25 Days of Christmas: Christmas Memories

"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."

-Charles Dickens

I have so many memories of Christmas growing up.  Whether it be Christmas gifts I received, Christmas eve happenings, or Christmases spent with family, they all remind me of happy times.  Below I am sharing with you a few of my fondest and most interesting Christmas memories.

Christmas Eve:

I'm not entirely sure what year this occurred, but I'm guessing 1996 or 1997.  When I was younger, my parents would have allow us to open one present on Christmas eve (a tradition I came to dislike-I don't think presents should be opened until Christmas).  Well, on this particular Christmas eve, I remember opening up these Pocahontas moccasin slippers that my mom had bought while she was in Minneapolis for work.  Just as we had opened our gifts, we heard a loud noise and the power went out.  I remember my dad throwing on his slippers and running outside while my mom tried to keep my sister and I calm.  Evidently, a man had been driving drunk and run off the road taking out our split-rail fence and hitting the utility pole.  The whole ordeal made for a very memorable Christmas in my little brain.  I learned from my parents that the man later came back to our house and apologized.  He was going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and the apology was part of the 12 steps.

Here's a photo of my little sister and I when we were younger.  Aren't we precious?! :)

Christmas at my grandparents:

When all of us grandchildren were younger, we would go to my grandma and grandpa's for Christmas.  There would be presents under their tree for each of us and one of us was designated the "elf" to pass out the presents.  I remember I always searched their tree for a little ornament made out of an egg shell that had glitter on the outside and cotton and a little person on the inside.  I cannot tell you why I was so fascinated with this particular ornament, but I was.  Those Christmases were full of family, okay food, handmade Christmas presents, and Christmas carols.  My grandma had these little carol books that she would pass out to us all and we would sing from them as she played the piano.  Now our family is spread across the country and all of us are grown up, but I hope we can all get together again and reminisce about those happy Christmas times.

Beanie Baby hunts:

Remember Beanie Babies?!  They were all the rage when I was younger.  When we lived in Pittsburg, KS, my dad would take my sister and I to this store downtown on Saturday mornings to get the newest released Beanie Baby.  That Christmas, my dad hid Beanie Babies around the house (two of each so it was fair for my sister and I) and we had to find them.  They were hidden on the fan blades and in all sorts of other places.  It was so much fun!

What are some of your favorite Christmas memories?  Happy December 2nd everyone!