Your Favorite Christmas/Holiday Memory?

The memory I recall form childhood is how my dad would go to a lot of trouble to keep us believing in Santa.  From boot prints in the ashes of our fireplace (we never wondered why there were no foot prints on mom's living room carpet-for which she would beat the crap out of even Santa for), to using a long thin board to make sleigh tracks on the roof (he'd open up the dormer window and make that magic).

This will be my first Christmas without my dad, so not sure how it will be.  Have to hang on to the memories.

I spent my father's last Christmas with him. He passed away a month later.

One of my favorites is my dad staying up all night to put together a swing set. He set it up in the barn and when we woke up Christmas morning, he told us we had to out to the barn to feed the pigs or something. We were not happy...until we got to the barn

Dear Friend Spikegary: "Death is when the pain stops, and the good memories begin". {Stephen King - Pet Semetary}.

May the good memories of your late father sustain and inspire you to give good memories to the present and next generation in your family.

During Chanukah every night we would light the Chanukiah candles and sing Mo'oz Tzour (Rock of Ages).

We would spin Dreidles (tops with the Hebrew letters for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham - A great miracle happened there).

We would sing Chanukah songs (Sevivion Herew for Top; Dreidle, dreidle dreidle, I made it out of clay: Chanukah ah Yom Toiv a Shainher (Chanukah a beautiful holiday - Yiddish) etc. 

As e sang we would munch Chanukah Gelt Chocolate coins) and eat Latkes and Sufganiot (Potato pancakes and doughnuts).

Chanukah celebrates having only one day of oil burning for eight days and nights. Fried foods use oil in preparation.

The Latkes we would enjoy with apple sauce and cinnamon.

The Sufganiot we would smear with fresh fruit preserves on the fried dough.

On Chanukah, as on Christmas the warmth and light of the event cut through the cold and darkness of winter.

The warmth and light in both cases symbolized the illumination of religious truth, and the warmth of Divine love.

Song, food and games, presents and family all contribute to our end of year holidays.

Great article my good friend.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours.

Enoch.

Thank you much, my friend.  It has seemed to me that death is where his pain....transferred to us.  It's a new normal for us.

Your celebrations sound warm and inviting.

Happy Chanukah, my dear friend.

Gary 

My Fav. memory was the "Christmas Present HUNT" !

Every year my parents would have a special present for each of us kids, geared specifically for each individual. The catch was, you had to find it.  

When you opened your special box under the tree, there was a hand written special note inside. It would send you to one spot, where a new box was waiting. Open the box, and there was a clue on where to go next... and so on and so on.....until you finally got to the treasure. It usually ended up being 10 boxes per child, sending all 3 of us in all different directions.

It got to be so popular in the neighborhood, that the neighbors would set up lawn chairs on Christmas day, watching us kids running all over our neighbors and our yard, searching for the gold.

Best time EVER !

That sounds like fun....though frustrating un for a young'un.

Not frustrating...... Exciting .

We are doing it this year for my grown kids, in remembrance of my mom.

The grandson won't know what's going on yet, but......it's fun to watch adults be kids again.

Heck, it might be MORE FUN for my wife and I, watching Adults run around the neighborhood.

Mine would be Christmas of 1966. I was the first Christmas that I spent with my family in 6 years. All my military service was overseas, and two Christmases in a combat zone. 

I was more then grateful to be home for the holidays.

I've been away for a few of them over the years.  In the late 90s, I worked for a Bus Company part time (in southern Virginia).  I was hosting family Christmas.  A big storm came through and knocked out power down in Norfolk/Va. Beach and a retirement community lost power and their generators started crapping out.  We all got called and went in and transported these folks to another retirement community.  Different way to spend Christmas, but my family understood (and my dad came with me)-we served out fellow man.  Kind of the whole Christmas thing to my way of thinking.

Mine would have to be the last Christmas that my Mom was with us. My son wanted this game, forbidden Bridges. It was a game recommended for kids a few years older and I didn't get it for him. We made our way to Grandmas house and when he opened one of his presents it was Forbidden Bridges. His little face lit up and he kept repeating I got Forbidden bridges ( so happy I got it on video ). Of course we played it a lot that day and since it wasn't age approipriate for him we just made up our own rules. I'll never forget the look on his little face or the one on my Mom's. They were both so pleased with themselves. Even all these years later every Christmas I flash back to that moment in time fondly. It always brings a smile and a few tears.

Getting the present you want is always fun.  I'm glad you have and can treasure that memory!

