I don’t know about you, but I’m scared of all this threatening talk between the US and North Korea. I need memories of my childhood to focus on so I can sleep at night. So here goes…
I love, love, LOVE Pinterest! Think of anything….some obscure thing from your childhood…and you can just about guarantee someone has posted a picture of it. Like…Glass Wax Window Stencils! I remember the can, the color, the smell, how it felt when it dried on your fingers. I could hardly wait for Christmas so we could get a new set.
And spray snow in a can…remember that? Oh, that stuff was wicked awful. Who knows what kind of chemicals were in that stuff? We would spray it around the bottom of the windows to look like drifted snow. And I would spray it on a mirror that mom set on a table then I’d set up ice skaters and make it look like they were skating on a pond.
Ribbon candy? And those straw-like candies that were crunchy on the outside and had some sort of chocolate on the inside. And Christmas morning we would have an orange in our stocking. Or better yet, a couple of tangerines. And a candy cane. And a handful of nuts, in their shells. And a Lifesaver Storybook! We didn’t have much money when I was growing up, but we had enough for a stocking and a couple of toys. I remember the year I was ten…I got a bike! Somewhere there’s a picture of me in my baby doll pajamas, my finger over my lips and my eyes open wide as I caught sight of it! It was blue. One speed. I think the metal label said JC Higgins on it.
There were a lot of Christmas memories that I used to drag around like a load of bricks…usually surrounding my dad and alcohol. But now? Since I lost Mr. Virgo, I’ve decided to rewrite history and just remember the good parts. There was almost always a doll. A game that my brother and I had to share. Clothes. (Insert eye roll here) I begged Mom to wrap every single thing so it felt like I got more stuff. (See? I learned early about accumulating “stuff”!)
The paper was thin and printed with what are now vintage Santas or Rudolph or stripes or metallic foils. There was flat satin ribbon when we were a little more flush. Usually it was curling ribbon and a bag of cheap bows. And gift tags! There were little gift tags made out of card stock with “Season’s Greetings” and “Silent Night” printed in glitter with a space for “To:” and “From:”.
Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. Christmas and my birthday. Some of my very best memories totally surround those two days. What are some of your best Christmas memories? Did you go caroling and sledding? Did the neighbors invite you in for hot cocoa with a big melty marshmallow in it? Did you build snowmen and forts for epic snowball fights? Let’s share some warm fuzzies and forget about the scary stuff for a little while. ❤️
“Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”
Matthew 18:4-5 NIV
My stocking had the same! Orange, candy cane, lifesaver story book… maybe not nuts, don’t remember those! Every Christmas I think of that.. ice skating at the park pond, someone always had a fire going in the fireplace in the covered pavilion to escape the cold. I had one of those aluminum saucer things, and in the back alley, on top of a little hill on the neighbors property, we went down that hill across the intersection of the alley all the way down! What fun!! And just walking at night in the silence when it snowed! We would get 2 mail deliveries cause there was so many people sending cards… i use to wait for the postman to get the cards! I still have just 4 of my Moms decorations, I guess you can say it’s molded plastic. Santa, tree, snowman, Rudolph, about 12″ high. All these memories come alive in my mind this time of year…
We had the same stuff in our stockings. Sometimes our Santa would add the Whitman sampler.
I remember that same stocking! Sadly, I don’t remember too much about Christmas from years ago. I do remember that we didn’t have much as a sharecropper family. I was the youngest of 4 kids….I suppose I was an accident because all my siblings were much older than me. They were all grown & gone from home so they helped Santa Claus bring me a few things for Christmas. My Mama’s chicken & dressing & coconut cake were my favorite foods for Christmas. I remember being in the kitchen with Mama when she was preparing real coconuts! I loved eating those big chunks of coconut! As far as memories of special gifts I believe my first bicycle would be one of my favorite gifts but I always wanted cowboy boots so one year I finally got those!! I probably thought I was the best cowgirl in town. Obviously, I was a little tomboy! I do like Christmas but this time of year brings back sad memories & I think it’s a time when people get too carried away with overspending/celebrating therefore forgetting the real meaning of Christmas. We should look for those that are less fortunate & do what we can for them….IMO❤️
Christmas Eve was always spent with my Moms family. We exchanged gifts and supper was light with tuna fish and pimento cheese sandwiches, I this kind so we could get to the sweet treats that had been lovingly made by my mom, aunt and grandmother. I remember the tablecloth being pink felt with tulle overlay that had sequins sown on spelling out Merry Christmas. My g-mothers favorite color was pink.
My sister and I always got a new pair of Christmas pj’s or gown, often homemade. Santa would come while we were sleeping. I just have such vivid memories of the beautiful ly lit tree with what seemed like lots of toys underneath. I never counted. It looked like a lot and I was never disappointed. There were some years when money was real tight but I never knew it at Christmas. I got a pink big-girl bicycle when I was about 9 or 10. It was second-hand and Daddy had painted it. I loved it. I also got the candy cane, one of those big fat ones that we had to crack and break off with a hammer :). I also remember the year I snooped and found the transistor radio that was to be under the tree so that ruined the surprise for me. I gre up in west Texas so we rarely had snow. Never any ice skating or sledding. I love those memories.
Awwww…I love the pink tablecloth! I can see it sparkle in my mind. And a pink bicycle? Awesome! Mine was blue. Thank you for sharing such sweet memories, dear one. ❤️
Kinda sad when you have a parent that “ruins” Christmas, my Dad did that every year with his drinking, but my Mom tried her best to make good memories, and I will be ever grateful for that. A magical silver tree with a color light and a train around the bottom are what I remember. Still have nativity set pieces from Mom’s sets through the years. They are included with my Fontanini set that we “multiplied” after getting camels. Even though it’s not “correct”, I have “half of Bethlehem “ in my nativity scene and if i put nothing else up for Christmas, my nativity is front and center!