A Dickens Christmas: Christmases Past, Present, and Future

The theme of the 113th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is:

A Charles Dickens Christmas. We're going to borrow Charles Dickens' idea and have some visits from the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.

My parents didn't always have a lot of money, but they both loved Christmas, and they made sure that we had a very happy holiday each and every Christmas! We had programs at church and at school. On Christmas Eve we gathered with the extended family. We opened our gifts from Santa on Christmas morning. When I was 8 years old, my sister and I got dolls, and my brother Paul was thrilled with his Huckleberry Hound dog! Baby brother Todd wondered what all the fuss was about!

Mom loved sending out picture Christmas cards.In 1960, Mom went with the Mickey Mouse Club theme, and we all wore sweatshirts with our names on them, just like the Mouseketeers!

By 1972, two more little ones were added to our branch of the Orshoski family tree.

Now, Mom and Dad are both in Heaven, but we still gather together on Christmas Day. We have several more families to fit into the festivities, and some of us have to leave early to go to family events on our spouse's side of the family, or to our childrens' homes, but as many as possible come to my baby sister's house to celebrate a lovely Christmas luncheon. Some other ways we celebrate include my sisters participating in a race in Chicago, and my husband and I taking our grandsons to the train exhibit at the R. B. Hayes Presidential Center.

As for future Christmases in our family, I am hoping that we continue to gather together at lunch time on Christmas Day. It would be a joy to see some of our siblings, and nieces and nephews from Mississippi and Georgia be able to make the trip to Northern Ohio, so they can "enjoy" our brisk winter weather with loved ones all around!