This time of year we all usually have more to do than we can handle. This includes my mom—Wonder Woman and the leading lady of my family. Enjoy this short, but totally true story of a family tradition gone awry.
Since we were small children, my sisters and I have been allowed to open only one gift on Christmas Eve. That gift is ALWAYS new pajamas. I assume this was so we would look decent for Christmas morning photos. Even as adults, my mom will rummage under the tree, sifting through gifts to find the boxes that contain our jammies. These boxes are usually identical and gift tagged from “The Elf” or once from “The Elvis.”
One year, when I was 23, we were all gathered around the tree at my sister’s place when the gift boxes were passed around.
Camie’s PJs were super cute!
Stephanie’s PJs were super cute!
My PJs were….crotchless.
Apparently my mom had been so busy with work and making Christmas lovely for our family that she hadn’t looked very carefully at the pretty, silky two-piece pajama set she had chosen for me.
This story is now told every Christmas Eve and to any new person who may join our family holidays.
And this December 24th, when my mom passes me my gift box with a look of “well, here goes nothing!” I will know that Christmas has come once again.
Not the year of the crotchless jammies, but a jammie photo of me and my sisters nonetheless. I was going through a phase where I made my family call me “Liz.”