A Canadiens Christmas

Since today is Christmas day, I figured I'd take you down Memory Lane. Christmas has always been about two things for me: the big family parties and the memorable gifts Santa (or my parents, let's face it) gave me.

Every year, we'd drive back to where my parents were born, Saint-Odilon-de-Cranbourne and Saint-Leon-de-Standon, to celebrate the big day. We'd spend Christmas Eve with my mother's mom and Christmas Day with my dad's parents.

Christmas Eve was always a spectacular night. My grandma's basement was our lair. There were pool and ping-pong tables, and as it was still on cement, we were allowed to skateboard, roller skate, and even play mini-hockey (even though we'd wreaked numerous pairs of jeans doing so). While we played, the adults would be partying upstairs, and one time, we even heard my aunt's false teeth going through the pipes (as she flushed them by mistake after being sick).

On Christmas day, my dad's family would often rent the ice rink and its chalet in Saint-Leon. We'd get there in the early afternoon and start playing hockey, kids vs. adults. As the day went on, the kids would get better, and the adults would get progressively worse, falling over and losing their balance. Back then, we actually thought it was because we were improving, not because they were celebrating Christmas. Those were the days...

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Back in 1990 though, I almost ruined Christmas. I caught Whooping Cough and since it was contagious, we couldn't go to the Christmas parties. There would be no pool, no ping-pong, no hockey, no fun that year...or so I thought.

On Christmas eve morning, my dad, for the first time of his life as far as I know, actually decided to go to the mall. He came back a couple of hours later and told my mother to keep us in the living room while he brought his purchase in and ran to his workshop. It took over an hour for him to come out of there carrying the biggest present I had ever seen.

When we asked who it was for, he replied for the whole family and my sister and I started wondering what it could possibly be. After dinner, we played cards for a bit and our parents finally decided to put us out of our misery and let us unwrap our presents.

Of course, we had to save the massive one for last, but when we were finally allowed to unwrap it, I couldn't believe my eyes. I front of me stood three big decoy boxes and under there was a brand new Wayne Gretzky Overtime Hockey table top game. You know the one I'm talking about, the one that had mechanisms under it rather than annoying springs which would inevitably break. It featured Gretzky's Los Angeles Kings and the Montreal Canadiens.

I was ecstatic! That year, every time I went to the mall I bugged my parents to buy that, but it cost $150 (which was a lot of money back then) so they always said no. That Christmas though, as I felt bad about ruining Christmas and I was sick, my dad decided he would cheer me up. Meanwhile, my sister was furious, she hated hockey and scream: "That's not for the whole family! That's just for you and Karine!".

She wasn't wrong really, my dad and I spent the whole holidays playing, me using the Canadiens as I was a Habs fan even though we lived in Quebec City and my dad using the Kings. Although, it only took a few days for him to head back to the shop and buy the Nordiques. Little did we know, three years later the Canadiens and the Kings would actually meet in the Stanley Cup Final and legend in the making Patrick Roy would wink to Tomas Sandstrom on his was to a second Conn Smythe Trophy.

For years, every night after dinner, my dad and I went downstairs and played by the fireplace. That game is now 34 years old and it still works, there are new players though, my nephews now also take part in our tournaments and just like it did me and my dad, the game is bringing us all closer.

Merry Christmas everyone and I hope there are hockey theme presents for you under the tree!

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