Earl and Beatrice - A Campbell Family Christmas

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Earl and Beatrice - A Campbell Family Christmas 2

Earl and Beatrice Campbell had always loved Christmas.  With their sixteen children, the huge house was filled year round with constant chatter and love which oozed from Beatrice and the girls.  Earl and the boys, on the other hand, had their own ways of handling Christmas. 3

While Beatrice and the girls worked in the kitchen baking cookies and pies, Earl and the boys would find ways to give gifts to all their siblings.  Since money had always been tight with all those children and only one income, Earl had to be very inventive, and the boys would make or find the gifts they gave to each other.  With darned socks hung behind the old stove in the living room and a large tree cut from the woods behind their house, the decorations in the house were all homemade.  The construction paper chains that the children made at school were brought home, glued together and strung around the tree. The popcorn and holly berries were strung together to put around the tree as well.  Branches from fir trees were hung around the doorways to the kitchen and the living room.  Beatrice made candles with paraffin wax and food coloring and put them in the middle of homemade wreaths on the dining table, the coffee table and Earl's end table.  She was careful to avoid the huge hole that had been quite an accident that Earl had made yet made a perfect cup holder. 4

Yes, the Campbell's were considered poor by most, but neither Earl nor Beatrice thought that way.  "Poor is an attitude" was what Beatrice always said.  The Christmas spirit was rampant in their household and songs raised in praise filled the kitchen and flowed right into the living room where Earl and the boys joined in.  Earl didn't have much of a singing voice, but he made up for it in volume which made Beatrice smile.  The house was filled with Holiday joy. 5

The smaller children were being helped by the older ones and made ornaments out of pine cones, ribbon and glitter.  As the cookies of gingerbread and sugar dough were cooking, Beatrice put holes in them with a toothpick so that ribbons could be put through them as well to hang on the tree.  It was Christmas Eve, and the cookies could be taken off the tree and eaten after the opening of the presents. 6

Since there were so many children, Beatrice had them draw names so that they wouldn't have so many gifts to make.  Although all the children would have loved to give gifts to everyone, they understood the difficulty of eighteen presents each.  They were fine with this knowing that having so little money was just a bit unhandy. 7

By around ten the smaller children were put to bed with hugs and kisses, and the older children were still busy with the holiday cheer. Beatrice had made eggnog, and all sat around the stove admiring the tree as they drank it and chattered about the season and told Christmas stories.  Presents were already piled under the tree and some threatened to fall out into the middle of the floor.  One in particular seems to be almost alive as it moved a couple of times and was dislodged slightly from its previous place of comfort.  Beatrice figured that it was just Earl's heavy footsteps across the old wood floor that made it vibrate loose. 8

Around midnight Earl shoved the left-over children up the stairs to bed and right into those dreams of sugar plums.  Beatrice stood by the bottom of the stairs and snatched kisses as the children filed by. Reminding them not to awaken the younger children, she turned and walked over to the old recliner that was Earl's home within his home. She sat on his lap as his arms closed around her tiny frame and planted a kiss upon his balding head.  After about an hour of cuddling by the fire, they too went up to bed. 9

Children could be heard before four in the morning, but not one dared to move from their bed before dawn.  They didn't want to possibly run into Santa and upset him so that he would take presents away.  Earl, however, could not wait to get down to fresh coffee and a Christmas present.   10

Suddenly, he jumped out of bed and yell through the house, "LAST ONE DOWNSTAIRS IS A ROTTEN EGG!"  At that he and Beatrice both grabbed two each of the younger children and ran for the stairs. Unfortunately, Earl underestimated the speed of his other children.  As he made the last step into the living room, he looked around to see all the children and Beatrice with her hands full grinning brightly at him. Turning around, he realized he was, indeed, the rotten egg. 11

Beatrice ran into the kitchen to get the coffee started, and Earl started handing out presents.  As he took out each one he would give it a shake to see if he could guess what it was.  To the children's delight, he was always wrong.  Coming to one gift that was from him to Beatrice, he grinned from ear to ear as he shook it gingerly.  A mischievous smile crossed his face as he handed it to her, and every child stopped what they were doing to see what Daddy had given to Mommy. Not one person except for Earl noticed the tiny holes that he had poked through the wrapping.12

Smiling sweetly, Beatrice gave him his gift as well.  A wonderful sweater she had knitted for him and kept hidden so well under her side of the bed for several months.  After all, with sixteen children, it was just a bit difficult to knit and keep it a secret. 13

With delight the two tore into their gifts.  Earl held his sweater up to him but took it down quickly so as not to miss the look on his wife's lovely face.  As she carefully took the wrapping off the box, she found that it was an old shoe box that was taped around the sides.  It was then that she noticed the holes.  Although Beatrice was a reasonably intelligent woman, she didn't think anything at all about the holes. She slid her fingers up under the lid to pull up the tape and took the lid off carefully.  As soon as she did, a small bunny jumped out of the box and landed right on her chest.  As the children screamed and laughed, the bunny shook with terror and quickly found its way right down the front of Beatrice's robe and into her nightgown.  As she fell backward with her feet straight up in the air screaming in terror, Earl fell to his side and held his stomach in pain from the laughter.  Girls were screaming right along with their mother, and the boys were all doubled over in laughter along with their father.   14

This was indeed a typical Campbell Christmas. 15