Ok... Question of the day (#3) is.... What is your fondest childhood Holiday memory? (Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah etc.,)
For me... it is always the memory I have of my brother Robert n' I. It was Christmas, and at the age of 7 we started giving each other "gag" Christmas gifts cause my parents didn't have much money to give us tons of gifts (like we do now, you know with credit cards being so easy to use nowadays). Some of these gifts would contain a lil' box of dirt.... or a package of rocks.... or maybe some leaves (you get the picture) and what we used to do was "peek" at each other's gift to see what was being given to us - so that we could "beat" each other out (hahaha, and possibly give the other person a little more dirt than the other). Well.... the year that I was 10, and Robert 12, I saw him secretly place a huge shoe box under the tree, labeled "For JEN". As soon as he was out of the room, I went right on over to the box, and took a peek... hee hee.... and when I opened the box, there was a note in there that said, "A LITTLE WOOD for A LOT OF WEIGHT". Hmmmm, I thought! Ok, this year, I'm going to get him GOOD!!! So... I went and got some cat food... poured it into a container, wrapped it up, and placed it under the tree - happily thinking that I was "ahead" of his game on this one.
Christmas day came, it was time for opening gifts.... we decided to open gifts from each other first. So - he says, "You First".... hahahha - I already knew what it was right?!?! So I opened it, acting as though I wasn't phased by the note... I say, "Ha - Ha! Your turn....", and as I started to put the box away, he goes, "no, lift the wood.... there's something under there...." - my eyes get BIG, and I'm like.... "WHAT?!?!?!".... so I lift the wood... under there, was a pair of 14kt gold cross earrings... the most beautiful pieces of jewelry I've ever received!!!! I was in shock, and embarrassed that he was about to open the "gag" present I gave him. I tried to stop him from opening my gift to him, but he insisted on doing so. I felt sooo bad, but he was a good sport - and just laughed it off when he saw the container of cat food. We both had a good laugh that year. I will never forget this Christmas. We didn't have much, but laughing and playing jokes on each other was one of the best things to do during Christmas - and that 1st Christmas that my brother actually went out and bought me something with his own money.... that just melted my heart.
I was never into christmas as a kid, My birthday being so close and all and it just was not a happy time anyways. But I always loved Halloween. I used to push my brother in his wheel chair to the steps of houses so he could get treats too. One year when he was 9 and I was 12, someone stole his bag of candy. Just a brute kid, and I gave him mine instead. When some neighbors heard, they brought him more candy which he shared with me. I only really liked the peanut butter ones anyways. He died a few years later but Halloween is always me sitting on the front porch watching and treating the kids. I hope I can do that forever for him.
ReplyDeleteJan, thank you sooo much for sharing this lovely touching story. I love Halloween too!!!! But I now know how meaningful Halloween means to you. Your brother will live on through you forever.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Jen
gosh my favorite has to be new year's. playing with fireworks with my dad. actually, we haven't stopped. hehe. its really great and i get to see my dad be a kid again. $$ was probably tight when they were growing up so its 1 day out of the year where he can have a blast. no pun intended. :)
ReplyDeleteSweet Jen...your memory is wonderful and touching. Unfortunately, for me, I do not remember special moments in particular....BUT, I do have some very FUN snapshots ( thats what they called those KODAK moments way back when!) of my brother * me in front of the Christmas tree in our jammies....and another of my Grandmother, who was visiting from England in her robe. I have to get them scrapped, before I forget all together!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great memory, thanks for sharing. I remember on Christmas Eve we opened presents really late and my sister's boyfriend was with us. So when I opened up this one present.....I almost DIED. It was in a KOTEX box!!! My DAD did this to me. I didn't even care what was in it. My sister's boyfriend was there....eventually I opened it and it was fluffy house shoes. My dad always came up with something different every year. It was never boring at our house and these are the best memories. Thanks for a chance at your sweet giveaway.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmases was when my brother Bob and sister Penny and I got stuff when our folks had a toy store, it was a spiegel outlet in the 60's and we got a lot of the leftovers after Christmas, what fun!
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable Christmas was when I was about 4 years old and it was Christmas eve at my grandparents house (we always spent Christmas with them at the farm). Grandpa was out in the kitchen and hollered for me to come out and he picked me up to look out the window to the field and he excitedly told me to look out and see Santa's reindeer in the field eating for their big trip ahead of them. I sure was a believer that Christmas. It brings back warm feelings every time I think of that. Sure wish I could do the same for our grandkids.
ReplyDeleteBTW, love your music.
Thanks for the fond memories.
Cheryl Sims
Jen thank you for sharing such a wonderful Christmas story. That really is a special Christmas memory.
