We are firmly nestled in the holiday season with Halloween behind us, Thanksgiving knocking at the door and Florida’s version of fall weather — that being temperatures bouncing between the mid-70’s to the upper 80’s with drizzling rain mixed in — here.
But even with all that, the season really only belongs to one person — Santa Claus. Love it or hate it, Ole Saint Nick’s holiday now starts in August with retail stores selling Christmas trees and decorations alongside Halloween costumes and pumpkin spice-flavored everything.
I see people complain about this every year but I love it. Christmas is my favorite time and I welcome its encroachment into every other month. I have already tuned my car radio to Magic 107.7 here in Orlando, which has been playing Christmas music 24/7 since Nov. 10, and I assembled my holiday Lego sets back in October, which you can see on the cover of and throughout Watermark’s 2023 Holiday Guide.
Christmas was also my dad’s favorite time of the year. Both he and mama did everything they could when we were kids to make it a fun and magical time. I can remember, starting with Thanksgiving and going through Christmas day, carols were always playing on the stereo, twinkling lights were hung — both inside and outside — and family and friends came over more frequently. However, one thing did not start on Thanksgiving and that was putting up the Christmas tree.
I’m not entirely sure when this tradition started, whether it was after all of us kids were born or something he did even before us, but my dad was adamant about getting a real tree every year, and we would pick it out and put it up on Dec. 6, his birthday.
The raising of the Christmas tree in the Williams’ house was an event every year. As I get older the details become fuzzy, so I don’t remember being there when they picked the tree out and I’m not sure if both my parents picked it out of just my dad, but what I vividly remember is when they were ready to bring the tree in, us kids would gather in the living room while dad, wearing a Santa hat, dragged the tree in shouting “Children, children! I’m home” in a voice that was very reminiscent to me of Bill Murray’s from “Caddyshack.” My younger brother recalls it sounding more like Elmer Fudd, so I imagine it falls somewhere between those.
We would cheer, jumping up and down, while mama tossed fake snow in the air. I recall one year, and we still laugh about it today, as dad wrestled with the tree in the doorway mama tossed a handful of snow that ended up in my dad’s mouth. For a moment he switched from his Clark Griswald-style family man to The Old Man from “A Christmas Story,” spitting white flakes and making dad noises. This is something we can watch whenever we want, and if a VCR is available, as mama was recording the fun with our 1980s over-the-shoulder camcorder.
Once dad got the tree in the stand, he would then gather us kids around and tell a holiday tale. Most years it was a traditional story like “A Christmas Carol” or “The Grinch” but he would make us kids and other family members the characters. Then we would decorate the tree, and by that I mean we would watch mama create a holiday masterpiece as we drank hot chocolate.
My dad passed away in 2020, and while we still gather as a family and celebrate the holidays each year, it has felt less magical than it did before. It reminds me of that song from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” where Cindy Lou Who sings “Where are you Christmas, why can’t I find you? Why have you gone away?”
That changed recently though, as I had a dream of my dad bringing home the Christmas tree. My parents and all of us kids were there in our old house in St. Petersburg and it was just like when I was a kid but we were all the age we are now. The snow flying through the air was there, the hot chocolate was there and my dad’s “Caddyshack” voice was clear as crystal as he said “Children, I’m home!”
I woke up feeling that Christmas spirit more than usual and thought even as time moves on and how we celebrate the holidays changes, there are always the memories.
So remember to enjoy yourself with your loved ones this holiday season and make some memories that will last.
In this issue, we chat with medical specialists about HIV treatment and prevention, focusing on the new injectable class of medications.
We also chat with comedian Fortune Feimster about her latest national tour, “Live, Laugh, Love,” which she is bringing to Orlando and St. Petersburg next month.