The year was 1979, and Intellivision had just come on the market.  My brother and I wanted it very badly, and made this desire well known every single day, even though it was something that was way out of the typical gift price limitations set by our parents.  In a longshot attempt to gain some intel on whether they were privately considering it or not, we put a tape recorder under the seat of their car when they went out Christmas shopping one day.

Amazingly it worked!  What the tape contained was a crystal clear audio recording of a conversation about the Intellivision!  Unfortunately, it was the exact conversation we had expected - "That's just too expensive.  They are going to have to settle for gifts in their price range."

Weeks went by and we had forgotten all about the unreachable dream of getting an Intellivision for our house, and Christmas arrived.  We both about pooped our pants with excitement when we opened up a present, and there it was!!  As it turned out, they had discovered the tape recorder and knew exactly what we were up to.  Well played, Mom and Dad.

That is my favorite Christmas memory.

Great story Hal...Old mom and dad where way ahead of the kids...LOL

Kids always think they are one step ahead of parents.....then they find themselves 2 steps behind!  Nice story!

We were riding through this little town of … 

… I think … Bethlehem … when …

Christmas was the same every year - we'd go to one grandmother's house first on Christmas Eve, then the other's, alternating the order.  We'd stuff ourselves both places, exchange gifts, and hang out with our cousins.  Both of my parents came from big families, so it was always hot and crowded, but we didn't care.  There was never a formal dinner, because there's no table big enough.  We had to grab a plate and a spot on the floor.

We'd come home late Christmas Eve, and our gifts from Santa would be waiting under the tree.  Even after we knew about Santa, we never figured out how our presents got there while we were gone.  Mom finally 'fessed up a few years ago.  "Don't you remember that every year, I forgot something and had to go back in the house after we'd all loaded up the car?  Your dad would sit there with you, grumbling about how I forgot something again, while I got out the gifts that were all organized and ready to put under the tree and in your stockings."  I had completely forgotten, but she did always manage to "forget" the camera, or her purse, or an extra blanket in case we broke down (we always had old cars).

One year, it was really snowy, and we slid off the road.  We were pulled out of the ditch by a guy in a Santa costume, so Santa saved Christmas for us that year.  My sister still believed then, so it was pretty cool for her.  Another year, it was so cold that our tires deflated and pulled away from the rims.  Then the spare did the same thing.  And another year, we broke down on the interstate, miles from any town where we could find a pay phone.  Dad had to walk to the nearest town to call for a ride.  There was a reason we kept that extra blanket in the car.  Funny how even those times become fond memories, although I doubt Dad remembers that walk fondly.

Christmas Eve was the one time my Dad took a chance and picked up a hitchhiker - a woman had broken down on her way to see family, and he couldn't stand the thought of her sitting there on the side of the road, in the cold, or trying to walk at night for help.

Where did you live that it was that cold?  I still try to have an emergency kit in my car (the whole Buffalo thing-it snows here sometimes), though I'm surprised by how many people don't.  They trust their vehicles.  The problem is, everything mechanical, sooner or later, is going to break.  I like the way your mom and dad conspired on the Santa visits!

West Virginia.  It wasn't normally that cold - cold snaps just seemed to happen while we were out for Christmas Eve.

Wow-sure am glad that tire technology has improved so much over the years-you rarely see the kinds of problems we used to have with the old bias ply tires.

I grew up in Eastern New York (Hudson Valley) we used to get some great snow, but not as much.  Living in Western new York now, we see some frigid temps....I'm a winter lover, but after a while sub zero gets a bit annoying.

I'm glad tires are better, too.

If I lived where it gets as cold as it does in your neck of the woods, I'd make sure I could live for a while in my car.  No telling how long you might be stuck, once you're stuck.

Dear Friend Sandy: Great memories indeed.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours.

Enoch.

Thanks, Enoch. Happy Hanukkah.

Christmas 1976.  Opening presents, I opened a small present (which was a belt) and inside was a note that my dad had written telling me to go look in the basement for my next present which was a ten speed bike.  Still have that note tucked away, bike is long gone.  My dad passed away February 1977.  

Thank God for the good memories.  I'm sorry for the loss of your dad.

My story will prove that I was not born weird.  I inherited it from my mother.  I must have been around four when my mother received a beautifully wrapped present from her sisters.  Inside was this panther statue that must have been glued back together numerous times.  It was a large version of the cheap ceramic panthers you would get at carnivals for popping balloons with darts.  My mother hated those panthers with a passion.  I was young but could tell that she was not amused.  The following year I saw her retrieving things from the dirt which turned out to be the turds from our family cat.  That Christmas her sisters each got a box full with a note "From The Panther".

Wow........revenge is......sweet?

Sometimes smelly too.