Christmas Memories - What's Yours?

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

The Kat Lady just got home, she went to Midnight Mass with her family, an annual tradition. I didn't go this year, I have an awful cold (first one in about 10 years and a really bad one) and decided it wouldn't be polite to be sneezing into the ear of the poor slob in front of me.

She says they had some hot chocolate and pastry after mass, and she brought some home with her. I guess her mother didn't know she brought it home because she just told me it was stolen.

It reminded me of my first experience with Midnight Mass. I was a 17 year old Puritan that was dating an Irish Catholic girl. Her mother was from a very German family (not very rare in Milwaukee in those days) so they had the combined traditions of her Irish father and German mother, and I had no idea what any of them were. I went to Midnight Mass with no idea of what to expect, almost fell asleep during, and was looking forward to going home afterwards. No, no, no...no such luck. Back at her house, her mother shifted into high gear and started making a huge breakfast - bacon, eggs, toast, Polish sausage and Mimosas. Oh my goodness, what an experience for a naive little Protestant kid. My girlfriend had to pour me into my car and, luckily, I only had about a mile to drive home. I was so tired, and so full of breakfast, that I had to drive because I was in no condition to walk.

Later that morning, I slept through my own church's Christmas service and I have faint recollection of the rest of the day, my mother's usual excellent Christmas dinner and I do know I wound up back at the girlfriend's house for a late dinner with her family. I think I gained 15 pounds that Christmas but only had about 5 hours of sleep.

And I wish I could do it all again.

 

[raebates]

One wonderful Christmas memory I have is the year I was just beginning to question Santa. We were having my dad's family celebration at our house, so everything had been cleaned to within an inch of its life--including the gold carpet. (What can I say? It was the 70s.) Christmas Eve we had a fire in the fireplace. Christmas morning we awoke to find ashen footprints from the fireplace to the tree, all around the tree, then fading back toward the fireplace. I was a true believer! Mom was really miffed at Santa for spoiling her nice, clean carpet. Thankfully, she was able to get it cleaned up before Dad's clan arrived.Years later I asked her about those footprints. She laughed and said, "Baby powder and your dad's boots."

 

[KaryCam]

Like you KG, I have a really bad cold today but also a real deep honking cough. I feel anything but festive, mostly just tired.
Christmas dinner has been changed because it was suppose to be here. Hubby and the in-laws hope I will be up to making it on Saturday. So today, I'll talk hubby into grilling some steaks and we'll have dinner on the porch. It's unusually hot here for Christmas.
Oh and hubby said it was "ok" to wake him at 9am to open presents, but not before.
But my son is excited and that is what counts.
I think today will be memorable.

 

[chefann]

My dad is a photographer, and some of the things I remember most about Christmas as a kid were the dreaded family photo for the card - usually taken in October so that mom could order the cards (this was LOOOOONG before Snapfish). Dad had to have everyone just right for the pics, and it usually took all day to get a couple that he considered useable.Then, on Christmas morning, we were only allowed to open our stockings before heading to Mass, despite the fact that Santa wouldn't wrap half of the other gifts. We had to just pretend we didn't see them. Then we couldn't open anything else until after breakfast. And we had to take turns, so that dad could take movies (not video, movies) of us opening each gift. The worst part of the movies was the light - it was like staring into the sun. So there is a lot of footage of gifts being held up in front of faces to shield us.Once we got old enough to sing in the Children's Choir at church, we'd get to open gifts after breakfast, since we had already been to 3 masses (2 Christmas eve, and midnight).

 

[candiejayne]

I miss everyone being together for the holidays. When we were little everyone got together, all of my cousins, my aunts and uncles, the whole darned family reaching out into 2nd and 3rd cousins. Our own families have grown and extended so much that we no longer all get together. Even the kids in our house are gone this year.

This is going to be a Christmas to remember, its been the worst best Christmas I've had in a long time! I'm happy this year, and although things have changed, and not everyone was together, its still the best I've had yet!

Well, except for our truck with 2, yes, I said 2 flat tires this morning! We are about an hour late to my mom's right now for breakfast due to having to clean another vehicle off... the ice is soooo thick!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! We have 3 parties to attend today! It's going to be a busy one!

