This was written by a friend of mine, a delightful English gentleman. He read it at our Reader's Tea and I loved it so much that when he sent it as Christmas Card on our loop I had to copy and share.
This poem is called WHAT DO I NEED FOR CHRISTMAS? By Paul Holmes
Please remember this was an English Christmas a long time ago.
And in case you don’t know, us Brits poor brandy over the Christmas pudding
and then set fire to it. Trust me it tastes great, especially with brandy
butter and ice cream.
Then there was the Christmas that I really wanted a train set.
What do I need for Christmas, this season of goodwill, what do I need for
Christmas and can I afford the bill?’
I’ll need a turkey, some stuffing; a Christmas tree would be good,
chocolates, some brandy, and of course a Christmas pud.
Some brandy butter, Sherry and a few mince pies would be fine, with some
Stilton cheese and crackers and a couple of bottles of wine.
It would be nice if it snowed at Christmas and carol singers called.
Yes, that’s all I need for Christmas, at least I think that’s all.
If you think that’s all you need for Christmas, you’ve forgotten some
important things, let’s just look at your Christmas and see what Christmas
day brings.
When you get up on Christmas morning, there’ll be no presents to give or
receive, and you’ll miss all the excitement of kids hanging stockings on
Christmas Eve.
There’ll be no-one to shout 'Merry Christmas' and no-one to sing Silent
Night, and no-one to make fun of you, when the Christmas pudding won't light
It’s not what you eat at Christmas; it who you eat it with, it’s not what
you get at Christmas, the pleasures in what you give.
So what do I need for Christmas, let’s start the list again, here my
friends some paper, and here my friend a pen.
What you really need are your loved ones, yes that will do for a start,
let’s think a bit less of our belly and think a bit more from the heart.
Then there are my life long friends, I would like them to share Christmas
with me.
But alas they all have their own families, so I guess that can never be.
So before we start our Christmas, there’s a message I want to send, raise
your glass, I miss you all, Happy Christmas my dear friends.
Now the family choir is assembled, once more beautiful sounds fill the air,
Danny Boy and Scarlet Ribbons, the other songs we loved to share.
It didn’t matter we were out of tune, can’t harmonize, don’t fuss, to the
choir it sounded wonderful, and that’s all that was important to us.
So now you have your loved ones and traditional food and drink.
What else do you need for Christmas, come on all of you, think?
You need to have your memories, all the things that made Christmas past,
because, it’s only through such memories, that our traditions of Christmas
will last.
I remember my earliest Christmas, it seems like a life time ago, aunties
called Gladys and Gertrude and others called Fanny and Flo.
I remember some dark heavy chairs and a large Victorian table, with a cloth
that reached the floor, and an Aunt with a dog, called Mabel.
Do you remember Postman’s Knock, and kissing games all in a ring, how we
all stood around the piano, with wonderful carols to sing?
I remember crying one Christmas, I can still feel the disappointment and
pain, it wasn’t in my pillow case, then in a box under the bed, was my train
I remember opening presents, in front of a roaring fire, in a room we called
the parlor, with floral covers, on every chair.
That we rarely went into the parlor, it was really quite absurd, and when we
did, we had to sit quietly; children in those days were ‘seen but not heard
’
We had plates of little sandwiches, made with salmon out of a can, with
bread cut in tiny triangles, spread out like a ladies fan.
I remember Christmas Eve much later, little kids upstairs in their beds,
and Santa a little bit wobbly, placing stockings close to their heads.
I remember a Christmas morning, a bed totally covered in toys, lots of
Christmas paper, and lots of happy noise.
Now there’s a new kind of Christmas, I now have a grandson you see, someone
else to share these traditions and to share the joy of Christmas with me.
Now I've found what I need for Christmas, its something that money can't buy
Its happiness and memories and now I think I'm going to cry.
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