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable would have been my 9 th Christmas. I still believed in Santa, but was starting to doubt if he was real. So this Christmas we were going to spend Christmas eve at my grandparents house. Which was about an hours drive from our house. This year I so badly wanted a new bike and a barbie. So mom and my sister and I left santa cookies and a note telling him where we were and when we'd be home. Well Santa dropped off our gifts at our granparents home for us. Which made my sister and I very happy. But when we got home there in our living room was a shining new bike. I couldn't figure out how my mom had gotten sucha bike delivered into our house. Except for Santa so that made me believe for one year. My mom always took extra measure to make CHristmas magical and special.
I just hope that I can do the same for my children.
Thanks for asking have a Merry Christmas!
Melissa
My memory of Xmas is my dad
ReplyDeletealways putting a gift there in the morning, we always opened in the morning, I had always one gift
and I always believed that Santa came
my dad made sure I believed on that,I miss him
My favorite memory of Christmas is when I was about 10 - such a tomboy - watched cowboy & Indian shows constantly! My sister got her baking, cleaning, homemaker things, but I got a double holster with CAP GUNS - boy was I happy! The picture mom took shows my sister in her apron standing beside me - with my guns pointed into the air.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful story, it is the memories and not the gifts. I guess mine would be the night I waited up for Santa. I snuck out of bed and hid the the hallway to wait. Well guess what Christmas day I was found sleeping in the hallway, did not get to see Santa but it was a fun magical night for me.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite memories of Christmas was waking up in the morning and having our stockings...
ReplyDeleteOnce our parents were up, we had a wonderful Christmas Breakfast.
Then we all gathered around the tree and took turns opening our gifts. I know money was tight..
but they made sure we had a great Christmas.
I think my favorite Christmas memory was when our kids were little and it seemed like the "perfect" Christmas. They were all so excited, it was snowing, music playing, etc.
ReplyDeleteClaudia
scfranson@charter.net
What a great story!!
ReplyDeleteI think Christmas has always been my favourite time of year. The bedrooms in our house were upstairs and the tree was down. My sister and I would lay at the top of the stairs and try and see what was down there because we weren't allowed to go down until my parents were up. Then, we'd get to go down and do stockings first while my mum and dad got coffee and a little breakfast on. My fav time of year and that first part of the morning was really better than all the other stuff!
Cheers,
Colleen col12@hotmail.com
Hey Jen! Awwww, your story is so sweet. It's a touching happy story. You're lucky to have such a cool brother!
ReplyDeleteI was raised by my grandparents who had no concept of what Christmas was about in the US. Christmas brings back sad memories for me because we never really celebrated it the way typical people celebrated Christmas. . no gifts, no Christmas tree, etc. I received gifts from other people but none from my grandparents. They were absolutely loving granddparents but Christmas was a bust.
BUT!!! New Years was a whole different story! OMG. . .every New Year was a BLAST with all the fireworks. . .not the way it is in Hawaii these days! It was like FULL ON fireworks (you know what I'm talking about). I can't even pick a year because all of them were so much fun!!! I miss New Year's in Hawaii the way it use to be!!
Maria
Hey Jen, your memory reminded me of one of my own. We had Christmas at my Aunt and Uncle's one year. I was very big on religion at the time and the first day my uncle and I got into a big argument about religion. It kind of hurt my feelings, but I decided to enjoy my Christmas anyway. When we opened presents, my uncle kept looking for a special present that he had gotten for me, but we couldn't find it. Turns out the new puppy had been poking around under the tree and had carried the little box out to the backyard and buried it. We finally went out and dug it up and inside the dirty white box was the most beautiful gold cross I had ever seen! My uncle had gone out and bought it specially to show he was sorry for arguing with me. I still have that little cross to remember him by.
ReplyDeleteMy fav memory of Christmas is the smell of a fresh Christmas tree in our house!!! Its not Christmas with the fresh sent of pine in the house!
ReplyDeleteMy fav memory of Christmas is the smell of a fresh Christmas tree in our house!!! Its not Christmas with the fresh sent of pine in the house!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas memory is from when I was about 6 years old. My dad dressed up as Santa and went to all our neighbors houses and handed out gifts (I think this was organized ahead of time because we didn't have much money back then)... he even came to our house and I wasn't sure if it was Dad or if it was actually Santa. My Dad loved Christmas. He is gone to be with Jesus now so this memory is special for me.
ReplyDeletemy fondest holiday memory is going to christmas eve worship. sometimes i would be part of the christmas musical and sometimes i would just be part of the worship. but every year it was special. :)
ReplyDeleteI remember as a kid we used to draw names for buying gifts. (there are 22 grandchildren!) The week before Christmas, the whole extended family got together for fun, a feast and the gift exchange. I don't even remember many gifts - just the fun of being with all the crazy cousins/aunts/uncles!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Christmas memory was when I was probably 7 or 8 years old and I came out to the Christmas tree bright and early. There was a Cabbage Patch Kid waiting for me!! This was when it was really hard to find Cabbage Patch Kids and I was so proud of Santa for fighting the lines in the store to get me one!!
