Since I tend not to write into the Christmasblog past December 25, I leave it to the next year to reveal what I gave my family for Christmas.
Through Vistaprint.com I ordered this calendar magnet commemorating my sister Elena, who as you know died last year on November 24, 2008. I got 25 of them, I think, and gave out most of them. The few that are left are probably hidden somewhere in my living room.
I also gave Vistaprint pens, personalized, to my nieces and nephew. Amazon.com says I ordered an Aaron Neville Christmas album, and I probably gave that to Becky. To Ken I gave a book of Christmas crossword puzzles. I noticed that he often likes to fill in the crossword puzzles in AM New York and Metro New York, our free weekday newspapers. I also gave everyone a Beanie Baby, though I don't remember who got what. For Elena's boyfriend William I gave, along with the calendar, one of my last copies of the CD mock-up of 60 Years--although I didn't get it to him until July, when Elena's friend Arlene threw a picnic in honor of Elena's birthday. That same day, after the picnic, William and his brother and I drove to Citifield and sat outside for about an hour listening to Paul McCartney's concert.
I also assembled a shoebox for the family in memory of Elena--a sort of gift to her--including a few toys that memorialized things in her life. There was a cheerleader pen, with a figure of a brunette cheerleader in green on top; a little woolly black lamb which I got at Bath and Body Works; a blue toy van which resembles the one Elena drove, which I got at a Walgreens or Rite-Aid or Duane Reade in Bayside; a mini Beanie Baby of a gray Huskie that I'd gotten from McDonald's year before, because Elena had temporarily gotten a husky and named it Rocky, but had to give it away.
Now I'd found this beautiful wrapping in the Rite-Aid in Corona: red with many red balls, black shadings, and white highlights. It reminded me of Elena. I used it to wrap all my gifts to the family, including the shoebox.
Later, Ken's girlfriend Margie arranged the shoebox items, with a picture of Elena and William and a couple other items, on top of a chest of drawers in a space near the bedrooms and bathroom, as a sort of shrine.
I think I gave books to the kids, too. I have an impression of giving Leila either a book by Shepherd Mead about succeeding in TV or the book How to Write a Movie in 21 Days by Viki King. I also bought cards into which I wrote brief messages--not as detailed as two years ago.
Oh, how could I forget this! I adapted from my diary the entries surrounding Christmas 1986, from September 1986 to January 1987, with a couple of 2008 addenda. That was the year Ken and I answered a Santa letter from a family in a welfare hotel in Harlem. That was also the year Elena was pregnant with Leila--first of a new generation--and the year we went to a Monkees concert, and the year the Mets squeaked by the Boston Red Sox to win the World Series. I was low on money that year, and I gave everyone homemade felt ornaments and woven potholders. They helped me with the gifts for the Santa letter family.
I wanted to write something here about virtual gifts, but I think I'll make that another entry.
Addendum: I forgot to mention things I've done. Friday Dec 4, I went to a play at a church near Lefrak City, the same church where I dropped off the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes last year. The next day Becky took me to a "holiday hippie" vocal group show by Rob Darnell Hollinsed. This past Friday Becky and I went to a performance of Handel's Messiah at a church in Hollis, in which New Lifer Ivan Mossup sang bass in the chorus. Saturday was Brandon's 16th birthday. We went bowling (I didn't bowl, but I watched) and later had cake at the house. The next morning his sisters gave him an Ipod for his birthday, and he was way excited!
