Christmas memories center on family

Raising children overseas had its perks, as well as its downside.

Although we didn’t have access to on- demand television, we did have family that sent videotapes of the kids’ favorite cartoons, which meant when a new tape arrived the whole family sat down together.

Celebrating birthdays became another family together time since it was hard to throw a party and invite the neighborhood children who had substantially less but felt obligated to bring the best gifts.

Coming up with creative cakes (no Fullers with fancy cakes) at times challenged my culinary talents, but we managed, including an Artoo Detoo cake and hamburger cake that are still the talk of the family.

I guess the memories welled to the surface during the recent holidays when we had all four children home under one roof and indulged in one of our famous marathon board games.

Board games were a life saver for a missionary family in the middle of nowhere with no modern conveniences.

But instead of the normal fare like Monopoly, we’d drag out the boxes for Rail Builders, Air Baron, Silverton or Civilization, which could take a whopping 13-15 hours to play, and focused on strategy, reading and thinking skills.

Quite a challenge for elementary school aged boys who were fiercely competitive. But loads of fun. And it didn’t take the boys long to pick up on the game and start beating Mom and Dad.

Reinventing the family traditions became a way of life overseas, especially at Christmas time.

Dozens of packages under a gaily decorated tree gave way to stockings under a wall-hanging of a Christmas tree purchased in Monte Cristi.

We discovered canned eggnog did not mix as well with Dr. Pepper as the fresh stuff did.

The family would gather around the kitchen table and make up dozens of gift bags full of candy for the children who would be “trick or treating” for their Navidad during December.

We learned to spray paint tree limbs white and decorate them with ornaments in the Manabí style, and create delicate tissue paper balloons powered by votives in the mountain style.

We learned going swimming in the pool or ocean at Christmas time was a blessing not enjoyed by friends in the States.

We found singing Christmas carols in Spanish is just as sweet as singing them in English....and learned a few new ones, too.

We learned that Christmas is more about doing things together than it was about the things themselves.

We established new traditions, such as watching the Bells of St. Mary’s and It’s a Wonderful Life, which never lost their freshness year after year.

Most importantly we discovered the joy of giving throughout the year instead of just at Christmas.