Christmas memories past!

[Ian Gentles]

We are all kinda poor, mom and me shared front top bedroom in granddads two bedroom house. So mom would have the tree up at the window, many a joy as night I went to sleep looking at the lights.
Granddad always dressed up as Santa for Church parties. On one occasion when i was older, uncle drove him to cousins dressed in his Santa outfit, my kids along the way stared and pointed!
Big family Christmas dinners were special, well granddad was the king of the family. Boy those meals were something, so many crowded in!
What are your memories of Christmas past?

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[Jim Franklin]

Christmas 1940 we traveled from Carthage, SD to Missouri Valley, IA in our 1936 Pontiac to be with my mom's parents. My older half brother, Fred, was still in the home and a high school junior. As we were driving along US 75 near Sioux City the road was snow packed and icy and there were cars off in the barrow pit on both sides of the road and dad was being very careful but despite his caution before it could prevented we had joined the congregation gathering in the barrow pit. I, at 3 1/2 had been riding on a pile of blankets and lap robes that were stacked on one side of the back seat and my Fred was on the otherside and as we went into the slide I followed gravity off of the stack of blankets and my brother caught me before I landed on the floor when out of fear I instinctively said, "You dumb Daddy," and my brother gave me a wallop that he had saved me from letting the floor do the job. Nearby a farmer's wife saw us slide into the ditch and sent her husband out with his tractor to pull our car out. Meanwhile she had called for mom and us little kids (sis had just turned 2 a month earlier) into her kitchen where she prepared hot chocolate for us and I remember to this day the two snow white Husky dogs that they had who we kids enjoyed while the farmer, dad and brother proceeded to get the car pulled back up to road level so that we could proceed on our way. By the next Christmas the US was in WWII and my brother was a Senior planning on joining the military forces as soon as he graduated. Christmas at our grandparents was very special because that is the only time we were able to spend Christmas with them.

[Linda Schroller]

One of my favorite memories is going out to cut a Christmas tree. Probably not what you are imagining. We would usually cut off a small mesquite bush plant (very thorny) and put it in a coffee can of dirt. With gumdrops on the thorns, a few tiny balls and some tinsel, gorgeous!! Once in while we would dig up a small yucca and put the gumdrops on the ends of the spines.

Mama's homemade orange slice cake--that HAS to be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. (No recipe, so cannot make one.) The smell of her fudge and the taste of her divinity candy. Her German chocolate cake.

The nervousness before the school Christmas play.

Going quail hunting Christmas day.

The hundred foot tall wonderfully decorated tree at the bank. (Ok, so it was only a story and a half lobby. When you are two year old short, it looked a hundred feet tall.)

Driving 38 miles in a sandstorm to see Santa Claus and talking about the trip to Bethlehem.

Ribbon candy and okra looking hard candy. Mama making peanut brittle and vegetable soup.

Christmas Eve (as an adult) at a drilling rig.

[Anne and Dwayne Hood]

Mother use to buy me a doll every Christmas. One year, I remember seeing my old doll laying in the floor. My heart went out to it, and I just had to pick it up and hug it. I felt it was being neglected and pushed aside for the new "Baby."

One year Daddy found one of those dolls, that for some reason, was called the "Cheerwine" doll. It was three feet tall, and daddy was so proud of finding it for me, but I was embarassed, because I thought I was too old for a doll. One time he bought me a box of Chocolate's called Queen Anne Chocolates. Mother usually picked and bought our Christmas, but if he found something he felt was special, he would buy it. One year he found a clutch pure like the girls at school were carrying. They sold so fast, they were hard to find. They either said RHHS or Bearcats on them-Rock Hill High School. He ha left us by the next Christmas after that gift-I was 15.

Daddy always bought fireworks for us to use on Christmas Eve, but not on Christmas Day. I guess they looked at it something like a Sabbath.

I remember, once looking under a bed, probably for a shoe, and saw a box with a bride doll in it. I never told mother. ha

The Christmas Day meals were wonderful, but we got tired of all of that rich food, so mother would always have a pot of what some people called soup beans, already cooked, for when we were hungry for some "soul food." Also, lots of people came around visiting us during the holidays. Rev. Mrs. Pressley, our pastor, always dropped by briefly--probably making her rounds to a lot of houses. Our home was a house that people always accumulated at, during special times. It seemed to draw them, like a magnet.
We were taught that our parents were our Santa Clause, but mother always let us have Santa pictures to color, and a few Santa decorations.

We didn't have Christmas Eve services. We always had New Year's Eve-Watch Night services, that were well attended.

I remember attending a Christmas Eve Service once in my life, and I caught myhair on fire with a candle.

I dreaded the church Christmas program, if I was going to have to sing a solo. Once I got Sister Pressley to let me stand behind a curtain to sing. When I finished, I startd turning around in a circle, due to being so nervous. She turned me around and sat me down. Mother never alowed me to say , "No" if I was asked to sing.

We always had joyful Christmases, but some have had happenings in our married years, that were sad, during that time of the year. We actually need prayer right now, due to Dwayne's youngest brother being flown to the VA Hospital in Nashville today, with congestive heart failure. Philip, our son is going to go over there, to be with his wife.

[Terri Knoll]

my favorite memory is the year after we got the aluminum tree. Dad put it out in the yard with a rotating color wheel lite. It was so pretty against the white snow with the differing colors (red, green, yellow) I am picturing it now lol

growing up with 7 brothers and sisters Christmas was always lots of fun. Especially when Santa left the full bag of gifts!

my favorite memory of my children was the year Daddy/Santa put the presents under the tree while mommy and the kids hid behind the couch. We could hear Santas bells and his putting the presents under the tree. After he left, we saw the snowprints on the carpet and the cookies missing and the presents. The kids had the biggest eyes!

my favorite memory of all tho is one year going to chop down a tree. In upper lower Michigan (you have to be from upper lower Michigan to understand that lol) alot of the roads are just not plowed. Daddy said I can take my truck in there...ha...we got about 1/2 mile and got stuck stuck stuck. We went and chopped down the tree, put it in the back of the truck, then I sat with the kids in the warm truck cab while daddy shoveled out 1/2 mile of 4ft deep snow so we could get the truck out and get home foflol. (actually I did get out a couple times to stand on the back bumper for extra weight, but I didn't try to be macho and drive thru 4ft of snow lol so I thought macho man should be able to get the truck out as he got it in)

thanx for the memories :basic05

[Jill Mickelson]

Memories....
Huge one was when I was supposed to be sleeping, Santa came in to my bedroom and left me a little red rocking chair. I was maybe 5? (Our parents didn't know Jesus)

My parents were drinkers. So there was little money. One night, near Christmas, the Salvation Army brought us a huge box of toys! I was quite young. But that gift was a thrill for us! I won't pass a red kettle without putting money into it.

Another huge memory: I was married. My sister and brother and I sat together in the front pew. The Church was crowded. During the candlelight service, my brother's candle started tipping over. All three of us were ready to BURST out laughing. But this was a solemn moment, we were in the front pew, and everybody was singing "Silent Night". Thankfully we kept our laughter inside! We knew this was a precious moment for the 3 of us. A month later, our brother got hit by a drunk driver and our brother died. We were thankful for this precious memory!