A very Marilyn Christmas

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‘A Holiday Tribute to an Aunt I bet Yule wish was yours’

I was feeling a touch of the Christmas Blues the other day. Remembering The Old Days and how we kids used to peer out the car windows at the Christmas trees lighting up the picture windows of the houses in the small towns along Route 50 on the way up to Gramma’s house. And how, once we got there, we’d run as fast as we could to the Tree to see just how big it was and to shake the wrapped presents to guess what was in them.

I think I liked pressing my face against windows. Here I am smudging things up at Gramma’s

When Christmas Blue, what do you do? Well, I called my Mom. (Thank goodness I still have one.) She knew exactly what I was talking about, and exactly what I was missing: The Marilyn Christmas.

Oldest Younger Brother Scott and I caught red-handed checking out the Tree (and the presents)

See, my Mom, like me, was the older of two sisters. (She also had three brothers, but this story isn’t about them. Sorry, Uncles Ronald, Mark, and Carl.) This story is about Aunt Marilyn. And about how gosh-darned terrific was the way she would “do” Christmas.

That’s my Mom, upper right. Aunt Marilyn is the cute little girl in front. Even though it’s summer in this photo, I bet visions of sugarplums are dancing in her head

After the seven of us Henrys — all crammed into a car without seat belts — made that long drive from Southern Illinois, we’d get to Gramma’s house where Aunt Marilyn would greet us wearing little Christmas-ornament earrings. Nat King Cole and Johnny Mathis would be playing on the stereo and the whole house would be decorated and smell like Christmas Heaven.

Another tradition: The Christmas Cousin Lineup.

Aunt Marilyn would have decorated my Gramma’s house — including putting out a little gumdrop tree — and helped her make a humongous Christmas Dinner — which was always on Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day, which was the Swedish Way. We’d have korv (yum) and lutfisk (urk) and a big ole turkey and later on — after one of my Uncles would mysteriously disappear right before Santa’s arrival — my Dad would make his famous Oyster Stew and my Aunt Marilyn and Aunt Shirley and Gramma and Mom and I would eat fruitcake and play Scrabble.

After the turkey and lutfisk, but before the fruitcake and Scrabble

Somewhere along in here Uncle Carl, who lived in Colorado (which my Aunt pronounced “color” -ado) would call — Aunt Marilyn would answer the phone “Merry Christmas!” — and everyone would pass the phone around to tell him about everything he was missing, including The Game.

The Game was, basically, the centerpiece of a Marilyn Christmas. Every year, Marilyn would think one up that we would play while “Santa” was handing out the presents. This was invariably a word game, usually involving puns — the sillier and groanier the better. Sample: “Who has his own state university?” “Wayne (!)” I know, I know. But, trust me, this was fun. A lot of fun.

Mom takes a turn on “Santa’s” lap. Gee, I wonder where Dave went?

That last Game question was from the Very Last Marilyn Christmas. Which was lo these thirty-odd years ago. (I found a video my Filmmaker Younger Brother Roger made of it. If you have a very large coffee mug you might want to tune in. I don’t think Aunt Marilyn would mind.)

Speaking of Aunt Marilyn, she’s been dreadfully ill these past few years. But I bet she still wears little Christmas ornament earrings — or even little Santas. And I bet she still answers the phone “Merry Christmas”. I’m going to test that theory tonight.

Meanwhile, here’s wishing you all the merriest of Christmases — even if you don’t have a Marilyn in your life.

New York City. December 2018

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21 thoughts on “A very Marilyn Christmas”

  3. Wonderful post. Your pictures look like they could have come from my family album. We had some of the same traditions only we loaded up in central Illinois and drove south. Thank you so much for sharing. It brought back many fond memories from my Christmas past.

    • Dear Gina, first…Merry Christmas! So glad my memories helped trigger yours. I do get rather nostalgic this time of year! We’re so fortunate, aren’t we, to have experienced family gatherings like these. ?

  7. Ruth Meisenheimer

    Loved your tribute to your Aunt Marilyn. She is special and has kept her good outlook all through her illness. Glad I got to know her. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

  8. Lutefisk. My grandma made it for Christmas Eve. Her’s was delicious. My mom attempted to make it for St. Lucia’s Day — but margarine.

    I had 6 aunts and 2 grandmas and as happens with all of us, they slowly faded into the never land from which there is no return. I lost the last one — with whom I was very close — this year. I’m very happy that the last year she and my uncle were in their normal lives (and minds) I got to spend some time with them in their house. I have felt the “blues” off and on this year but I understand the reasons and I know that it’s not so much that all of this is lost to time (sad) but that it all really did happen (happy). Merry Christmas!!!

    • So glad your grandma made “delicious” lutefisk! My Gramma made delicious food (her thumbprint cookies and sweet rolls were to die for!) but she liked to “bury” her lutefisk in a bowl of custard. It was such fun to watch the newbies dig into that bowl!

      Also so glad you enjoyed fun family Christmases! And your thought at the end is perfect — those Christmases are lost to time — but they all really did happen. We were lucky girls indeed. Merry Christmas! And thank you for sharing xoxoxo

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