Favorite Memories

My husband recently asked me what my favorite Christmas memory was. I couldn't give him one specific answer. There were so many, and sometimes the years run together. There are things that we did each year that made the Christmas holiday so special to me.

Here are some of my favorite memories:

*Christmas Caroling. My parents' Sunday school class went (and still does) go caroling every year. When we were kids, I remember the fun of all piling into station wagons (before our church bought it's first van and before minivans were popular...and car seats or even seat belts were required). I remember the fun of real candles and playing with the hot wax (the last few times I went they'd switched to battery powered "candles" for the kids--whether it's because someone was afraid they'd catch themselves on fire or the fact everyone quit smoking and no one had a light, I don't know). I remember years with snow and years without. I remember ladies serving us cookies as we went, going to someone's home or the the church afterward for warm drinks, food, and fellowship.

*The candle light service on Christmas Eve. Seeing who came back to town for Christmas with their families, singing lots of wonderful carols, hearing the special music, and singing "Silent Night" by candle light in the darkened sanctuary. Everyone slipped out silently and whispered their Merry Christmas's in the vestibule.

*The year we started opening packages at midnight. I believe I was in 7th grade that year. My grandparents had come up from Georgia to visit and we went to the 11:00 Christmas Eve service. When we got home, all the packages were under the tree and we got to open them then. It was so novel for us. That's how we had Christmas ever after, rather than stumbling to bed late and rising early, we stayed up to the wee hours of the morning enjoying our Christmas together.

*Putting up our tree with our exchange student. It was a rough year that Christmas because my grandfather was quite ill. Holly, Sie and I went up to the attic late one night and dug out all the Christmas decorations to try to lighten the mood. My mom was pretty aggravated when she found out, but we had a lot of fun doing it.

First, she couldn't believe that we had a tree in a box and then she couldn't believe that we decorated it before Christmas Eve. In her home, the tree was like a part of the presents. The parents did it on Christmas Eve after the kids were in bed. It was truly fun to share those things with her.

Sie, Holly & Me

*Babies' First Christmases a always a joy too.

We'd waited so long for Kate, it was such a joy to have her. She got a playmat and her Winnie the Pooh.



Then Gabby's was fun too. She was so happy. The girls got their kitchen and wagon that year. Gabby got the Tigger she sleeps with.

Do you have favorite memories?