The Super Sticky Christmas

Suzanne Beck looks back at a Christmas when unforgettable memories were made. 

It was the perfect Christmas night. Then the disc appeared.  

The presents had been opened, the wrappings were still everywhere, the meal had been devoured, and the plenteous dessert table had been pretty much decimated. The fire was roaring in the fireplace, the cat had found an appropriately too-small box in which to nestle, and the same Christmas carol CD was playing for the 29th time. You would have thought that everyone would be in their own little corners checking out their haul or playing the newest board game, reading their new book, or some such other gift-received activity. However, that is not what was taking place.  

Somewhere .... maybe from a stocking? ... maybe from a recent happy meal purchase? ... maybe from a bubble gum machine?  ... maybe an arcade prize? .... there appeared an odd toy. It was a disc, about 2 inches in diameter, with suction cups all around the edge of the disc, which allowed it to stick to just about anything. Somehow, after all the festivities of that long Christmas day, the disc appeared, and then ensued an infamous, made-up game that came to be known as "Super Sticky."

The disc was thrown from about 8 feet away to a sliding glass door with windowpanes inside the glass that served as a tic-tac-toe grid, with scoring dependent on where the disc suction cups landed on the glass; the center windowpane being the highest score. Everyone got involved and hilarity ensued!! Team one would win and appropriate congratulations were given all around, then the next game/set/match would begin ... again and again and again. Not only for hours on that Christmas evening, but literally for days and weeks afterward, everyone who came by was recruited to try their hand and record their score.

It turned out to be the highlight of that Christmas Day and season. 

The smallest moments with family make the biggest memories. 

I recently asked the kids (literally 30 years later) if they remembered "Super Sticky," and I was given a complete run-down on the rules, who won, who they had played with, and how it came about! It even has a place of honor in our history as the event has a whole page in our scrapbooks! I also know for a fact, that they do not remember any of the actual gifts they received that year, expensive or not, sentimental or not. They didn’t remember the tree, the meal, or anything else about the day. But the memories we made from a small toy that didn’t have a history were beyond incredible; "priceless" is the best adjective.

There are probably lots of lessons one could draw from this seemingly inconsequential incident, but I guess the main one is: Don’t worry about the decorations, the food, even the gifts, but instead focus on making memories, no matter what ignites them! Our emotions play such an important part in memory processes, so just enjoy the moments, love deeply on each other, go with the flow and thank God for every minute! I’ve heard it said that it's the smallest moments with family that make the biggest memories, and we proved that one right. 

To think about:

Do you have a similar, seemingly inconsequential time where you made memories instead of focusing on the material things of the day? How can we work making memories into our planning without letting all the planned activities take over? 

Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2024 Suzanne Beck
Images: (top) Canva; all others copyright 2024 Suzanne Beck, all rights reserved.