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.
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]
[The above story was a 400 word prompt from the Write On Edge Red Dress Club for a true memoir]
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