[renielarson]

I was about 7 or 8 years old and beginning to doubt if there was a Santa or not. On Christmas Eve, my parents tucked me into bed and I fell fast asleep only to be awakened by the sound of jingle bells. My bed faced the bedroom door and through that door I could see the house front door. As those bells woke me up, I could see Santa walking in the front door. I was so afraid he would know I saw him that I turned on my side, buried my face, and went back to sleep! I didn't doubt there was a Santa that year! God Bless my parents for setting up that scenario and creating a lifelong memory!

[senior citizen]

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[graciegirl]

I started to type Renie, but that memory was making my eyes get all wet.

Those people in that very early memory are all gone now.

So I will tell you that last year, just the three of us, found Christmas here in a magnificent way. We missed the Ohio part of our family that couldn't be with us, but they will THIS year...and Santa lives here in The Villages.

Please come see our tree. It will be up by the seventh. New memories this year. And wishing good ones to you.

[2BNTV]

The magical part for me was being at my Aunt Virginia's and Uncle Joe's house, where all the family gathered. I would count 60 to 70 people were over her house for coffee and cake in the evening, (20 to 25 for dinner). It was tight but no one cared, as everyone was having a great time. My uncle Joe who was a quite type guy, really enjoyed seeing everone together moreso than my aunt, who was a very cogenial hostess and very outgoing. They made a great couple, who was admired by the whole family.

We had a Santa every year, and my cousin would pick the person, who the kids didn't see very much, as they were always trying to figure out who was playing Santa Claus. One year they came up with the brilliant idea ,to check all the men's shoes, and tried to identify Santa that way. Of course, we all denied being Santa. I was never Santa, as I was usually at their house, a lot.

Another memory is my cousin Ginny bought gag gifts for everyone, (adults and children. My Uncle Bluejay had gotten cancer one year, and had lost all bus hair due to chemo. He sat in Santa's lap and received a............
wait for it..........





















hair brush!

We all joined him in laughing as everyone thought it was hysterical.

I miss those great times, and those seven course dinners. Those were the days.

[senior citizen]

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[2BNTV]

Same to you.

My Aunt had this Xmas tree that was silver. In today's world, it would be considered to be very ugly, but it was beautiful back in those days. IMHO

[OBXNana]

Mine was more recent and about 10 years ago. All 3 kids were home from college and couldn't wait to see all their friends. As parents, we were kind of sad we'd only have a couple hours with the kids, but knew this is all part of the process as they grow up. We got pounded with a couple feet of snow Christmas Eve. Nobody was going anywhere. Our 3 kids (in their 20's) put on their warmest clothes and headed outside. They shoveled several of the older peoples driveways and sidewalks. They then went into the back yard and made sled paths like they did when they were younger. In total they were outside at least 15 hours. They said they had the best Christmas ever and we all still talk about the unwanted snow storm turning into a blessing.

[redwitch]

Two Christmases really stand out for me. The first one was truly magical. We were in Munich, Germany. My mother being German followed the old traditions faithfully. That meant no tree until Christmas Eve. We went to Midnight Mass and still no tree. Of course, being 4, I was very fretful and truly feared the Krist Kind could not find our house or leave his gift under the tree if there was no tree. We got home from church and the tree was in the living room -- it was the biggest tree I'd ever seen. Under it were the gifts from the Krist Kind thanking us for our year of devotion. To this day, I still don't know where my parents hid the tree until Christmas Eve, let alone got it decorated and out.

The other was in St. Petersburg, Russia (Stalingrad) back them. This was in the mid-50s and, of course, religion was pretty much banned in the Soviet Union, even the embassies had to keep religious celebrations pretty quiet, which meant no decorated trees or buildings. I was so sad that we couldn't celebrate Christmas properly and, of course, wondered how St. Nicholas and the Krist Kind could possibly come to this country where they were so hated. Of course, both came as planned but it was still a sad kind of Christmas Eve. I went to bed expecting Christmas Day to be pretty anti-climatic. Instead, I woke up to a true winter wonderland. It had snowed during the night and St. Petersburg was all glistening white with its beautiful gold domed buildings. We, as a family, exchanged our gifts, had our Christmas breakfast and then played in the snow all day. It has become one of my favorite memories both because of the sadness of a nation that could not celebrate and the beauty that came.

[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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[renielarson]

Originally Posted by redwitch

Two Christmases really stand out for me. The first one was truly magical. We were in Munich, Germany. My mother being German followed the old traditions faithfully. That meant no tree until Christmas Eve. We went to Midnight Mass and still no tree. Of course, being 4, I was very fretful and truly feared the Krist Kind could not find our house or leave his gift under the tree if there was no tree. We got home from church and the tree was in the living room -- it was the biggest tree I'd ever seen. Under it were the gifts from the Krist Kind thanking us for our year of devotion. To this day, I still don't know where my parents hid the tree until Christmas Eve, let alone got it decorated and out.

The other was in St. Petersburg, Russia (Stalingrad) back them. This was in the mid-50s and, of course, religion was pretty much banned in the Soviet Union, even the embassies had to keep religious celebrations pretty quiet, which meant no decorated trees or buildings. I was so sad that we couldn't celebrate Christmas properly and, of course, wondered how St. Nicholas and the Krist Kind could possibly come to this country where they were so hated. Of course, both came as planned but it was still a sad kind of Christmas Eve. I went to bed expecting Christmas Day to be pretty anti-climatic. Instead, I woke up to a true winter wonderland. It had snowed during the night and St. Petersburg was all glistening white with its beautiful gold domed buildings. We, as a family, exchanged our gifts, had our Christmas breakfast and then played in the snow all day. It has become one of my favorite memories both because of the sadness of a nation that could not celebrate and the beauty that came.

My memories are no where as significant as yours. Red. Yet, memories are memories and I have another one...maybe when I was about 5 or 6.

My family was poor. Not because they did not work because both my parents were teachers. It was because my dad had heart problems and needed a lot of medications that were not covered by insurance back then. By the time he bought his meds, we had little income to live on the rest of the month.

We kids never asked for much at Christmas. Not that we didn't want presents but because we just appreciated anything we got. However, down the street was a small grocery market. It had a shelf running above the produce section where gifts, for purchase, were displayed. My eye caught the BRIDE DOLL!

That was it...the Bride Doll...and I wanted her so bad! I asked to go to that little market every day so I could stare at that doll. I loved her so much and wanted her for my own.

Christmas Eve came and I had a nightmare. I dreamed that Santa didn't come to my house! I dreamed he passed me over. I woke up crying and crying and crying. My mom and dad tried to console me. Nothing worked because I was convinced Santa wasn't coming.

Well, to make a long story short, we had Christmas in the middle of the night. I got to open my present from Santa and it was my beloved bride doll.