 

[pamperedbybarbara]

I have two very special Christmas memories...the first was when I was in 6yrs. old in Kindergarten and I woke up to hear Santa in our house!!! Gulp...I was so scared because all I could think of was the song that says goes-- "he knows when you are sleeping..." and there I was wide awake listening to him delivering presents!!! Well it took me what seemed like hours (probably only 10 minutes or so) to fall back asleep. I woke the next morning so scared to look for my name on the presents. When I did go peeking with my little brother I at first could not find my name on anything:cry:...we were a family of 6 children so there were alot of presents!!! well after a little bit of searching and "accidentally":blushing:bumping the boxes I found my name!!! I thought I was sooo cool cause I had fooled Santa into believing I was asleep...aaah youth.
My second special memory was when I was pregnant with my1st child who was due in late April...I had gained not alot of weight and 2 other women I knew who were also pregnant and due within same few days as me(something must have been in the water!!!) were annoyed a my lack of weight gain kept going on and on about feeling their babies kick (probably just gas)...I was sure there was something wrong, but my Dr. said all was fine...it would happen soon enough. My DH and I were living in South Florida at the time and we decided to drive down to my MIL for Christmas as she lived in the Florida Keys about 4 hours from us. Well all was great for Christmas Eve and when my DH and I finally laid down to go to bed I finally felt my first kick!!!!:love::love:Total heaven!!!! I looked at the clock and it said 12:04 am...I will always remember it!!! My DS is now 14 and a super brother to his younger sister (11 yrs. old)...

 

[pampchefsarah]

A few quick memories:
Waking up in the middle of the night on Christma Eve to hear Santa's sleigh bells!! Turns out they were the bells on the toy reindeer in our stockings.

Helping Dad spend hours on Christmas Eve peeling apples, making crusts, etc., for about 6 pies, which were cooling on the window sill when we went to bed. The next morning we woke up to tiny footprints, and other 'signs' of a mouse hitting each and every pie. We had to throw them all out!!

My son, then about 2 or 3, being handed a present which had arrived in the mail. When my Mom asked who it was from, I replied "Dad", and my son looked up and asked "The mailman is my daddy?"

 

[Kitchen Diva]

My favorite Christmas memory: It's a Christmas Eve memory.

My mother used to turn the heat down at night, to save on the electric bill, but every night my sister and I would listen intently for the "click-click" of the furnace, alerting us that the heat was about to come on. Who ever jumped out of bed first, would get to sit in front of the register, with their night gown over the register... Ahhh that warm blast of air surrounding my body-

I heard some noise outside the door, and since the heat register was by the door to the hallway, I opened the door and saw SANTA by our tree. He was leaning over, putting an ornament on the tree- he picked up his bag- and then was gone.

I have no idea to this day who it was- since my mother doesn't own anything red, and my mother had not remarried yet, so either it was my eyes playing a trick on me, or I was just blessed with the vision of Santa.

There was a new ornament on the tree the next morning- that Mom had no idea how it got there... but I will always remember the Christmas Eve that I saw Santa at my tree while warming my little body in front of the heat register. My sister swears she heard reindeer on the roof that night, too.

 

[wadesgirl]

I apparently haven't made any touching holiday moments yet in my life but the one that stands out the most was back when I was a teenager at my grandma's. We were sitting down to open presents with all the aunts and uncles and cousins. Well one uncle got up and all of a sudden the color drained out of his face and he threw up all over the living room. That was followed by 2-3 other people doing the same thing. Over the course of the weekend almost everyone else got what ever he got also! We still joke about it.

 

[Jennie4PC]

When I was young we would always go to my grandmas for Christmas Eve dinner with all my aunts, uncles and cousins, Then we would head into the basemant and wait for Santa to come for a visit. Then we would open presents from each other and head home. Luckily we didnt have to go far cause my grandparents lied next door.

 

[pampered1224]

I have two: First, every year from the time I was 5 and can remember that far back, my dad and mom would pack us kids up and head out fro Christmas Eve Dinner. (The big thing was we had to drive for an hour to go to McDonals on Janesville.) When we got home, Santa had already been there. Even after we moved, this tradition kept going until I was 16 and the last of my siblings stopped believeing in Santa. The second is why #1 was important. And I am with you Andrea. From the time I can remember - 47 years but I only remember about 44 Christmases worth we always spent Chrsitmas day at both sides of the family. It got more complicated when, I was 5, we moved two hours away from Chicago where everyone lived and ended up in Wisconsin. We would get up at 7 a.m or so, and eat breakfast, get dressed and head to Chicago! We would be at one families place at about 11 a.m. We visited, ate loads of stuff, there were 120 of the Watschke's total! and everyone would come and go all day so alot of them we never saw. Then, at exactly 3 p.m. we would head over the the Hartmann's. There were 53 of them! And the process would start all over again! And boy did both families know how to eat. Grandma Hartmann was the one with the green jello with carrots! And the cannibal sandwiches are a tradition in German Households as well. Wisconsin was settled mostly by Germans so... And my dad's mom is Norwiegian. Herring all the way - YUCK as far as I am concerned! With so many marriages, kids and busy lives, I rarley see any of my cousins or aunts or uncles much any more. I really miss that.