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I'll Be Home For Christmas, a song that's come to mind. Perhaps going to the Tillamook Air Museum in Oregon, seeing the war birds (planes that flew in WW II), brought back memories of that time---over 80 years ago !
A baby boomer (1946), my folks made lifelong friends in Stockton, California. Pop was in the Army Air Corps, led the band, boost the moral of the troops.
In the 1950's, stayed a week or so with my maternal grandmother in San Francisco. As a child, delighted in all the Christmas decorations, especially the tree in the department store, City of Paris.
Time of reflection, grateful for the precious memories, look forward to the ones to come as I choose to celebrate my Saviors birth.
Please share your memories, traditions of this time of year.
Well, just one and that is that Christmas isn't just on the 25th but through 12th Day (January 6). Coming from a military family where celebrating on the 25th was often not possible, one learned other ways.
I still remember the year I got a pogo stick instead of a bike. If you really want your kid to stand out among his buddies, get him a pogo stick instead of a bike.
A lot of Christmas memories flood back.
We hosted a student friend from Ukraine for the holidays almost 20 years ago, so we had some Ukrainian traditions and food that year. We are still close friends and spend occasional Christmas seasons together. We used to video Christmas morning and the opening of presents. I like to look at those videos now.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We were just in Tillamook in October, and besides the air museum, we had ice cream at the nice new cheese/tour
store. As a kid in San Bruno, CA we had a cheesy 4' aluminum tree and a color wheel shining onto it. There were 5 of us kids at the time in a 2 BR 1 BA house. My older brother and I got the same presents every year - a Hardy Boys book and new pajamas.
One i remember well was in the 1990s, when we gave each of our 3 kids a cell phone. Starting with the oldest, I would call the number of her new phone while it was wrapped under the tree and ask her to go see what was making that sound under the tree. It was fun, and they were all so excited when they saw them.
One thing we did when I was a kid was open presents one at a time. Nowadays, it’s just a free for all. Much prefer getting to see everyone’s gifts and their reactions upon opening.
Back in the '50s my parents always had a real Christmas tree. We'd all go out looking and walking around the lot where the trees were sold to pick out the best tree. It couldn't be too tall or it would hit the ceiling, it had to be "filled out" evenly on all sides, it had to be fresh enough that the needles weren't falling off, and a balsam was the preferred type when they could afford one.
The tree would get set up in the living room, then after dinner, we'd put on Christmas music and decorate the tree. Sparkly garlands, shimmering silver tinsel, the old familiar ornaments that we used every year were carefully hung to look their best, and sometimes there'd be something different like homemade gingerbread men, or kid-made decorations.
The aroma of the Christmas tree was lovely and reminiscent of the forest. Every time we came walked into the living room we could smell the evergreen fragrance and we'd always look at the tree in all its beauty. At night it would be brightly lit and if you turned the living room lights off, you felt as though you were in a magic land. But the best of the best was the night before when we all gathered in the living room, turned off the lights except for the tree lights, and sang Christmas carols while my mother played the piano. And then we could each open one gift from under the tree. Very close to the best part was Christmas morning when we would run down the stairs and open our presents. Every year was different in some ways but one thing that always stayed the same was the Christmas tree and the simple traditions that went with it.
Last edited by in_newengland; 12-01-2022 at 05:29 PM..
One particular Christmas memory was the year I had asked Santa for a new sled. As per ritual, Dad was always the first down the stairs so he could turn on the Tree Lights before my sisters and I would run down the stairs and charge into the Living Room to open our gifts.
This particular year our dog left a present of her own at the base of the stairs, and Dad stepped squarely onto it whereupon the 'gift' gushed up between his toes.
"ESTHER! Come clean off my foot. the dog crapped on the floor."
All I could do was to sit on the stairs and wait, seeing the telltale rear return of a sled runner peeking past the edge of the LR doorway.
I was probably 10 years old, and I still have the sled.
Miss the Christmas times when parents were both alive.
House would be packed. It was a small house and we had a huge family. Lots of presents. Paper wrapping piled up very high after they were opened. We would have music playing. Best time was when my dad picked up our niece and started dancing with her. And he tripped and they fell on the tree - lol. All were okay, but something we can never forget - lol.
When I was a kid we opened our Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve. After dinner we would go for a drive and look at Christmas lights. While we were out Santa would come, so when we got home all of our gifts were there waiting to be opened. I thought that was magical that Santa came to our house early and to this day I still love Christmas lights because of this tradition.
Miss the Christmas times when parents were both alive.
House would be packed. It was a small house and we had a huge family. Lots of presents. Paper wrapping piled up very high after they were opened. We would have music playing. Best time was when my dad picked up our niece and started dancing with her. And he tripped and they fell on the tree - lol. All were okay, but something we can never forget - lol.
Oh no! Glad they were okay. They were lucky.
Made me think of the time, as an adult, I was at my parents' with my cat. Walked into the LR just as the tree was starting to fall over with the cat on it. Just in time --and I never told anyone.
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