When just a simple wreath will do

A week before Thanksgiving, I was on my way to a Friendsgiving celebration. Friendsgiving, which I’ve also called “Gen-X Thanksgiving”—back in the 1990s — is a gathering of friends for the Thanksgiving holiday that takes place either in lieu of or in addition to regular Thanksgiving festivities.

The point of Friendsgiving is to share the experience of turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes with friends who are either too far from home or purposely avoiding their families of origin—the latter of which is a very Gen-X thing to do.

On the way to our friend Kristin’s house, the neighborhoods all over the north side were speckled with the first batch of trees adorning lights. Suddenly, my wife made a pretty bold statement about it and the holidays in general.

“I’m not on board with the whole ‘decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving is over thing,’” she said.

But by the time we were on our way home, her sentiment had changed. Instead, it was, “Oh, so pretty,” and “I love that one,” followed by spoken memories of years past when my 16-year-old son was a little boy and used to count the trees with lights and pick out his favorite one on each block. I’m sure that before I know it, our tree will be up.

As for me, holiday decorating is more of a minimalist occasion. I want no part of climbing on top of the house to attach lights to the slopes and gables of my bungalow or even around windows. I think a wreath on the front door or a glimpse of a decorated Christmas tree through my front window is enough.

Then again, when it comes to decorating the tree, I guess I have a certain level of interest. Thanks to me, our tree is eventually covered, at least in part, with Christmas and Hanukkah versions of sports memorabilia. Items like ceramic Cubs hats, baseballs and Santa Clauses in pinstripes holding bats. Some Philadelphia Eagles snowmen and Flyers ball shaped ornaments from my origins back on the east coast. A USC football gnome I just picked up during a trip to Los Angeles. Plus, a few soccer balls, cleats, skis and other things have littered our tree because of my family’s fandom and the presence of sports in our lives.

It’s safe to say that we tolerate some parts of the holidays and love others. But we always find a way to put our own mark on the celebrations.

Sportswriter/author Andy Frye has written for ESPN Chicago and Rolling Stone. His new book about Chicago, “NINETY DAYS IN THE 90s,” is out now.

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Republished from Dec. 7, 2022