ReplyDeleteCheryl KVD
One of the fondest memories I have is of christmas morning when I was young. My mom and dad didn't wrap one of my santa gifts because it was a large table and chairs set. My dad came to the front door with it and said look what santa left for you. Another memory is enjoying the new fallen snow on christmas eve, addmiring how it looked like diamonds.
ReplyDeleteCrystal
Oh this is so cool!!! I remember going into everone's chest of drawers & taking something from them(my sisters, brother & parents) & wrapping them up as gifts to give them on xmas morning, I was so proud that I gave them a gift. I think I was 7 or 8 at the time. I was crushed when they opened them & made fun of me for giveing them their own things as gifts. I'm the youngest & youngest is my sister who is 8 years older than me, so if I was 7 she was 15, nice siblings ha? They never let me forget that xmas.
ReplyDeleteI think the best memories I have is waiting for Santa and for our gifts.....we were alwyas so excited!!!
ReplyDeletethanks
Marcia
When my children were young, I think I was even more excited than they were on Christmas morning. As a child, I always tried to wake my parents up, starting about 4am. When I was grown up with my own children, I would still wake up about 4am, but my children always slept in till about 7 or later.
ReplyDeleteI have really enjoyed reading everyone else's memories.
Linda Peterson
craftylin1968@aol.com
A favorite xmas memory for me is xmas eve and going to midnight mass. By the time we came home, Santa would have made his visit so we got to open all of our gifts when we changed our clothes and put on our pj's. I promise that was the fastest me or my brothers EVER changed our clothes! haha
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Chance!
I guess mines was when I was about maybe 5. I went to bed and I was awaken by some kind of noise so I looked out of my bedroom window and guess who I saw....yup...it was SANTA...his sled, reindeers and all...the whole sheebang...for real I swear...I got up and woke everyone in the house to come see SANTA in our backyard...they all came to my room to see...and yup Santa must of had a busy schedule because he was gone...every year for a very long time I mean a VERY LONG TIME my parents would remind me of this and even told my kids about this so can you imagine how may years it has been brought up....so what can I say....I truly BELIEVE SANTA did land in my backyard...
ReplyDeleteBELIEVE.......
Hi Jen!
ReplyDeleteThat question made me think...there are some good memories from way back when :)
My favorite is the year we decided to put the Christmas tree on the front porch...where it would look really pretty from the street.
Us 3 kids always got up early, really quiet (mom and dad not up yet), to find 1 gift that Santa left under the tree...and then sit under the tree and open it, and entertain ourselves there until mom & dad got up.
Now that front porch was enclosed, with windows all the way around, but no glass, just screens...and a concrete floor. And we have white Christmas in KY...
We about froze our toes off out there on that concrete floor looking for a gift from Santa. No waiting under the tree that year...we took our gifts and headed back to our beds to get warm!
The tree returned to the living room the next year :)
hard to pick one... We spent Christmas & summers with our godparents & 4 godsisters, closer than our real relatives in heart. One New Years we decided to all go up to our summer cottages on the lake... no winterizing, no running or hot water, no flush toilets, we were kids, snow was waist high, a clothes line hung through our living rooms to dry out your long johns.hehe. New Years Eve we went to my godparents place, and ate great goodies, played cards, it got so hot with 10 of us from their oil furnace, we all stripped down to long johns in the living room, we'd open the kitchen window and break off an icicle from the roof to use as an ice cube in our drinks. At midnight we went out into the clear still quiet night, and screamed and hollered as we slid down the front hill on our toboggans and got soaked. The snow actually sparkles up north it is so clean. I landed on my tailbone which I still feel, but it was worth it...such fun! Happy Holidays.
ReplyDeleteOne of my fondest childhood memories would be going to vermont every year with my mom and her friends to go see the leaves change and get homemade maple syrup!
ReplyDeleteMines has got to be Christmas.... of course... I was very fortunate to have a very memorable Christmas every year... But now that I have the twins... it's not for me anymore...but watching the looks and expressions on thier faces. Now I know what real joy is...
ReplyDeleteWe used to do a little family show for Christmas when we got together with cousins and everyone. I remember singing and dressing up and my grandma just laughing until tears rolled down her cheeks. Good times!
ReplyDeleteIt's a tie between all the really cool Halloween costumes my Mom made for us, or the one year when my brother and I didn't eat lunch at school for like a month (I think I was in 5th grade)and we saved our money to buy my mom a gift certificate at KMart. She bought herself a new turqoise dress with white trim. We didn't have a lot of money either with Mom being a single Mom and all. She really cried. THen she was a little upset with us for not eating.....
ReplyDeleteMy fav memory as a kid is waiting for midnight mass than coming home and opening presents and have everybody over and have a great bit party til wee hours of the morning!!!It was so much fun,not like now a days,everyone has to go home early cause they are too tired from being stressed all the time.
ReplyDelete