When I was growing up, Christmas was made extra special (and still is) by my mother, who would (and still does) fill the house with decorations, Christmas baking and general Christmas cheer. 

A week before Christmas, we would get our tree which was always an exciting day. Our annual tradition of decorating the tree with precious and home-made decorations finished with my father putting the silver star on top …. I’ll add here that the tree always looks perfect the next day because my mother would make some “slight adjustments” once we were in bed.

I am one of four children, so as you can imagine, the excitement level by Christmas eve was always electric.  My parents would ‘suggest’ what we should leave out for Santa, then we would each place our Christmas pillowcases on the lounge, hopeful they would be full in the morning.  I remember one year during this ritual my mother pulled me aside and said to me “I need you to remember something – good things come in small packages” to which I said “ok” not really understanding what she meant.  We were marched off to bed full of excitement where Mum read us the story “The Night before Christmas”.  

The next morning, as he did every year, my brother woke us up at the crack of dawn excitedly whispering “Santa has been”. We all raced to the lounge room to find pillowcases full to the brim with wrapped gifts….. all the pillowcases except for mine which was barely a quarter full.  My parents arrived shortly afterwards, coffee mugs in hand, and we started to open presents.  

As my pillowcase wasn’t very full, I sat and watched my siblings open many of their gifts before I reached in to get my first one.  My mother said to me “leave the smallest one till last” – so after opening some new pyjamas, books, clothes and cute stationery I finally came to the smallest gift.  My mother was eagerly watching me as I unwrapped it and to my complete surprise, it was a gold locket bracelet! I couldn’t believe it – the most beautiful bracelet I had ever seen.

From that year on, I’ve always hoped to get a small present in my Christmas pillowcase – and let’s face it, now that Santa and I have a close relationship, we make sure I do!

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings to you all. I wish you and your families a peaceful and safe festive season and hope you receive the jewels of your dreams.

x C