One of my favorite things to do at Christmastime was always to help Auntie set up her Christmas town. She started it when I was young with the original set of buildings, and each year, even when I was in college, I would come home so we would go shopping and get a building, tree, figurine, etc., to add to it.
Before Auntie passed away from cancer in 2011 she had been clear that the town (in addition to the large collection of Hallmark ornaments she had purchased over the years) would be left to me. In memory of her I have continued to add to the town every year — even if I haven’t been able to display it — as well as made sure I purchase a Hallmark ornament for her each year.
Since she passed I have not really had space of my own to set the town up, so periodically it has been displayed at my parents’ or sister’s house where it would be seen more. When I moved to MN in 2019 I knew I would be back east for Christmas each year, so I left the town at my sister’s house for safekeeping.
Now that I’m back east and have a house with enough space to display it, I have been anxiously waiting to set it up. I know it’s really early, but today I was finally able to display the town in my own home.
The process was very nostalgic. Lots of memories rushed back while I unpacked everything (according to Auntie you always keep the packaging, then during clean-up everything goes back in its original package). Now that it’s up I thought I’d share some of my favorites.
The first is of the photo of the two figurines carrying gifts. Let me preface with the fact that these two figurines did not come as a set. They also are not part of the same product line and came from different stores. With that in mind, Auntie always treated them like a set. Each year when we’d set up the town she would put them together. I remember asking her why one year, and she said, “Because they’re a couple.” At the time I shrugged it off, but now I would really like to know the backstory of how these two got together and what Auntie apparently knew about them.
The second is of the older woman carrying a live Christmas goose. The package (remember, you always put things back in the original packaging. Pro tip, and relevant here — Auntie always labeled the packing with a defining characteristic of the figurine if the package didn’t have one in order to make clean-up easier) for this lady was labeled “Grandmother.” It’s a bit rude to assume an older lady is a grandmother, in my opinion, but also SHE’S HOLDING A LIVE GOOSE. I feel like that would be an easier descriptor, but she was the boss.
The last one is the homeless man — at least according to the descriptor Auntie gave him. He’s an older guy with a backpack and a coffee cup, which apparently led Auntie to believe he was struggling to find housing. What I remember most is that, because he was “homeless,” we always put him on the bridge — a move I instinctively did today even after 12 years without her help.
I miss Auntie — and Granny — every day. I hope they are looking down and see that we are OK. I hope they are happy to see my house filled with all the stuff that makes me smile and reminds me of them. I hope they know that I’m happy, too.
