Exploring Christmas Through The Eyes of a Child

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Let me take you back to November 27th 1987-

It is Black Friday. I am 8 years old and Sisser is 5. Muma has a pot of turkey soup simmering on the stove, we’ve just come home from chopping down our Christmas tree and Daddo is putting the lights on it. Bing Crosby’s White Christmas album is playing on the record player and sisser and I can’t wait to start decorating the tree.

To pass the time we sit on the couch with a copy of The Sears Wish Book on our laps. We flip through it and dream of Christmas morning. Sisser and I eagerly anticipate the catalogue’s arrival each year so that we can play “The Sears Wish Book Game”. What is this game you ask? Sisser and I flip through each and every page of the catalogue and go back and forth picking one thing from each page that “we get for Christmas”.

On pages with men’s items we pick for my dad “Dad! I just got you a wallet for Christmas!” “Dad! This flannel jacket I just got you will look really good with your eyes!”

For kitchen items we shout to my mom “Mom?!?! Would you rather get a toaster oven or a tea kettle for Christmas?”

The Sears catalogue is a tradition that is as an integral part of the countdown to Christmas as Thanksgiving, decorating the tree, the school Christmas concert and baking Christmas cookies.

For Christmas 1987, what I want more than anything is a Cabbage Patch Kid. My stomach has been in knots for week because I want one so bad. My every waking moment is spent dreaming about the baby that I hope to “adopt” on Christmas morning.

Sisser is hoping for a He-Man action figure. She’s obsessed with the action hero to the point that our new kitten’s name is Battlecat.

We spend longer on the pages with the gifts that we are wishing for, dreaming about Christmas morning.

Fast forward to November 27th 2013-

Bean is up bright and early for school. She is excited because the Sears Toy Shop catalogue arrived the night before. I told her that if she was a good girl, got up bright and early for school and got ready for kindergarten without whining that she could look through the catalogue before school. She is so excited. She has a pen out and is all set to pour through the Wish Book.

“I’ll circle the toys that I want for me, and check the toys that I think Turtle would like. OK Mama?” she says.

My role has been reversed. I am now the mother, watching my child dream about Christmas morning, smiling fondly and reminiscing of my own childhood Christmas dreams as I’m sure my parents did while watching Sisser and me. Becoming a parent re-ignited the magic of Christmas for me as I once again view the holiday through the eyes of a child… my child.

It’s incredible how little things like the opening notes of a Christmas carol, the smell of turkey roasting and the site of the Sears Wish Book can transport us both to memories of the past and thoughts of future Christmas mornings where your own child’s Christmas excitement mirrors the excitement you felt over 25 years ago.

Bella has her own dreams for Christmas. A trip to the mall to visit Santa Claus. Hopes that Santa will bring the elf who plays the ukulele with him from the North Pole again this year. Dreams that she will wake up Christmas morning to a Barbie Dreamhouse underneath the Christmas Tree.

I’m excited to witness her creating her own Christmas memories as she grows up and hopefully one day rediscovers the magic of Christmas through the eyes of her own children… my grandchildren.

Sears is one of those brands that is passed from generation to generation. A brand steeped in tradition.

If you haven’t already received your Sears Wish Book, it should be arriving any day now. You can also view the Hottest Toys for Christmas 2013 in The Sears Toy Shop Guide online.

Sears will be giving away the seasons hottest toys every Friday until December 13th. Visit the Sears Facebook Page for more information.

Tell me… Do you see Christmas through the eyes of a child? What are some of your favorite Christmas memories?

“Disclosure: I am part of the Sears Mom Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”