As Christmas is now only a few days away, I began thinking of Christmas throughout the years.
Christmas was always an important day in the Barber household.

Mother loved decorating the house for Christmas, and she would take days to
complete her decorating.

And, yes, we had lots of Christmas birthdays. Joe’s birthday is Christmas, mine is the 27th
and JoAnne’s was the 3rd. Since we were close in age, we always had one large birthday party and for many years it was at Evan’s Skateland on West 8th
Street.

On Christmas day we would go to Church at St. Peter’s after opening our presents. Then it
was on to, as my father called it, the Barber ranch/family home. Santa (Uncle John) always made an appearance. We believed in Santa until we were quite old as we knew that it wasn’t possible for our parents to buy us birthday and Christmas presents!

Once we were teenagers, we began going to Midnight Mass and then on to our great friend,
Louise Behringer’s home for brunch. Looking back, I can’t even imagine brunch at
1:30 a.m.! But we did!

Many traditions are carried on as I celebrate with Ryan during the holidays.

Ryan has experienced every kind of Christmas imaginable. Regardless of the weather, we have been fortunate to spend this special day surrounded by family and good friends. Christmas Eve always
finds us at St Patrick’s with Aunt Jeanne.

When Ryan was just 3, I explained to him that, just as Jesus received 3 gifts from the Magi, he would as well. So, over the years he grew up knowing that there would be 3 gifts under the
tree Christmas morning.

What are some Christmas traditions for you and your family? Wishing you a very happy holiday season and a joyous near year!