The Meaningful Connection of Christmas Aprons: Bridging Generations and Creating Community
I have so many memories of Christmas and the traditions that I continue to carry on. Most of those revolve around decorations; both interior and exterior, not only the ones at our house but also at other homes; gift receiving, but mostly gift giving; and my greatest, and most valued memories, of spending time with family and friends.
Aprons, especially around the holidays, bring back memories of women in my life who I remember wearing them, as they were in their kitchens cooking, or serving as hostess, welcoming visitors into their homes, and spending their time making sure that all of the guests had everything they needed to be comfortable.
Along with the visual memories, I also recall smells that I associate with the women; turkey and stuffing in the oven, cinnamon coming from apple cider simmering on the stove, roasted onions and garlic for the green bean casserole, the sweet smell of baked yams covered with marshmallows and nutmeg, and the almost intoxicating aroma of baked pumpkin, sprinkled with allspice for flavoring in a pie.
A Nostalgic Journey of Fabric and Style
My memories of the aprons are so clear, that I can still recall even the different types of material that were used. Some were made of cotton, but even with that, there was a difference between brand new, first-time-worn aprons with their crisp folds in the full skirts and big bows tied at the waist, or in the ones that fell close to their bodies with the soft, slightly faded material that only comes with multiple washings after many years of use. Some were bib style, that were tied at the neck. Others were half style, tied only at the waist. They all always came with a big pocket, front and center, or a smaller one off to one side or the other. These were usually adorned with rick-rack or lace.
Sometimes the aprons would be made of terrycloth, often complete with fun images of Santa, elves or reindeer. An actual towel would be used, with a really wide ribbon or a folded over long, narrow piece of fabric for the waistband and ties. An advantage of these was that there was no need to waste time looking for a towel for hand wiping! When I saw one of these types of aprons, I knew that a lot of work had either already been done in the kitchen, or that there was still plenty of work to come.
My favorite aprons were the fancy ones, the ones that were put on after all of main meal had been served, with only the desserts left to be put out on the buffet. Or the ones that were worn for the cocktail parties, even though the hors-d-oeuvres were often substantial enough to be considered a full meal. The fabric was always crisp, often almost transparent, with embossed flocking accentuating the designs, with lots of glitter and sparkles. That was often worn with a pencil skirt, and a blouse that was high necked, close-fitting, either long sleeved or sleeveless, plus fancy jewelry and high heeled shoes, which completed the outfit.
Christmas Memories with Mom: Baking, Decorating, and Sharing Joy
Of course, my favorite Christmas apron memories are those that involve my Mom. I can still see her in my mind preparing for activities and special meals, and especially for parties, by doing things like lighting the Sterno candles below the chaffing dishes, that were full of appetizers like mini hand-rolled meatballs, or little Vienna sausages plucked from cans and drowned in thick, rich barbecue sauce, then each one stabbed with colorful toothpicks for easy access, all the while wearing her fanciest apron over a beautiful dress, complete with sheer nylon stockings, high heels and beautiful costume jewelry, which always included some type of a fun, bejeweled holiday themed brooch.
Even while doing something as basic as baking, my Mom would don a festive apron to stand at the kitchen counter mixing up batches of pumpkin spice cookies topped with maple flavored icing, her signature apple breads and cakes, lemon bars made from her home-grown lemons, or spritz cookies that were formed from a cookie press or a fun shaped mold after we had hand rolled the dough, which we then helped her decorate with red and green colored sugar, multi-colored sprinkles and even nonpareils, which we nicknamed 'bumpadie-bimpadies',
But mostly at Christmas I remember her standing in the kitchen for hours, prepping, baking and decorating batch after batch of cupcakes for each of us three kids to take to school to share with our classmates, for get-togethers with the many family friends that we spent so much time with over the holidays, and also, baking for all of the children in the neighborhood, who were always welcome to come back for seconds. and in some cases, thirds.
Christmas aprons mean so much to me. They tie me to my past and comfort me as I continue the traditions I learned and pass down to my children, and also with my friends and neighbors.
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