Promptvent - Day 24
25 days of winter prompts to thaw your writers (ice)block - and this year it's all about being Cozy.
Hello and welcome to day 24 of Promptvent!
If you’d like some wintry musical inspiration whilst you write, why not try listening to ‘Santa Baby’ Kylie Minogue on Spotify.
Listen to me read the guided invitation via audio below or if you prefer to read the transcript, that is also available for you underneath the audio.
Welcome back to our Promptvent village advent calendar where you find yourself standing once again before the cozy Christmas window.
Bundled up in your warm woolen mittens and thick scarf, you are eager to to know what wintry word of the day awaits you. What world will you step into and discover today? You lean closer, and can feel the eagerness in your fingers as you pull off your mittens and reach for the iron latch on the window, lifting it with care.
You are looking at a festive and expectant living room on the eve before Christmas. There is a large fireplace decorated with tinsel and a plate of carrots have been left for the reindeer. There is a glass of sherry and a mince pie for Santa. You recognize the two stockings hanging on the fireplace immediately, a childhood favorite. The tree lights have been left on and they twinkle and shine.
All of a sudden the red wreathed door to your left slowly opens, inviting you further. You step through the door, stamp the snow off of your boots and hang your winter coat up on a golden brass hook. The warmth of the room is very welcome to your rosy cheeks and cold nose.
You notice there is a stocking laid on the arm of a chair. You walk over and pick it up, it has your name on it. You bring it up to your nose and inhale the aroma, pine needles with a hint of cardboard and spices from last years Christmas festivities. It seemed so much bigger to you when you were a child, bottomless even, with packages overspilling onto the floor. Sometimes the stockings would be here, sometimes placed at the end of your bed - which felt extra special as it meant you had been even closer to spotting Santa that year.
The large grandfather clock in the corner strikes midnight and you immediately feel like you should be tucked up in bed with your eyes squeezed shut. Suddenly you notice that there is a weight at the bottom of your stocking. You reach in and pull out a small gift wrapped in golden wrapping paper. You remember the Christmas Eve tradition of being allowed to open one present the night before Christmas and you open the folds carefully.
The gift is personal to you, perhaps a reminder of a special gift you have received in the past, such a piece of jewelry that connects you to someone. You feel warm and giddy at the gift as you turn it around in your hands. You feel in the stocking again and pull out an unwrapped notebook and pen. You open the notebook and see one word in large cursive script written at the top of the page.
It reads: STOCKING
You smile and think about all of the families and people who will be waking with excitement and joy, and then you pay a thought for all of those whose emotions will be rather mixed this year, and especially for those going through tough times, you hope their stocking, whether physical or emotional, will be filled up with love, before the next strike of the clock. Then you pick up the pen - and you write.
PromptVent Day 24 STOCKING
When I was a little girl we never had stockings to hang up, just pillowcases that we would hang over the edge of our beds. There were five children and we didn’t get much compared to many children today but we were always very happy with the presents we received. There would always be a book, a game, a puzzle book and some chocolates. A big present I remember getting when I was five years old was a pram with a baby doll I named Caroline. My mum had knitted the clothes for it and a blanket. I was absolutely thrilled when I came down on Christmas morning but I was a bit upset when she later borrowed the dolls clothes to dress my baby sister in. Many times Father Christmas would get our presents all mixed up and then there would be arguments. Sometimes he left things on the roof and they were found later.
My own children had both stockings and sacks and far too many presents. They were considered very spoilt by my parents, their grandparents. But I just loved to see their little faces, when they received something they’d hoped for and put on their list to Santa. Maybe I just enjoyed the feeling of abundance for one day but not later when we were skint. I’ve always enjoyed the giving and receiving of gifts and still do today.
As I watched the children hang their stockings by the tree this Christmas Eve, I reflect on the hope and trust that this simple act demonstrates....
They have no doubt at all that someone - Santa, Mom, Dad or grandma loves them and has thought about them as they prepared for Christmas.
I found my childhood stocking when I cleared out my father's house a few years ago. It has a label written in my dad's spidery hand - it says "Dear Father Christmas,this stocking is Jane's". And although it hangs empty in my kitchen, it is in fact full to the brim with treasures. Memories of Christmas's past, with my grandparents, unwrapping a Barbie from my Auntie in America, snow, my grandbabies first Christmas's too.
And more will be added this year too, as my grandchildren open their gifts and I watch, and share their family Christmas traditions, grateful to be loved and welcomed.