Christmas Memories

Everyone's got some kind of Christmas memories- whether they observe the holiday or not. Here's a walk down memory lane and a few things I remember:

- Feeling all warm and cozy sitting by the tree & watching snow falling outside the window.
- When I was very little (Before parents split) my Mom used to make Christmas very special. Dad was always gone trucking, but she would decorate late at night with garland, tree, ornaments, lights and tinsel. When we awoke the next morning, the whole trailer had been transformed into a Christmas wonderland.
- A couple of Christmases, my folks hid some of our gifts and we had to search the house for them. That was fun!
- My Aunt & Uncle always had a pretty tree with a train set up underneath it.
- Making popcorn strings, drinking cocoa, listening to Mantovani Orchestra play carols
- Watching Rudolph, Frosty & Charlie Brown Christmas Specials. It's a Wonderful Life was always a hit.
- Hearing Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Patty Paige, Julie Andrews, Jerry Mathis and the golden voice of Karen Carpenter on the radio
- Decorating the Christmas tree with my dorm roomate & listening to Manheim Steamroller's Christmas tapes
- Caroling with friends and performing in Handel's Messiah many times
- Eating cashews and pistachios out of pretty Christmas tins.
- Gathering in pajamas, wrapped in blankets to snuggle and listen to Christmas stories
- Driving around looking at Christmas lights.
- Christmas of '96 we had a blizzard in PA- snowed in with my husband's family. We were all stuck for 2 wks and it was great. Nice memories were made. Little did we know at the time it was my Mother-in-law's last Christmas on earth.
- Serving Chrismas Dinner at a homeless shelter and eating with the people there.
- Taping Christmas cards we receive on the wall. We get fewer every year. E-mails are not the same!!! You can't tape them on the wall and enjoy them. There's just something special about getting something in the mail. (Due to the hectic pace of our lives this year, I didn't send out cards. Feel bad about this, but maybe next year?)
- Sharing Christmas with our kids and seeing their delight. Hearing them sing carols.
- The joy of handing some stranger $50 in Walmart and saying "Have a Merry Christmas". I LOVE to see their reactions!!!! Wish I had more money- I'd do that more often.
- Being 'Mary' for pageants 4 years in 1 decade because I was always quite pregnant during December.
- Mistletoe- I'll say no more.....
- Big Christmas dinners with family & friends.
- Grandma B's Christmas cookies

Christmas Future:
- I'd like to take my kids on a sleigh ride and sledding- they've never been!
- I want to see the 'Transiberian Orchestra' in concert
- I want to attend a live Nutcracker Ballet
- I'd like to make a Christmas album
- I'd like to find a place to ice-skate (won't be in TN or GA) where they play Christmas music
- I want to adopt a goat, cow or chickens to send to families in third-world countries through World Vision.
- I'd love to participate in a live nativity someday
- It would be neat to have a house big enough to hold a large family gathering...
- Starting a Christmas Tree Farm
- Spending the holidays in Ireland & Scotland
Do you have any Christmas memories or dreams you'd like to share?