A old Christmas memory

I’m not sure how the conversation turned to Christmas on a hot July day, perhaps it was because we were laughing at the cat’s taking possession of a cardboard shipping box. But I suddenly remembered a long ago Christmas when Adam was probably around 5 or 6 and Andrew just turned 3. We lived in Brooklyn, with the Phillips’ right upstairs above us in the huge old 3 family house. We were broke that year, not sure why but it was suddenly Christmas and what were we going to do about presents for the kids. We had enough money for food to make a bountiful, wonderful dinner. And we had enough money to buy each kid a reasonable, desirable gift. (Obviously this was a different sort of definition of “broke”.) What we didn’t have was the usual funds to allow the annual insane potlach of gifts to flood the floor around the Christmas tree. Well, so 1 gift it was. Christmas Eve we wrapped the gifts with shiny paper and ribbons. But the sight of 2 little boxes under the tree left us teary and apprehensive. The kids were going to be miserable and worst of all, the sacred Christmas morning photos would look like charity shop specials.

Then I had a sudden inspiration! We could wrap up empty boxes to look like gifts and put them as props under the tree for gorgeous photos. No one would ever know! So down to the basement we went to gather up empty boxes. Tom went out and grabbed a few more large boxes from the last minute open late local shops. By the time we were finished there was a wild cornucopia of brightly wrapped and beribboned gift boxes under the tree. Test photos looked sensational. 

So Christmas morning kids wake up, excited joy at first boxes they were given to open while Tom filmed. Then cameras off and we tried to persuade them to have breakfast. I remember trying to explain, to reason, but they grabbed for more boxes and tore off the paper to find ....empty boxes. 

They went wild .......with greed! They were tearing off the gift wrap and exchanging and bargaining who got which boxes. They LOVED the boxes. They were the greatest, neatest gift of all time. Forget breakfast, forget the toys we’d bought. They had BOXES!

The girls, Tavi and Kirsten came down the stairs then to see what the boys got and show off some of theirs. As they reached the dining room with the tree and the boxes, the, boys announced, “We got boxes!” There was a moment of silence and then the girls turned and pounded upstairs shouting to Dea, “ They got boxes! No fair, they got boxes!” 

It was insane, they all went nuts over a pile of empty cardboard boxes they could turn into anything their imagination allowed. And that was the gift of the Magi.