Childhood Christmas, share your stories - Page 1

So many wonderful memories, so many more to make.

My most memorable things at Christmas were the gatherings, the feasts, the smiles, the family traditions.

When my parents sold my childhood home, about five years ago, I captured as many memories as I could when I stood alone in the house for the last time.  I gravitated to the big dining room and envisioned all of the family meals that were shared there.  In my mind, I saw their faces, sitting at that table... one last time.  Aunt Rosena, Uncle Harry, Uncle Joe, Aunt Mae, my sweet Grandmother :)

Anyway, Christmas has changed over the years, but the memories and the traditions remain.  So, here are some of my favorite Christmas memories...

We had lead icicles for our tree (I often try to remember if I ate any).  My brother and I would cause train wrecks by placing a lead icicle across the tracks, and it would instantly stop the train.  If the train happened to be on a bend, momentum would take it over the edge.

There was always an orange in the toes of our stockings.  And we always got one of those little plastic figures with flat feet that would walk down an inclined surface,.kind of like a Cracker Jack toy.  I remember the smell of a new baby doll and the feel of clean, new runners on a new Flexible Flyer sled, couldn't wait to wax them!

Decorating cookies, caroling around the neighborhood------>  Mrs. Bollinger would always bring us in and give us hot cocoa and cookies.

Going to Midnight Mass, coming home and getting ready for bed.  Having a snack and building excitement until we carried our lit bayberry candles to bed, while singing "Silent Night".  Watching the candle until the eyelids were too heavy to hold up.

Getting up in the morning and resisting the urge to run downstairs, gathering the troops to make the journey together.  There was a two-way switch in the upstairs hall that worked a socket at the bottom of the stairs.  My Dad would flip the switch and you could see the reflection of the tree lights on the wall and hear the train start at the same time (Santa always put up our tree when he came to leave the gifts) . We always checked out the tree before opening gifts, making sure Santa put on our family ornaments and of course, trying to find the "hidden" bell.  The first one the find the bell (usually buried somewhere on a center branch), got to open the first gift.

Now, most of the family members of those Christmases are gone, but we now have two more generation filling in the gaps.  I'll be spending the coming days with my family, enjoying the ones here, adding to my memorable holidays and creating brand new memories, happy memories, for the little ones, while remembering the ones long gone.

It's all about love.

Merry Christmas, if that's what you celebrate, but if you celebrate something different, just make sure you make it merry.

I love your emoticons.

We had a large family and milked cows, so we weren't allowed to open our present (singular) until dad was done the chores.  The wait seemed like forever.  Then on top of that we had to open our gifts one at a time, and that seemed like forever.
We always got a real tree, but I can't say our family was close, at least not then, too many kids I guess, so it was kind of run like an army boot camp. 

Now however, I'm glad I have so many siblings.  We still all get together, although my sister in the States doesn't get home as often with her family as they are grown up and off doing their own thing, but mom and dad rent  the arena,  the rest of us come complete with family and we skate and play hockey and have a huge potluck meal then entertainment.

 Mom always does most of it still (an amazing woman) invites the neighbours and we do singing and the grandchildren usually do a little something like play piano or the violin or something.  We have a lot of musical talent in our family.

Travels, PLEASE reassure us that you meant a toy train set ?

Well, let me just say that I don't think a lead icicle from a Christmas tree would cause a real derailment, LOL.

Merry Christmas Hund :)

Red Sable, thank you for sharing and I hope you will build special new memories with your loved ones this year.  Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Thank you Travels, the same to you.  Many blessings!

Thank you Travels  - hope you have a good Christmas too.