Christmas Memories....

A dear blog friend of mine asked me to pen my fondest Christmas memories and then ask 5 more blog friends to do the same. I have to admit that my first thought was...how can I fit this in with everything else I have to do??? But now, with a few more things crossed off my list, I am excited and ready...

My childhood memories of Christmas are wonderful and warm!!! Everything about Christmas was Currier and Ives at our house. My mom loved to bake so there were lots of baked goods around the house. My mom would bake cinnamon buns and purposely let them remain undercooked so that the ones in the center were gummy, just for me. She made creme cheese danishes that would melt in your mouth and we had them the whole month of December.Also homemade eggnog. I would awaken to the smell of coffee and the sounds of Johnny Mathis singing Christmas songs, songs that I still love today. We lived in New Hampshire and Idaho before that. In those days you hiked into the nearest wood and cut down the tree of your choice, trudging through the snow I might add. We always had white Christmases in those states. Mom and I would make homemade ornaments for the tree a lot of times and we had those large, colored lights that I loved. (As soon as small white lights came out, my father opted for them, but I always loved the colors!) We always were involved in church and Christmas services, singing hymns and carols in a little church nestled in the valley. Sledding and hot cocoa were a constant around the house. I always left a note and cookies for Santa and started Christmas Eve out on the couch in front of the fire place. Somehow I always awoke in my bed on Christmas morning. My stocking was always filled and every year it contained chocolate covered cherries and an avocado. Because I was an only child, my mom and dad and I took turns opening gifts and our Christmas morning would take glorious hours! But, you really got to see the expressions on each face as we opened our gifts and I still prefer this way today? Jesus was the center of life, at Christmas and everyday before and after. In our house , Santa did not diminish Christ's birth. He simply aided in the tradition of gift giving which we did in honor of the ultimate gift of Jesus Christ given to mankind. I am sure that I am forgetting many aspects of my childhood Christmas, but I do remember crying at the end of the season, year after year, because I longed for it not to be over. It was magical. The whole Earth was decorated for the birthday of Jesus, whether it acknowledged it or not. The soul seems lifted during the Christmas season, then and now. I am sure this is God's doing, quickening our hearts and minds to be mindful of him.
Merry Christmas everyone!!!!
Now to pick 5 more friends to share thier Christmas upbringings:
Jody
Karin
Joanie
Nicole (who just returned with her newest daughter from China)
Mary Beth Chapman (couldn't hurt to try asking)

Here is the blog address of my friend in Colorado. She has a very unique Christmas upbringing in South Africa. http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/ Stop by and pay her a visit!