Christmas is a celebration of life! I love Christmas and I especially love the memories that Christmas holds for me. My favorite memories of Christmas are from my childhood and youth, and I thought today, rather than talk about health, I would share some of my favorite memories with you. My hope is that I trigger some happy memories for you, and I hope even more that you share your memories with others that you know! Sharing those memories are the greatest gifts, aren’t they?
Speaking of gifts, do you have that one gift that jumps out of your memory as the greatest one of all? I can hardly contain my memory to just one! In fact, I will share several of my favorites with you. One year I got, from Santa, a 1/32 scale slot car race set! I spent hours setting up the track (in a designated space set aside by my mom) in the corner of the living room and entertained myself for hours.
Another great gift that became and annual stocking stuffer was the Book-O-Mints from Life Savers! It was a struggle to make those rolls of Life Savers last until New Year’s Day!
My dad was never a big guy for gift giving, but he made one of my all-time favorite gifts one year with the book of home-made gift certificates. He had randomly cut strips of paper with his terrible handwritten scrawl proclaiming such glorious gifts as “one no punishment”, “one stay up 30 minutes after bedtime”, and even “one eat out”. Dad was always a practical gift giver. He would buy and wrap a screwdriver set, a box of paperclips, or a roll of stamps. I would love to get just one more of those gifts this year from him if I could.
My mom had great gifts and great memories that she gave as well. Naturally, most of the gifts under the tree were of her selection, but she had others that were great as well. Mom always put out a Christmas Day spread for all the relatives that was spectacular. I look back on how tiny her kitchen was at the time and ama amazed that she was able to pull that off! Mom also loved to watch kids get super excited over Christmas gifts. One of my favorite memories of Christmas came as my wife and I would bring our four children and my sister, and her husband brought their three children to mom and dad’s house for Christmas Eve. Mom would have presents for all of us spread out under the tree! The presents covered the entire living room floor. The kids could hardly eat, and they literally trembled with excitement as they came into the house!
Some other memories of Christmas that I recall were more events than actual gifts. Mom and dad always took my sister and me on a shopping trip to the mall. I would be given $20 and told to take my sister and we were to shop for gifts for mom and dad. (That was back in the day when kids could be safe roaming the mall by themselves.)
Another great memory for me at this time of year was my sister and I standing in the living room watching out the big window into the back yard. The snow was deep and there was the heating oil man dragging a hose over to the underground tank cap in the back yard. He looked so cold and miserable, but she and I were so warm.
The last great memory I will share with you is the joy and thrill of the candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. Everyone standing in just the candlelight singing Silent Night was an emotional experience for me that still moves me to this day!
I want to thank you for letting me share a few of my Christmas memories with you. I pray that you have and share your wonderful Christmas memories with your family and friends this year as well! God bless you, be safe, and have a very Merry Christmas!
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