The holiday décor at the Wright home is full of memories of all the years. “And every ornament has a story. Every single moment that we have experienced together as a family, or my kids have made… and then the grandchildren are on here,” said Linda Wright.
Above, Linda is holding a hand written ornament made by Wright’s son when he was seven-year-old. Above right, a photo ornament of Wright’s daughter with Santa and handmade ornament from her son in his young school days.
The holiday décor at the Wright home is full of memories of all the years. “And every ornament has a story. Every single moment that we have experienced together as a family, or my kids have made… and then the grandchildren are on here,” said Linda Wright.
Above, Linda is holding a hand written ornament made by Wright’s son when he was seven-year-old. Above right, a photo ornament of Wright’s daughter with Santa and handmade ornament from her son in his young school days.
THE DALLES — Linda and Lonnie Wright started an open house on Christmas Eve with a small group of neighborhood families nearly 40 years ago. Their daughter was 3, and Linda Wright remembered that for the kids, the holiday was magical.
The open house began in Hood River when the Wrights lived there and then followed them to their home in The Dalles by Mill Creek. For adults, Christmastime was busy. And with children home from school, a distraction was needed if Christmas magic was going to happen.
Wright said that what began with “survival” turned into a new tradition: Children were given a week to rehearse something to perform at the open house, whether that was learning an instrument, a song, or another language, so the adults could plan Christmas festivities.
Wright remembered once performing “Santa Baby” with the adults costumed in soft cloud batting and pillows. She also fondly remembered her daughter and friends performing what became a must-see annual performance of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.”
Though she wanted the kids to perform to keep them busy during the school break, it provided a way for one important lesson: “I wanted them to learn how to give, not just take,” she said.
As word got out and more people asked to attend, the tradition grew. “The doors were open,” Wright said. “We had one man [come and say], ‘I want to be Rudolph.’ He got up on the roof during the party,” she said. “It was all planned in stages … I mean, we all got in. We all did theater.”
The children helped during the party until the performances began, so everyone was busy hanging guests’ coats, and serving hors d’ oeuvres, cookies, and a birthday cake for Jesus.
Building community
Wright said no one attending was under pressure to perform, and that some opted to bring a favorite food to share. The open house was more about showing up and being together, she said — a way for parents to be close to their children, friends and neighbors to spend time together doing something special.
“There are so many stories [of not] supporting tradition and community, and it’s now more important than ever … I think people want that,” Wright said. “Obviously, they do. They do because we’ve been doing it.”
The kids grew up, but continued coming. She recalled one boy, who was 6 when he started coming with his family, leaving for college. “The first year he came back, he said to his parents, ‘I’m just too old for this,’” she remembered. “Well, he came over here just to say hi to us. And next thing you know, he’s got a hat on, he’s got balloons, he’s got face makeup, because we had everything happening … it was one of those moments.”
The Wrights now have their home up for sale and are trying to wind down the almost 40 year tradition. Though they always say, “It will be smaller this year,” it’s not an easy thing to let go of, especially as Christmas returns: Grown children return, grandchildren appear, and families keep coming with a new understanding of tradition.
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