What do you remember about the holidays?

[Voss102905]

I have quite a few favorite memories of the holidays! I love the holidays.

First, I remember every year we would clean the day after Thanksgiving, and put up pur tree. We would finish decorating the rest of the house (my mom goes all out) and then we would bake cookies. Lots of them!--snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, those ones with the hershey kisses on top, pb magic middles, no bakes, fudge, sugar cookies, lots and lots of cookies!

I also remember helping grandma and grandpa with their tree and after grandpa died, I would still help grandma and I would also help her shop for all 18 grandkids.

Christmas makes me miss my grandpa so much though because we used to help him with the outdoor lights, which grandma does not do because it hurts too much, that was his thing. She gave all of the outdoor stuff to my mom who is just like my grandpa---loves the holidays.

[landtwedding06]

I think my biggest favorite memory is every year when i was younger, me and my dad and mom and brother would drive around the streets near our house and point out the houses that had Christmas lights up. After my parents became divorced it was just me and my dad and brother and that was great too!!!!. It was a yearly tradition for us :). After my parents became divorced, it was just my dad, brother and I and that was great too!!!!

This season is just my absolute favorite. I remember when my dad would put the christmas lights up on our house and when i went to sleep that night, i would have my dad keep the lights on for a little while so i would see them going on and off (blinking lights) and see the different colors through my bedroom window. I also loved going and getting our christmas tree and decorating it that night. FH and I got a real tree this year and I just have that memory from when i was a little girl, bringing home the tree, decorating it and smelling the pine when you walked through the house.

Another one of my favorites was baking cookies. We made "snowballs" (mexican wedding cakes), "jam thumbprints" and "sugar cutout cookies". I loved putting the frosting on with my brother.

And definatly going over to relatives houses and visiting and having dinner and opening presents with everybody!!

I can't think of anymore right now, but if i think of some more i will definatly add them in :)

[Voss102905]

Oh the lights. We used to drive around looking at those too. I remember my dad (my step not real) took us to the Our Lady of the Snow Shrine in Belleville to see their display. That's been years. I am going to ask them if next sunday after Serena's bday and everyone leaves if we (my parents, two younger brothers, ryan, serena and I--sister and bro in law board a plane for vegas after the party) can go to the Our Lady of the Snow display or Tillis Park in St. Louis, I hear that one is awesome.

I remember in Breese the town I live in now a teacher used to go all out. It was a big thing around here. They even did a big write up about him in our paper when he was doing it for the last time (was getting older, too much work). I miss going to see that.
I love forward to my mom's side of the family get to gether. it's my mom's mom, brothers, sisters and her nieces in nephews (my gma, aunts, uncles, and cousins). It's great.

Oh which reminds me. Off to look for a gift for grandma online. I know what I want. Just have to find it.

[JoChelle78]

My favorite memory is having my dad wake all of us (mom, sister, me, & 2 bros) up at 4:30am to see what Santa had brought us! Most of the time he would sit on the couch in the middle and me and my younger brother would crawl up beside him and curl up with our heads in his lap and listening to him breathing and just the smell of him... I really miss that!! Especially now that he is gone... Another tradition me and my dad had was opening his christmas present early (on christmas eve) and taking a shot togather!! Yeah I know alcohol for christmas but it was my dads favorite and he ALWAYS just shook the boxes and threw the clothes to the side without opening it.. so this way I KNEW he would like it and he HAD to open it!! Oh course he still got the clothes lol... Also remember watching all the christmas cartoons that came on christmas eve and having to go to bed early.. just the magic of christmas then... I LOVE christmas breakfast for me, always a warm turkey sandwich and peice of pecan pie!! (not heathly but oh so yummy!!)

[Voss102905]

Jochelle that sounds like fun. Oh and Holidays are never healthy! :)

[mistylark]

one of my favorites was when i woke my mom up at 1:30 in the morning to see what Santa brought. she let me open one gift & then we watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. i still wake up super early on christmas! if lucas & i spend it together i will make him nuts!

another one was when we went to see Santa Claus The Movie http://images.overstock.com/f/102/3117/8h/www.overstock.com/images/products//muze/dvd/163284.jpg on CHristmas Eve in Omaha. As we were driving back to Red Oak, we listened to Xmas songs & the report of where Santa was flying over. We alos took the long way home & looked at lights. I still love looking at lights!

[tomerikandlinda]

I don't have all that many fond memories of Christmas actually.
Christmas in some way always managed to become a very stressful time, my mom being a single mother we always heard complaining about how she didn't have enough money to make things go around (Though she always managed to), and the stress on Christmas eve just ended up with her jelling at somebody for something.

