Kinkikali

Christmas at the Cloughs

Between the mid 1960s and the late 1980s, we Hortons used to travel to Hollis NH (from Nashua NH) for Christmas cheer. We did on New Year’s Eve and it was the last holiday party.   The drive took about 25 minutes and took place in daylight (usually 2 pm).  The snow was almost always there and the ride over hills and dales.  The Cloughs lived atop a hill with Nashua just barely visible,  There was a little time for ice skating on a pond or man made rink or even sledding on a nice wide and gradual hill.  One could stay outside if one wished as the lighting was good (and full moons helped too).  The Nashua view was chance to reflect on life and the year nearly spent.  Hollis being a gingerbread house town fit the Currier and Ives motif.  The Cloughs tree was still up and illuminating the cold darkness outside.  Icicles decorated the house, some being monsters in size.

Inside was food galores–dips, cakes, shrimp, booze and holiday nuts, brownies and Chex mix.  Music was either WCRB or Christmas music in the adult areas.  The basement was where the football game was watched and the kids set the music.  Dinner was never formal–just graze away.  But come 11pm we gathered together for the final gift exchange of the year.

The Cloughs was where we first played Castle Wolfenstein and had the steel ball on the movable parallel bars–trying to roll the ball back as far as possible.

Christmas would start the night before at the Schlotman’s on Swart Terrace.  then we would do our own on Christmas Day before visiting or be visited by the dear Johnson cousins (unless we were gone to Sun Valley or Disney World).  Christmas week would be spent skiing, sledding, and tearing through our gifts.