Write On Edge Memoir Prompt: The Case of the No-Chocolate Christmas


    “This Christmas,” our Mother firmly and unexpectedly announced, “there will be NO chocolate.”

      My sisters and I stared at her incredulously. What, no chocolate? It was inconceivable!

      You see, every year, for as long as I could remember, there had been chocolate on Christmas. Not just a little chocolate, but an opulent extravaganza of chocolate that would've made even Willy Wonka blush. Empty decorative bowls would be laid out on Christmas Eve, enough to cover our 7 foot dining table, only to be “magically” filled by morning with Hershey’s Kisses, Hershey's Mini-bars, chocolate peanut clusters, chocolate turtles, chocolate cremes, M&M's of both types, chocolate stars, chocolate-covered cherries, Tootsie rolls and candy bars of every type. It was a veritable chocolate feast the Ghost of Christmas Present would surely admire.

      However, this particular year, Mother had joined TOPS to lose weight and was on a healthy eating campaign not just for herself, but for all of us.

     I was a sophomore in high school then and when I went Christmas shopping, I said to myself, “Well, since there won't be any other chocolate, it won't hurt if I just buy one candy bar to put in every one's stockings." Naturally, I bought one for my own stocking, too.

         So, on Christmas morning everyone was shocked to discover we'd all had that exact same idea and had all bought, "a little chocolate,” believing we'd each be "the only one."

     As it turned out, my contribution was the most modest. My younger sister graced each of us with a 2 lb box of chocolate-covered cherries. My other sister bought a 5 lb box of Russell’s Assorted, which back then was the size of a Monopoly game. Even Mother wimped out. She and my Dad said to each other, “Maybe we're being too hard on the girls,” and, not expecting any other chocolate, had purchased a huge Deluxe Whitman's Assortment.
      So, without meaning to, we still ended up with a stack of chocolate. The joke was on us. We had a big laugh about it and the infamous “No Chocolate Christmas” remains a favorite family story to this day. 
 **********
[The above story was a 400 word prompt from the Write On Edge Red Dress Club for a true memoir]


Comments

You can't escape Chocolate. This story had a gift of the Magi feel, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This is a nice memory for your family. I'm sure my boys talked behind my back about those Christmases I was on some kind of healthy eating plan. Hard to give up that chocolate though. It's cute that even your parent's gave in.
What a SWEET story! My brother and I were deprived! My dad decided we should be vegetarians when I was seven. My brother wasn't born yet so he has always been a vegetarian and remains so. But they also got on a serious health kick - soy milk, no sugar, wheat this and that! Well I can't even tell you how much candy I ate on the way home from school. ;-)
Hahaha! That is such a wonderful, wonderful story. I agree with the commentators above: definitely a Gift of the Magi feel. I highly enjoyed!
~Julia said…
What a great memory! Now I must go eat some chocolate :)
angela said…
That's definitely the way to go! A chocolate explosion is my kind of Christmas :)

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