The Village as set up December 2014
The First House
It all began on Christmas 1991. I don't remember opening the gift, whether it was at our house on Christmas Day or at the Stanford Christmas which would have been at The Stanford's condo on Pine Creek in Carrietown. Mom Stanford (Caroline) always liked to give a little surprise and this year it was a house for each of the daughters/daughter-in-laws. This particular house was from the Elder Beerman Store (no surprise as Dad Stanford was a retiree of Macy's) and was not part of any of the more established Christmas village lines. The house was cute with its little light and thus it became part of the regular Christmas decorations. It came out in 1992 and was placed on the foyer table where the electrical outlet was an easy fit. The same thing happen the next year. Just the little house sitting on the foyer table next to the big lamp.
Until 1994 when Steve decided it would be fun to give mom a first gift of Christmas. The reading of the book "The Polar Express" had become an annual Stanford Christmas tradition too and "the first gift of Christmas" became a famous line. Christmas eve was always a busy evening. Everyone showering and getting dressed for church and then gathering at the Bosserman house for dinner. But it became the tradition to give mom the first gift of Christmas right before we exited the house. I guess maybe it proved that Santa Claus didn't bring this gift because Santa never came to our house until well after midnight...sometimes not even until after midnight mass. So as we left for church on December 24, 1994 a tradition began although we would not know it for several years.
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