Sometime around 1970, my father decided that he wanted our Christmas decorations to all be red and gold. There was no special significance, other than he like the color combination from an aesthetic point of view.
While shopping, he noticed some red and gold "drum" ornaments. They were three dollars apiece; a rather exorbitant price in 1970 when a gallon of gas was thirty cents and the minimum wage was $1.40 per hour.
But my dad was a crafty fellow and he immediately set pencil to drawing board and came up with a less expensive solution. We would make out own red and gold drums assembly line style. After all, with ten kids there was plenty of available labor!
So armed with empty toilet tissue rolls (The base) and red and gold felt and some gold braiding, we all sat at the kitchen table and each performed our assigned task! In a few hours, we had about three dozen drums completed, a hundred dollars worth for about ten dollars in materials!
Those drums adorned the family tree until dad passed in 1995. At that time, each family member was given a drum as a token remembrance of the night we all worked together as a family awash in holiday spirit and having the time of our lives.
And although we are all now spread far and wide across the county, we have a common bond that ties us together in spirit at Christmas.
For, embellishing each of our Christmas trees, regardless of time and distance, there is one little red and gold drum. It ties us both to each other, and to the past! And although we have ornaments that cost much, much more, there is none as meaningful to me as the little drum made from a toilet tissue roll!
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Richard ~ That is a great story! I love your little red and gold drum, and how your Dad made it into a family project.
I love this story. It is heartwarming that something so simple brings back priceless memories.
Richard, Great tradition for you and your siblings. Your Dad is probably smiling down thinking how he got one over on the kids, cheap labor.
Kathy...
It is indeed a fine remembrance of the good times on my youth!
Mel...
Priceless isn't the word for it! BTW I went back and edited the typos, I was in a hurry to get this out and did not proofread it. Yikes! I missed you yesterday.
Rich...
LOL, knowing my dad, you are exactly right!
Sir Richard,
This is an awesome story. What an innovative father.
Isn't it amazing how small things can come to mean so much. That is a great tradition and one that will always bring your family joy.
Don...
I'll bet he never even imagined the ultimate ramifications of the project! Thanks, my friend!
Stacey-Ann...
It's a little bittersweet, but very nice. BTW where have you been?
Sounds like your Dad took his job as supervisor of the children very seriously. This was a great story for the holidays Richard, take care.
Thank you. It is nice to be missed. The Christmas Parade was yesterday and Tony's Christmas party as well. I am just trying to get back into the groove.
JL...
Thanks, I think it really is a good story! I was going to save it for Christmas Eve, but this morning, I had nothing!
Mel...
Imagine, a whole DAY! Wow, we are addicted, aren't we?
Richard, what a wonderful story, making memories. I love the Christmas time and all the things that bring people together.
I'm sure you will come up with something just as special for Christmas Eve too!
Anne...
It is a very special time of the year. Thanks for the nice comment.
JL...
Well, it will be tough to top this one! lol
Richard, I am listening to Diana Krall sing "Have yourself a merry little Christmas" and reading your story and my heart swelled and I cried.....that little story is what memory and love and Christmas is really all about.
Your are a blessed man!
Bo
Richard, What precious Christmas memories! Your Dad was not only inventive, he had the gift of pulling the family together to work for a common goal. A wonderful life lesson here! The ornament is lovely and a perpetual reminder of Dad's love~ have you thought of displaying it year round as an inspiration?
Ginger
RW - That is such a great and touching story. I actually had a tear thinking of your father being so very crafty and engaging all the children in his project. It happens to me every year also, when I go to get out my ornaments there are so many that my parents have passed on to their 3 girls that bring me right back to the place I was when we got them. Ahhhh, I love families. KM
What a great story this is what Christmas and life in general is all about the memories we have of loved ones and the connection to family. Thanks for sharing I hope you have a great Christmas.
Thank you for sharing such a beautiful and heart felt story. These are the things in life that matter, not the shiney super-duper expensive things in our life. The newness fades but this is special and I am so glad there were enough for everyone to get one.
Gotta love the labor of love.
Bo...
I really am, and I am aware of that fact. I was blessed to be a part of such a great family! Thanks for the nice comment!
Ginger...
We have a lawyers bookcase in the living that does indeed display our sentimental treasures year round! Great minds think alike, and thank you for the comment!
Hi Richard, what a lovely story! I'm not sure I knew you were one of ten siblings! Wow! My dad was one of 10. My neighbor is 1 of 10, the only girl! Can you imagine? They must have tortured her! Anyway, back to the ornament, I'm sure you have a warm feeling every time you look at it!
Susan...
I do, it's a wonderful memory. Of course, a lot of our ornaments have a special memory attached to them. As you might have already guessed, the tree is not very uniform but it's lovely in a different kind of way!
What a lovely tradition! Thanks for sharing this.
Wonderful story that touched me across those miles :)
Kristin...
I think that's a nice part of Christmas ... those items that are passed on may have little monetary value, but they are priceless treasures nonetheless!
Terry...
Connection to the family is a wonderful thing! Thanks, and the same to you!
Cristal...
That little drum is pushing forty years old! Wow, that's unbelieveable!
Geez, Richard.
You had to make me cry on Sunday morning....
what a wonderful sentiment.
It's funny at the time you don't realize that you are making memories!
Thanks for sharing!
Richard, very excellent point and story to back it up that Christmas ties us to the pasts we've had with other Christmases, no matter how far flung in life we get from each other.
"We would make our own red and gold drums assembly line style" - Man if that doesn't sound like an awesome memory in itself right there. Like the memory of making cookies during the holidays. Sometimes the "things" pale in comparison to just being and doing with others.
Richard, what a wonderful way to remember happy holidays from long ago, family time spent together, and a parent who cared! Such a simple thing originally devised from the need or desire to save, has become a treasured memory. Thank you for sharing and merry Christmas!
Li...
And thank you for the comment! ;)
Sally...
I'm glad that I could add this to PAWS with some confidence! Thanks for letting me know.
Sheila...
I heard from Kristin earlier! You guys are great, and thank you for reading and commenting!
Gary...
It's a powerful force that draws us together!
Steve K...
Right you are, and my memory of the actual event is still very vivid!
Silvia...
Thanks for the nice comment and a merry Christmas to you!
Richard...a memory like that will live on forever, along with the memory of your father!