Jean Gordon
Monday, December 23, 2024 9:58 am
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Trameka Whiteside and son Dreiden, 4, are home for Christmas in Spindale in their new Habitat for Humanity home.
As they celebrate their first Christmas in their own home, they will observe some family traditions.
"Growing up, our Christmas tradition was on Christmas Eve and we would go to our church Christmas program," Trameka began. "Then we'd come back to my grandparents house for snacks and gathering and then everyone would go to their homes to prepare for Santa."
Trameka and Dreiden's tradition includes wearing matching pajamas during the month of December and then a special pair of Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve.
"I have gotten a little Christmas canvas and we will paint and sip with hot chocolate," Trameka said. They will also eat Christmas cookies and watch Christmas movies.
On Christmas Eve, they will go to Trameka's mom's house to visit with family. They will come home and wait for Santa and later return on Christmas Day.
Christmas Day begins when Trameka awakes and waits for her son to wake up.
"Then I video him coming to see what "Santa" has left him under the tree. We will open our presents and later that evening we go back to my mom's house to open more gifts and eat dinner," Trameka said.
It will be a Christmas celebration like none other because of their own new home.
Mom and Dreiden hosted their own Christmas gathering at their new home on December 22.
Trameka, 39, is a Head Start teacher at the Carver Center in Spindale and Dreiden attends the Pre-k program there and next year will be in kindergarten.
Before Trameka began working for Rutherford County Schools, she worked 18 years for a daycare.
She was raised in Lake Lure by her mother, Angela. "She raised my sister LaQuinta and I on her own with the help of my Granny Marge and Papa Donald. (They both have passed away.)
Trameka lived in an apartment before she became a first time homeowner with Habitat.
She learned about Habitat for Humanity from several different people and became more interested in applying for a home when she visited a family member who had gone through the Habitat process.
"I fell in love with her new home," she said.
Trameka and Dreiden's home includes three bedrooms, two baths, living areas, kitchen and more.
For Christmas, the front porch has an inflatable Santa and a small Christmas tree.
"My favorite rooms in my house are the pantry and laundry room. It is nice to have cabinet space in the kitchen," she said.
"I was very excited when Sheila (Cain) mentioned that I could possibly be in my home before the holidays," Trameka said. (Sheila Cain is the Family Services Coordinator for Habitat).
There is an artificial Christmas tree with bright lights in the living area and other decorations throughout the home.
"Growing up my mom has always had an artificial tree, but my grandparents always had a real tree," she said. The family prefers the artificial tree.
For the past three years the Christmas tree has been decorated with train ornaments, a favorite of Dreiden, who has a slight obsession for trains, his mom said.
"Places we have gone, I have made sure that I find him a train ornament, others have come from Hobby Lobby," she said. Dreiden sometimes has his own little tree decorated with handmade ornaments from day care.
"It is just rewarding to have a place I can call home. Before I had Dreiden it wasn't as important, but since having him I wanted him to have his own yard and to grow up in a home like I did," she said.
"It's truly inspiring to see the life-changing work that Habitat for Humanity and the Women Roofers do," said a spokesperson for Rutherford Housing Partnership.
So during this holiday week, it's good for mom and son to be in their new home for Christmas.