Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Transforming a cardboard fireplace

Christmas time was always special in our house. The four of us kiddies, would gather round the Sears Wish Book circling nearly everything it contained. We'd carefully write our first initial next to each gift so Santa would know exactly who in our household had requested the cherished item. However, growing up, our house didn't have a fireplace and therefore no chimney.  Being chimney-less had us very concerned: how on Earth would Santa be able to deliver our presents since our parents would carefully lock up the house tight each evening?

Our clever parents conjured up a tale to allay our fears. We were told that when Santa landed on the roof, his Christmas magic would make the cardboard fireplace become real. That way he could pop down the chimney to leave us presents! This made perfect sense to me since the cardboard fireplace was placed directly in front of the air conditioner. That was the perfect entry point for the magical Christmas dust to transform our cardboard fireplace into a hearth worthy and hefty enough to hold St. Nick himself. And somehow, each year the magic worked just as planned.

One year our crafty parents even set up the video camera, conveniently NOT aimed at said fireplace. Lo and behold the next morning we got another holiday surprise. My Dad played the video back and we heard a whispered "Ho-Ho-Ho!" We stared in awe as the presents 'magically' appeared in piles under the tree. Many years later I'd repeat that same magical cinematography for my own children. My husband and I had played the role behind the scenes as my parents had done many years ago. The magic of Christmas lives on!


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