HOLIDAYS
QUIRKY HOLIDAY TRADITIONS The ‘Keep ‘Em Guessing’ Christmas Game by Sandra Phinney
Picture this: I’m holding a gold-coloured, metal “thing” that is about 6 inches x 3/4 inch in size, with a clip on one end like you’d find on a ballpoint pen. This thing is straight in length, weighs less than an ounce, but its width is convex. I have no clue what it is, all I know is that my sister has joined us for Christmas and we’ve all exchanged socks. She is grinning, certain that she has stumped me with this gift. For as long as I can remember, my husband and I have exchanged socks at Christmas. No other gifts—only socks—mainly because we’ve chosen not to buy into the commercial aspect that accompanies the season (and it’s a lot easier on the pocketbook, too). If our grown children, relatives, or friends join us for Christmas, they all take part in the sock exchange—and the tradition I’m about to explain. The items in our socks are usually from second-hand stores. It’s not uncommon to find used books, retro (read: cheap) jewelry, or small treats like candied ginger. But the best parts are the things we give each other with the purpose of trying to stump one another. This guessing-game custom has been going on for decades, originating with Aunt Marjorie (Sis) Dobson who lived in Seaford, Delaware. Sis sent several boxes to us every Christmas, but as none of the gifts were labelled, we had to guess who the present was intended for. Also, because she lived in the US, travelled extensively, and had access to many things we had never seen or heard of in rural Atlantic Canada, we often had no idea what most of the gifts were. In retrospect, I don’t think her intention was to send us on a guessing spree, but that was always the result. Now, we do this intentionally. Some of the items are useful; others are not. One year, daughter Margo put a 6-inch plastic square
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in everyone’s sock that turned out to be funnels when rolled up properly. Another time, my husband Barrie gave my sister a “thing” that was a short roll of heavy wire with teeth. It had a metal circle on each end. Although it eventually became obvious that it could be used for a saw if you held onto it the right way, it initially stumped us all. Last year, my sister put in my sock a flimsy yellow plastic object with a handle and flap that could be pressed down into a oneinch box, presumably to squeeze something through the holes in the bottom. She stumped me all right. The “thing” was to hold a small hunk of butter, which, in turn, could be used to butter hot corn on the cob.
There was a lot of eye-rolling on that one! Then there was the time I found something in a pawn shop in another province. The item fit in the palm of my hand, but I had to ask the shop owner what it was. When I returned home, I put it in a drawer. When I found it two years later, I couldn’t remember what its purpose was (aside from stumping someone). I put it in my sister’s sock, and to this day, no one has guessed what it is, including me. Oh yes, and that “thing” I mentioned at the start of this story? It’s a table crumber—a tool that wait staff use in fine dining establishments to remove crumbs from the table. I’ve used it ever since!
