How many people reading this know who Ray Conniff was? How many people have listened to this album (yes, I said album)? How many people remember records? RECORDS!!
When I was a kid, my grandparents had an attractive piece of wooden furniture in their living room that 10.5 or so months a year, I didn't pay a lot of attention to. But when you got to late November or early December...we opened the top of that piece of furniture and low and behold, inside was a turn table, a AM/FM receiver and a place to store roughly 20 RECORDS. When you made your selection and set it on the turntable, Grandpa would open these vent like things on either side of the front of that piece of furniture and the most wonderful rich sounding music came out of the speakers.
You were a big kid when work it yourself. Christmas with Conniff was a favorite of my grandparents and mine too. Back when I was a kid, Christmas didn't start on the day after Halloween like it does now. I have fond memories of it being a relatively quiet time; although now that I am an adult, it's only a quiet time for kids. Adults are rushing around like a bunch of crazy people.
When we were too young to go home from school alone, my sister and I spent after school time at my grandparents' house. It was truly one of the perks of living a block away from them. It was another opportunity to listen this this album.
Every year we would go over to my grandparents' house and decorate their Christmas tree...I only remember artificial trees but photos show evidence of real trees over the years as well. I loved opening the boxes of ornaments and finding the right spot for each and every one. We still laugh about the apparent annual feud that went on between my Mom and her siblings. It seems when they were children, it was fashionable to make styrofoam ornaments and pin sequins to them in various designs...or initials. Imagine as a child watching 3 of your favorite adults removing and rehanging initialed ornaments in various spots on the tree (mostly the back) or under the tree. LOL Grandma would tolerate the feud and on Christmas morning the ornaments with "M", "R" and "J" would all have a place on the front of the tree; a Christmas truce if you will.
A lot has changed since those days Grandma has been gone 18 years and Grandpa almost 14. I am guessing that Ray Conniff plays in heaven and I can see Grandpa snapping his fingers in a sweater vest and Grandma tapping a toe in her Christmas apron.
We still have a Christmas gathering in the house they shared and we still bake the press cookies that we have made every year that I can remember (and that's quite a few). I have some of Grandma and Grandpa's ornaments on my tree and some of their decorations are up in my house.
The other day I was listening to Alexa play me some Christmas music (My grandfather would likely NOT be a fan of Alexa). Over the course of a few hours while I baked and did housework, several selections from this album played. Each one took me on a bittersweet stroll down memory lane.
I hope you have heard some music this season that has jogged some good memories for you as well or maybe a special ornament takes you back to a time long ago.