One of the things I remember and actually look back on as a good thing is decorating and such. A lot of the times it also ended up as a stressful event, but there where a few times where it was rather nice, where we just decorated the three together and ate cookies.

I'm looking forward to getting a little family of my own, and make some new memories instead :)

[Jacoby2Seelen]

Well. . .we did Christmas a little different than most, when I was younger. We had Christmas on the 24th actually. . .instead of the infamous "waking up to see what Santa brought and hanging out opening gifts in your p.j.'s" thing. haha When we were younger, santa came on the 24th, and it just so happened that EVERY year it was while we were in the bathtub, getting ready. haha (Because we always went to grandma's that evening). SO, we were in the bathtub, and how convenient for Santa to be able to come down the chimney (that we didn't have) while we were stuck in there and couldn't "peek." hehe So then we would open gifts and be with the family. Then we would go to grandma's (mom's side) and spend time with the family there. On Christmas day, we would go to my dad's mom's house (who we called Nannie). When we were younger our Texas family would be there. So we would spend time with them. Then we would go to "the farm," which was (if you can follow) my dad's brother's wife's family's farm. . .we would eat dinner with them. . .then go home.

When we started getting older was when Christmas got more hectic because my mom was adopted, and we had met her real family. . .so then we had to find more time to spend time with them. They always welcomed us into their lives as if we had been there their whole life, which was nice (they were all at the wedding too). We spent time with them on Christmas day, instead of going to the farm.

THEN, as I got older; we decided we didn't want to have to "rush" Christmas Eve with the immediate family anymore, so we did Christmas with mom, dad and sibblings on the 23rd. . .to this day we still do that (except this year we are doing it on the 22nd. . .which gives me even LESS shopping time. . .haha). Then, after meeting Ric, because his family lives so far away. . .I now get to travel every Christmas. The first two years I would go with Ric on the 24th to VA. The last two years Ric would go on the 24th, and I would follow close behind him on the 25th, so that I could spend time at grandma's for Christmas. This year I'm going on the 24th. . .Ric and I wanted to spend our first Christmas totally together, without going two separate times. . .so that is what we are doing. :)

I LOVE CHRISTMAS. . .because I LOVE spending it with family!!!

[jersey82]

my favorite memory continues every year but this year will be different. christmas morning id wake up fh then go and jump on my parents bed at like 7 am (yeah early i know) then jump on my brothers to wake them up. no one would get up so id keep going back till everyone was awake then we sit around argue over whether or not we were going to watch A Christmas Story (i usually won and we watched hehe) then open gifts. then call all our families and sit around then usually play one of my brothers new ps2 games

[Chi06Wed]

My favorite year ever, was when I was about 8. My aunt (and godmother) took me downtown Chicago to go Christmas shopping and I bought this purple dress with a hoop skirt- I loved it (my mom made me return it since i had no where to wear it!) then after shopping we went on a horse carriage ride throughout the city- it was great!

[AthenaAndGene97]

My favorite Christmas memory has to be when I was a little kid & we still lived in Singapore. Nanny's house was always the best decorated out of all the families' houses. Her house was always full of family & friends & the smell of wonderful ethnic foods cooking in the kitchen. I missed the good old days & I miss my Nanny & Grandpa the most this time of year. Every Christmas since I've moved here as never been the same....

I feel SO home sick now. :(

[aferris]

We would spend Christmas Eve with my dad's family, eat oysters, open presents and then go to my grandparent's church for Christmas Eve service. They lived within 1/2 mile of me for the frist 15 years of my life. So then we head home and open our presents from my parents. We would wake up in the morning and wait for dad to come in from milking the cows and then get to open Santa presents and then head to my mom's family house. I love spending time with my relatives and have so many good memories!!! We have such a good time and just laugh and laugh!! This year is going to be so different because my sister and I live away from home (she is 2 hours and I am 3 hours away) and we have to work around her husband and my FH. FH were together last year but his ex had his girls so he just went with me to my families but we have to fit in his this year, but I think we all have it worked out, we will just be driving alot!! I am excited to spend Christmas with him and his girls though!! He hasn't had them for the past 2 years, the last time he spent Christmas with them he was still with his ex, so I am excited to start new traditions together with them!!!!
We also had a neighbor that had 1,000s of lights and people would drive from towns away to look at his yard, he even asked people to bring a donation to the food shelf to drive through his yard!! I loved looking out of my bedroom window before I fell asleep and watch his yard!!! :)