Revermann family shares Christmas spirit around Central Minnesota

“We’ve always been close,” said Alice Doll.

Only two of the siblings have passed on, their oldest sister and their oldest brother. That leaves 11 children and spouses, 45 grandchildren and spouses, 85 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. It’s quite a legacy for one family.

It was after their dad died in 1997, that the siblings first started gathering for an Adult Christmas Party. Ruth has a large house and hosted the event for several years in her basement. The activities include a gift exchange.

“I remember counting plates one year and there were 80 people there,” she said.

All members of the family who are age 18 or over are invited to come.

“They always anticipate graduating and being old enough to come for the first time,” Alice said.

Now the event is held at sister Lois’ barn in Richmond. There is always a Christmas carol singing contest.

During December, there is also a Sisters’ Weekend. All the sisters gather to simply have fun together. Everyone dresses in holiday clothing. In recent years, more of their daughters are joining in.

One of the ways the Revermanns help others is to make 23-25 tied blankets every year. They have done this since about 2013.

“We fill a bag with lotions, hats, word find books and other things, and take it and the blankets to the cancer patients at the hospital in St. Cloud,” said Mary Stang.

The family sings carols from room to room as they give the gifts.

“Our sister-in-law, Rita, told the patients that as we tied these blankets, we prayed for them,” Mary said. “The nurses said that some of the patients hadn’t smiled in weeks, but they had smiles when we left.”

Continuing on with the togetherness that began in their childhood, family members who are able gather on Christmas Eve for the Revermann Family Christmas.

“Everyone who can come is there,” Alice said.

First, there is Christmas Eve service at the church where they grew up in New Munich. Then, people start to arrive for the festivities. Food is set out, with everyone bringing a plate or dish of something to share, hors d’oeuvres, cookies, etc. Everyone brings their own beverages.

“We have sandwiches ready, too,” Alice said. “Then we eat all night long.”

She remembers a year when 125 people got together. Alice and sister Shelly take turns hosting the event.

“Mom made sure there was a gift under the tree for everyone, even if it was a ring sausage for the guys or a frozen pie,” Alice said. “This was even for the girlfriends or boyfriends who came along.”

The family plays games, such as the challenging Saran Wrap game. A ball wrapped in many layers of Saran Wrap is supposed to be uncovered by the players — wearing bulky gloves. They sing together.

“The 12 Days of Christmas is a favorite,” Ruth said. “Every ‘day’ stands for a month, and people with a birthday in that month stand up and sing that ‘day.’ The point is just being together and putting smiles on the kids’ faces.”

Some people stay into the wee hours playing games.

It’s also a time to remember Christmases past.

“Years and years ago, we went to midnight Mass in New Munich and afterward we went to Grandma Revermann’s, right in town,” Mary said. “She fixed a meal for all of us. There was always sausage and homemade bread.”

One year more recently, Alice remembers one of the children coming to her and saying, “You know what Grandma just told me — this is going to be her last Christmas.” And it was. She died in 2015.

This year, the Revermanns are celebrating a Christmas miracle that happened last year. Alice was in the hospital in Sauk Centre and not expected to survive to Christmas Day.

“Doctors said she would not make it to morning,” Ruth said. “The doctors asked her what her last wishes were.”

Alice doesn’t remember that, because she hadn’t been fully conscious for about a week. The siblings decided to all pray for her at the same time, from their homes. As they finished praying the rosary, they all texted each other, “Amen.”

By morning, Alice woke up and made a full recovery. She does remember finding a rosary under her pillow.

“She had a lot of people praying for her,” Mary said.

There are many gatherings among the siblings and the larger family throughout the year. One of these includes Mary’s annual 4th of July party.

“There are more than 20 campers there for the fun,” she said.

Every year, there is a polka band led by one of the son-in-law’s grandpas, the Vic Tschida Band.

“We play Price is Right,” Alice said. “No matter what, there are fun activities. We play other things like the Survivor game, a bean bag tournament and a talent show.”

In October, the siblings get together on the home place, where brother Mike now lives, to cut wood.

“We do it around Dad’s birthday,” said Ruth. “We used to do it for our parents and now we do it for Mike.”

“Any reason is good for a gathering,” Alice said. “We watch Vikings games together.”

So Jerry, Mary, Jim, Steve, Mike, Chuck, Ruth, Alice, Paul, Lois and Shelly and all of their descendants, continue the traditions of love and camaraderie that began in their childhood. There is more than enough love to go around for everyone.

“When we were growing up, we didn’t have anything,” Ruth said. “We are all very giving people because we can give it now.”

“We didn’t know we were poor — we were happy,” Alice said.

“We always had everything we needed,” Mary said. “And we had love.”