The Christmas Bazaar
My grownup Christmas memories
Are treasured but don’t compare
To the small-town Christmases of my childhood,
And the magic in the air…
When the holiday lights on Main Street went up,
(And not until after Thanksgiving!)
And the Christmas bazaar at the grange hall
Generated tender memories worth reminiscing.
The bazaar always brought our rural community
Out of the woodwork, and off of the farm,
It marked the beginning of the Christmas season
With craftwork, camaraderie and country charm.
Mom methodically bundled each of her young brood up,
Chin deep in woolly jackets, mittens, and scarves,
Then we’d hold our rigid arms out so she could load them
With homemade goodies and festive Christmas cards.
As a family, we’d march down the snow-trodden path,
Beneath weeping birches dripping in icicles
To join our neighbors gathered at the community hall
With their own blue-ribbon pies and pickles.
We would jostle and tumble thru the doorway
Into a Christmas festival for the eyes and nose,
Hot chocolate, coffee, and cider,
Baked apples, and cinnamon rolls.
There were hand-crafted wooden toys and ornaments,
Handmade knit sweaters, caps, and wreaths,
And I swear one year there were even
Live squirrels scurrying thru the decorated trees!
As afternoon wore on and shadows lengthened,
We would gather outside in the cold and snowlight
Where we bid goodbye to family and friends
As they piled into station wagons, and drove off into the night.
That gathering of township so touched my childheart,
And left such a lasting impression of the past,
That should my Christmas memories ever fade,
I hope to hold on to this one until the last.
* de - december 2010
Christmas 1996 – Tradition
Christmas_1997
Christmas_1998
Christmas 1999 - Dear Santa
Christmas 2000
Christmas Eve Visit - 2001
Christmas 2002 - Snowman
Christmas 2003 - Home for Christmas
Christmas 2004 - The Thank You Letter
Christmas 2005 - Scrooge
Christmas Box - 2006
Christmas Memories - 2007
Christmas - 2008
Christmas - 2009
Christmas Bazaar - 2010
Christmas Horse - 2011
Christmas 2012 - The Old Post Office
Christmas 2013
Christmas 2014
Family Christmas_2015
Christmas 2016
Christmas 2017
Christmas 2018
Christmas_2019
Christmas_2020
Christmas_2021
