A WHIP CREAM CHRISTMAS

I’m not sure how old I was this particular Christmas, but I was at least a teenager. We were having Christmas at our house that year and Grandma Pioli, Grandma Shaw and Uncle Lawrence and Auntie Dood (Hill) were all there for Christmas Dinner.

We had the traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings and for dessert Mom had several different pies. Mince meat, pumpkin, apple etc.

After dinner was over and the dishes cleared away, Mom and Auntie Dood got the pies out and everyone was given their choice of what they wanted. In those days it was fashionable to buy Redi Whip and just squirt out what you wanted. Mom started at one end of the table and went around asking who wanted whip cream on their pie. As she moved around the table she kept giving the container a couple of shakes to keep it going. When she got to Dad, he was clear across the kitchen table so she had to reach when he, of course, said he wanted whip cream and lots of it! Dad had a penchant for whip cream.

Mom leaned forward across the table and gave the container a heck of a good shake. As she was about to aim the container at Dad’s pie, her finger slipped and she hit the button with a mighty force. The whip cream shot out of the container and hit Dad square in the face. It covered his mouth, nose and eyes and even his moustache!

There was not a sound at the table…Uncle Lawrence’s eyes were twinkling and he was ready to burst out laughing, but knew that he better not. Auntie Dood left the room in hysterics. Grandma Shaw and Grandma Pioli sat there in stunned silence but with twinkling eyes and Sandy, Norma and I just sat there looking anywhere but at Mom or Dad. Mom just stood there in awe..her mouth open and grasping for words as she looked at Dad.

Dad sat back in his chair and very slowly wiped the cream out of his eyes. He looked at Mom and said “If I thought you meant that, you’d be dead!!!!!” At that moment Uncle Lawrence started to guffaw and the rest of us joined in. It was a really comical site to see Dad covered in whip cream and Mom not knowing what to do next!

Needless to say, future Christmas dinners did not include Redi Whip but the story made the rounds of the family that night (Dad of course had to tell the story!) and it has been relived every single Christmas. We laugh now just as much as we did that night.

Ahh…for just one more Christmas with them all! But I know they are at the table with us and I can still hear Uncle Lawrence guffawing very loudly!