Santa’s Helpers – A child’s Christmas 2.0…

My Mother’s Cookbooks Sugar doughnut recipe

There is nothing quite as wonderful as the awe and happiness on a child’s face on Christmas morning. The novelty, the excitement, and their joy makes the effort and preparations for Christmas, worth it. We know it and yet it is easy to miss the underlying message…

A minister’s house was the right place to experience the full meal deal when it came to Christmas. Christmas preparations began in advance of Advent and escalated quickly into a rush of special church services, rehearsals, concerts, pageants and parties culminating with Christmas eve service. Christmas eve was the last of Dad’s¹ busy period, and marked the beginning of our ‘family’ Christmas.

As Dad reminded us every Christmas morning, he really didn’t have ‘a Christmas’ until he married our Mum. Dad, the second youngest of 5 boys in a single parent household during the depression did not experience a traditional childhood Christmas. Grandfather did his best to raise his sons after their mother’s early death, but it was not the same and didn’t extend to Christmas trees and gift giving. So, Dad loved Christmas…he loved the whole shebang! Yes, it was fundamental to his deeply held religious beliefs, but he embraced Christmas in it entirety. The music², the food, the gift giving, particularly the gifting.

Rural Atlantic Canada in the 1960s and 70s did not offer a wide variety of shopping opportunities, and money was tight. My folks like many other Santa helpers depended upon Sears and Eaton’s catalogue order service³ for much of their Christmas shopping. The Wish Book⁴ in particular played a pivotal role in our family Christmas.

The arrival of the Wish Book signaled start of Christmas excitement, as my brothers and I took turns pouring over its contents. In October an evening was set aside for our consultation with Santa thru his helpers. My parents seated next to each other at the kitchen table, the annual catalogues for both Sears and Eatons to one side, the Wish Book open in front of Dad and a tablet of lined writing paper in front of Mum. Each wish was listed, the description, page number, product order number, and price diligently recorded in Mum’s careful hand. During the exchange, it was made clear to each of us, not to expect everything we wished for…

Their deliberations were carried out in private, once we had provided our wish list, the real work began. Balancing budget, and availability⁵ with wishes took hours of work over several days, all carried out in secrecy worthy of Santa’s Workshop. Christmas gift buying was and remains stressful enough to tarnish an adult’s enjoyment. But it never tarnished Dad’s love of Christmas. He did however challenge Mum’s tolerance by providing a steady stream of hints, risking their careful secrecy.

Come Christmas morning Dad was always the first to arrive in front of the Christmas tree, ready to begin the gifting. As we grew older, our Santa wishes were replaced with Santa stockings, individual items carefully wrapped, no matter their size or value, Dad loved it. And of course he did it all while reminding us of his Christmas-less childhood, it wasn’t a complaining sort of reminder, more commentary on his thoughts.

When my folks retired from Ministry they returned home to central New Brunswick. The first year in their new home, I travelled from Nova Scotia a few days in advance of Christmas day, with plans of finishing my shopping in Fredericton. The next morning as Mum, my brother Tully and I were preparing to head out shopping, Dad once again mentioned his Christmas barren childhood. I can’t say for sure whose idea it was, but one of us decided it was time to address the elephant in the room and provide Dad a real childhood Christmas memory.

We had a blast, secretly planning his Child’s Christmas 2.0. We giggled over the surprise and the enjoyment it would deliver him. Christmas morning Dad who impatiently waited for others to catch up, and for the festivities to begin had no idea what was to unfold. His childhood Christmas came first, a big Christmas stocking filled with everything a Depression era boy could wish for and topped with his very own Christmas tree (a candy filled one). With each gift Dad’s joy increased, as he carefully unwrapped each his face took on a happiness beyond what we could have imagined. The toy truck, sling shot, hand knitted mittens, marbles, jacks, barley toys, pocket knife, ribbon candy, each and every item admired and memories shared. When he reached the orange in the toe of the stocking, his joy was complete, and tears began slow coursing down his cheeks…He never again mentioned his Christmas-less childhood, he had a new memory. How his wife and adult children gave him the childhood Christmas he’d been missing…

I have tried to not miss or loose sight of the message…Christmas is made by children, of all ages. My Christmas preparations always include toys for the kids and adults alike. I have yet to find an adult who doesn’t respond. Afterall who can resist… those dinky toys are begging to have their engines revved and those sleeping dollies simply must be cradled… A bit of childish wonder is exactly what makes Christmas, and there is no age cap on wonder.

Although Dad loved Christmas he also loved good food, at Christmas doughnuts were a favourite. Christmas in the Lyons household offered two types of homemade cake doughnuts, My Mother’s Cookbook Molasses doughnuts and My Mother’s Cookbooks ‘Sugar’ doughnuts.

My Mother’s Cookbooks Sugar doughnuts

Ingredients:
4 tbsp melted butter
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
2 cups milk
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp soda
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
7-8 cups all purpose flour (or more)
vegetable oil for frying
sugar for dusting
Method:
1. Combine melted butter with sugar in a large mixing bowl, add well beaten eggs, add vanilla and set aside;
2. In a separate bowl combine 7 cups of flour (reserving 1 cup for reaching a workable consistency), cream of tartar, soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg;
3. Add 1/4 of the dry ingredients to the bowl with butter, sugar mixture, – alternate with the milk until all of the milk and dry ingredients are combined;
4. The dough will be sticky, cover, let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes;
5. Add enough flour to make the dough workable for rolling out;
6. place about 2 cups of dough on a well floured surface, roll out to 1/4 inch thickness, and cut using a doughnut cutter;
7. Fry in 350 degree F oil until golden brown, turning 1/2 way thru, drain on paper towel;
8. If desired, place 1/2 cup of white sugar in a brown paper bag, add warm doughnuts and shake until coated.

References:

1. Willard Bruce Lyons was born 9 Oct 1925, in Carrolls Crossing, Northumberland County, NB the son of Tully Hollingsworth Lyons and Florence Marjorie O’Donnell. Dad was raised in Carrolls on the banks of his beloved Miramichi River. He left school at 16 years old to work in the lumber camps and then to serve his country. After the war Dad settled into family life after meeting Mum but a comfortable job at the local Naval Munitions Depot did not satisfy his calling. In 1967, Dad finally finished high school and in 1968 he accepted a position as a Lay/Student minister with the United Church of Canada in Advocate Harbour, Nova Scotia. He realized his dream of Ordination in 1972. ↩︎
2. The music, the only secular Christmas music I recall my Dad favouring was Christmas in Killarney, Dad was proud of his mother’s Irish heritage. The standard Christmas music in our house were Christmas Carrols, the old standards particularly, usually being sung or hummed by one or several of us. Of course at church Christmas music began with Advent. ↩︎
3. Sears Canada and Eaton’s operated catalogue ordering service, for a time they succeed in dominating the retail industry and carried everything from house kits, clothing, household goods to tires for your car. ↩︎
4. The Wish book was a special seasonal catalogue from Sears, featuring a large toy section, as well as clothing, and gift ideas, it was published first in 1933 by Sears Roebuck the USA company, Sears Canada followed course of their sister company soon after. Did you know some Wish books are now collectors items, fetching nearly $75, for a mint copy. ↩︎
5. Availability of catalogue items was never assured, especially if Santa’s helpers were tarty in getting their list compiled. The only way to know if a product was available was to call, it still might be back ordered or a alternative shipped, which you didn’t know until the parcel arrived or not. ↩︎

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!