Christmas Day - A Descriptive Essay

I wrote this as a descriptive essay for my English Composition class. I hope you enjoy it!

I was awake before the sun and there was no trace of heaviness on my eyelids. Christmas morning had always come early for us kids. Anticipation having roused me from my slumber, I woke my cousin Kylie who lay beside me. We slipped on our socks and tiptoed across the cool concrete that was our Grandparent’s basement floor. Little cousins, brothers and sisters dozed at our feet, but after a few missteps were soon following us up the stairs.

The adults were still in bed, so we fidgeted on the thick carpet in the glow of the ornamented tree. Gifts glistened under its light and we craned our necks to see which ones had our names on them. The fireplace warmed us as we chatted aimlessly, awaiting the sound of parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents making their way down to the living room. 

 After what felt like hours, parents finally sat with hot coffee in their hands and sleep still in their eyes. The kids sat on the floor at Grandpa’s feet, and in an accent developed from a life in Southern Missouri and many a John Wayne movie, Grandpa read the Christmas story from Luke, as was tradition. The airy sound of Kenny G’s saxophone played “Silent Night” in the background as my dad prayed in a groggy voice and thanked God for the gift of Jesus Christ. I could feel the excited tension from Kylie beside me as the prayer came to a close.

“Amen” was the trigger word. For the next hour all that was heard was the high pitched voices of little kids as they groped for parcels with their names on them. Squeals bounced off the walls and green, red, and white paper littered the floor. Bows were placed affectionately on babies heads and ribbons were worn as necklaces. After every gift was opened and the last cry of delight rang in our ears, we waited patiently for our parents to open the boxes of dolls, toy cars, action figures, and tea party sets that would absorb the rest of our time.

The sun had finally risen when we sat down to breakfast casserole and chocolate milk. Scarfing down our meal, we fled the scene to avoid dish duty and played endlessly with our new toys.  Our uncles and parents enjoyed Christmas dinner the best. Honey ham and mashed potatoes with veggies and rolls accompanied the lively conversations and left us all feeling full to the brim and exhausted. Christmas afternoon was a time for snuggling on Grandpa’s lap with my stuffed animal of choice under my arm as we watched Christmas movies.

The feeling of dread was overwhelming as the magical day drew to an end. Leftovers were our dinner, and soon it was bedtime for us all. The toys would be packed into our suitcases and the alarms set for early morning so that we could get a head start on the way back home. Though the day was over, we all hugged each other knowing we would see each other again next year. 
The smells that wafted from the kitchen throughout the day, the light from the tree, sitting at Grandpa and Grandma’s feet, and the Christmas music playing in the background all make up the memory that is Christmas at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. Because after all, it was the place to be on Christmas Day!

 -Andrea