A Step-Christmas Story

Editor: Jeanie Nance

Friday, 25 December 2009 03:00

The girls, age seven and nine, had traveled by themselves on a Greyhound bus to spend the holidays with us. During the three hour trip through the mountain passes, they'd looked out the window at the snow and wondered what it was going to be like. What Christmas morning would be like at their dad's new house. With their dad's new wife.

I wanted Christmas to be special for them. I'd seen my share of Cinderella re-makes; I knew being a brand new step-mom carried its own set of baggage. If I'd asked the girls what they wanted from Santa, I'm sure they would have said, "Mom and Dad back together." I'd met their father after the divorce was final and there was nothing I could do about it. But I could make sure they felt loved when they were at our house.

In the weeks before the girls arrived, I spent a lot of time thinking about what to get them. Their father had left the Christmas shopping entirely up to me. My first thought was to buy them a big toy. I knew they wanted a Barbie Camper Van. I'm sure they would have had loved it, but we really didn't have the money.

I tried to remember the gifts that had meant most to me as a little girl. There were five of us kids, and my parents had just enough to keep us well-fed and clothed, with Mom making both the food and the clothes. Christmas wasn't fancy but it had always been warm and special. I recalled the Christmas my mother made me the most beautiful nightgown I'd ever seen. It was thick flannel so it was warm and cozy. And she had added a lacy edge to the collar and sleeves along with ribbon accents. In my mind, it was the most glamorous thing I'd ever seen. I'm sure I wore it to bed every night for the next month.

That's what I'd make the girls.

Thankfully, my fabric store had some very easy nightgown patterns. In fact, I got so ambitious, I also bought a pattern for a simple bathrobe. I hadn't sewn in a while, but I hoped it would be like riding a bike. Fortunately, it was! Still, construction took a little longer than I expected, but since the girls were close to the same size, it wasn't hard to repeat the process once the first set was done.

On Christmas morning, after we'd looked in our stockings and opened some small gifts, "Santa" (their dad) brought out two big boxes and asked the girls to open them at the same time. They carefully removed the wrapping paper and, on the count of three, both opened the boxes. They were genuinely delighted to both get a nightgown and a robe, holding them up for each other to admire. But when their dad told them I had sewn the sets just for them, at first they couldn't believe it; then they smothered me in hugs. It was a great Christmas and a real milestone in our relationship.

The girls wore those nightgowns until they wouldn't fit anymore. I must have made the robes a little large, because the youngest wore hers all the way through grade school until the gaping holes in the sleeves made it too hard to put on.

When you want to express a lot of love in a gift, I think there's a blessing in having a limited budget. You're forced to be a little daring, and making something yourself can put your patience and your creativity to the test. But those are the kinds of gifts that will be remembered forever.

Set as favorite

ladybug said:

	... That's a wonderful thing you did making the gowns & housecoats for the girls. I've made many many gifts in the past & those seem to end up the ones that are really liked ,used & kept for a long time. Some are grown kids now & still have some of the things I've made them. Most of these were extra gifts but seemed to be loved the most. What a great feeling that is for me.
	report abuse vote down vote up