Christmas Memories

[Diamond Sun]

I'm stealing Haggis's idea and making a thread dedicated to Christmas Memories. Good bad, funny sad, share your memories as Christmas creeps a little closer (33 days!!)

My favourite memory, which is repeated every year is getting the Christmas tree. My family always puts up the tree on either the 23rd or the 24th. My dad goes out and cuts down a tree (sometimes from their property, or from the tree farm a few miles away). The tree is usually about 12-13 ft tall, and then we spend hours decorating it. Pulling out the ornaments that have collected over the years. My mom still has glass bulbs that belonged to my grandma's mom. I have ornaments that were given to me on my first Christmas, or that my brother's made for me in Kindergarten.

Each ornament tells it's own little story, and the best part is recounting that story each year. It's funny how in 360 or so days you can forget what got stored away last Christmas, until that moment you open the box, pull out the little glass Angel and remember.

 

[Haggis McBagpipe]

What a wonderful thing, DS!

I love what you say about your ornaments, we do the same thing, our tree is made up of an eclectic collection of many year's worth of ornaments, each one with a lovely memory. I much prefer having a tree of memories rather than a designer theme tree.

One of the more recent and favourite memories of Christmas is from a few years back. We rented a log cabin up at Wells Gray Park for a week. At the local Boy Scout's site, we found the most dilapidated little Charlie Brown tree you ever did see, maybe 5 ft high and cute as a bug's ear. Our holiday was supposed to be a snowshoeing holiday, and Wells Gray is guaranteed to have snow at that time of year... but the ground was green upon our arrival and stayed that way. Lots of neat trails to explore, though, so we had fun.

What made the holiday extra special, though, was on Christmas Day when the power decided to blink out right as we were about to put our supper in the oven, and it stayed out for many hours.

So, our Christmas dinner consisted of stale bread (that really needed to be warmed in an oven) and cheese, eaten by candlelight provided by the most godawful (and very limited) scented candle stubs ever made, and then we spent the evening playing Hearts by the same lung-destroying candlelight.

It was great! One of the best Christmases ever. My favourite occasions are definitely the ones where you have to improvise. They are the occasions one never forgets!

 

[peapod]

My favorite christmas memories are the ones where my mother would collect up every down and out person she came into contact with. The house always filled filled to the brim with people. My mother taught me the true meaning of christmas, and I expect to have at least a dozen down and out people for christmas...and we will have a blast.

 

[galianomama]

great thread guys! one of my favorite christmas memories is going out for a row on christmas eve day with my dad. the water was like glass and the sun was shining. we rowed for a good hour or so. i remember it like it was yesterday, and i knew it would always be a special memory for me!

 

[Diamond Sun]

Another great memeory I have is from when I was a kid. My brother and I used to wake up at 5:00 or even sometimes 4:00 on Christmas morning, but we were forbidden from waking up our parents until 7. So to kill time we used to colour in our Christmas Colouring Books. These books were huge. My grandpa used to get them for us, they were about 3 feet tall, and 2 feet wide. If I was colouring lying down, I had to lie most of my body accross the book to get to the top part of the page.

I have no idea where he got those books, but I really wish I still had them. My brother and I talk about those books every year.

 

[Haggis McBagpipe]

Man, I love this Christmas memory thread, DS.

Galianomana, your memory totally took me back to memories of my dad and our boat. He used to carve little bitty wooden sailboats for me, with matchsticks as sails.

DS, our daughter was always up by 4-ish on Christmas morning, it drove us NUTS but we always did get up with her except once when we got a bit mad about it then felt guilty about it for YEARS. The thing is even in her late twenties she is awake and raring to go by no later than 5 am on Christmas morning. Aiiiieee. Well, this year her husband has to contend with this, while WE get to sleep in! Ha.

Pea, your story about your mum is so neat, what a wonderful thing for her (and you) to do. What if the world was full of people who did such things, wouldn't it be a lovely thing.

 

[Diamond Sun]

Oh Haggis, my Xendrick is up by 5 easily. Two years ago, we didn't get up till 5:45 and that was sleeping in. It drives him crazy when we're at my parents and aren't allowed to get up before 7:30....

I agree too, Pea, that your mum is a rare gift. Few people would do such a thing.

 

[Haggis McBagpipe]

I will be curious to see how long we sleep in this year, especially since my husband - Scotty! - is basically a lot like that as well. For myself, I love to just lie there in bed while others sleep, and watch the Christmas tree lights (which we leave on all night on Christmas Eve only, and we can see from our bedroom). I like to take that quiet moment to remember other Christmases, especially remembering those special people no longer alive. It is kind of my own private moment, and I'm kind of hoping to prolong it this year.