.  There were no presents, no snow and the nine mornings custom of excessive drinking depressed me.

Once the Pizzeria opened I was far too busy and far too exhausted to feel depressed. I had the Christmas baking to contend with, which meant starting work at 2:00 A.M. instead of 4:00, and napping in the afternoon was out of the question.  The restaurant was closed on Christmas day, but as we usually had friends to the house for lunch and/or dinner it was not a restful day, just a different one.

Having small children turned Christmas into a pleasure for me, their excitement was contagious as they anticipated the arrival of Santa.  I had obtained a small ceramic Christmas tree with lights, and when wound up it played “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem”.  Vanessa and Rachel loved that little tree and took turns winding it up, playing the carol over and over and over until Mac and I begged them to stop!

With no television or store catalogues Christmas was a very non-commercial event.  Our girls were never exposed to the wide selection of fancy toys available to children in other countries, and were happy with the small gifts I gathered during the course of the year, some for their stockings and others for opening after lunch.  It was the unwrapping of the presents more than their contents that Vanessa and Rachel seemed to enjoy, and I used lots of red and green ribbon to make the parcels look festive.

I remember one Christmas in particular; the Pizzeria had been crazily busy, I had started work at 2:00 A.M. because of the Christmas baking and wasn’t able to get home until after mid-night.  Mac helped me stuff the stockings and place them on the bed Vanessa and Rachel shared, after which I gratefully went to bed myself.  I had slept for perhaps an hour when the children woke up to find Santa had come, and I groggily got up to watch them open their stockings.  Both legs, calves as well as thighs, were attacked simultaneously with painful Charlie horses. Mac had to carry me into the girls’ bedroom and place me on their bed, being on my feet for so long during the week had taken its toll.

On Christmas day my father conducted two church services, Paget Farm at 7:00 and Port Elizabeth at 10:00.  This was because Father Adams, the minister of St. Mary’s church, always went to Mustique that day to conduct services for that Island’s wealthy home-owners.  Mom and Dad would collect the girls and take them to church in the harbor while I made Christmas lunch, usually something light because supper would be turkey with the trimmings.

After lunch we opened our presents, and once the turkey had been slipped into the oven we would all go to Lower Bay beach for the afternoon.  Christmas with family made all the difference to me, I now looked forward to the day instead of dreading it!