Don We Now Our Gay Apparel ... What are you wearing Christmas Eve?

Yesterday while packing up for Christmas Eve on Long Island, I asked my husband which sweaters he wanted to wear for Christmas Eve and Day.  Looking through our tops and sweaters, I simply tossed whatever seemed decent, into our small suitcase. For the past ten years, we've spent Christmas Eve at my uncle's along with about 20 of our closest family members. Typically the kids aged 12 and under, are decked in pretty holiday dresses, cute little red and green ties or sweater vests. We all "Ooooh" and "Awww" over them as they coyly smile knowing they're all cuter than the next. The girls saunter around in their cute Christmas shoes, matching purses, hair clips and other accessories. We snap photos and talk about how adorable they are and I know in ten years they'll be in jeans and sweaters just like we are.


What are we wearing? The majority of guests ages 17-37 are wearing ordinary sweaters and dark jeans. None of us make an effort to wear red or green. Nope, we're in black, brown, navy - whatever colors are popular that year. None of us are wearing snowflake earrings or Santa broaches. If anyone's wearing holiday socks, they certainly aren't showing them off in any way. None of the men are in ties and if any of the women are in dresses, "slacks" or skirts, they are most likely over 50.  In fact if you snap a photo of several of us on the couch, you would never know it was Christmas Eve.

<---My husband with his bowl haircut and holiday velour.

Rewind to the old days ... I asked my husband about his holiday fashions and he told me about hideous tartan plaid pants, ties and vest outfits. Looking back at old photos, I noticed my brother and I were also dressed in uncomfortable holiday dress clothes. I saw myself in some shiteous fashions such as a long red, snug, t-shirt dress. Luckily that year I appeared a bit leaner than usual.

 In another Christmas Eve photo from 1980, I'm wearing an ugly white blouse with a green and gold vest. In 1982, I'm in another fancy white blouse with a knitted red wreath pin. I recognize the red skirt as one that my grandma made for our school's holiday performance. Every year, the girls in the glee club wore red skirts with white blouses. One year my mom sewed silver garland on the bottom of my red skirt - it was the coolest - I loved it.