Ghosts of Christmas Past

I’ve challenged myself to choose my favorite Christmas and found that it is very difficult to do.  Was it the year Santa gave me a book with a clue written in the front about where the next book could be found?  Unfortunately I didn’t realize that it was a clue to another book so it was about two weeks before I caught on and found the next book which had a clue in it pointing me to the next book.  I bet Santa was disappointed that I didn’t catch on to his game on Christmas Day.

Maybe it was the year I woke up in the middle of the night and my mother was at the sewing machine.  She was making doll clothes and working through the night to get that surprise ready for me.  I got a doll complete with an exquisite satin wedding dress and a beautiful trousseau all made by loving hands in the middle of the night.

Christmas as a newly wed was an exciting time.  We always rode through the woods looking for the perfect tree.  Decorating the tree was something we enjoyed doing.  Shopping for the perfect gift that fit our small Christmas budget was a challenge.  I can remember that I wanted some Corning Ware so badly that I could hardly stand it.  I had hinted and hinted hoping that Bubba would catch on.  Then one day a wrapped package appeared beneath the tree.  Could it possibly be the Corning Ware??  I shook the box, no rattles or clinks to give a clue.  I watched it for several days and then I had a brilliant idea.  I took a sharp knife and very carefully cut the wrapping paper from the corner of the box.  Then I cut a small hole, still no clue.  Curiosity overcame me and I cut a hole big enough to get my hand inside the box.  Hallelujah!  It was Corning Ware -- a dream come true!  I put everything back the best I could, but when Bubba handed it to me Christmas morning he noticed that the package had been tampered with. Of course he wasn't mad, but after that, he always hid the presents somewhere else until Christmas morning.

The boy on the right did a good job picking out that
Corning Ware.  Back then, he enjoyed hunting and he usually wanted camouflage vests and caps or fishing gear.  After opening our presents on Christmas morning, we spent the rest of the day with my family.  My brother was thirteen years younger than I was and it was a lot of fun to help him with his new toys.  

Christmas got even better in 1973 with the arrival of our baby girl.  The little ornament in this picture still hangs on our Christmas tree. Don't you love my big hair and dark glasses?


























Christmas 1974 was our first Christmas in our new home.  Amy was one year old and enjoyed Santa Claus for the first time.
My parents always came for Christmas when she was little.  Sometimes they stayed in our guest bedroom and many times they stayed in their motorhome in our back yard.  Christmas was a time for family and being together.  Amy always provided the entertainment.

This is another Christmas that was especially memorable.  It had something to do with the number of screws it took to hold the appliances in this play kitchen together --- about a million I'm told.

Little girls have a way of growing up.
Christmas continued to revolve around Amy but it now included her friends as well.  She always loved presents and surprises.  She would beg for clues and her dad would say something like, "It starts with p..."  Of course the answer was "present".  (Please note that we finally got rid of that hideous orange carpet.  I was quite the interior decorator in 1974.)

In 1993, Amy went away to college and Christmas changed again.  As the time approached for her Christmas holiday to begin, I would clean the house top to bottom and start planning meals for when she was home with us again.  I made sugar cookies, chocolate cookies, fudge, and cakes.  I wanted everything to be perfect while she was here.  We missed her so much and it was so good to have her in the house again.  She was busy with her friends while she was at home, but it just felt good to have her back under our roof even if it was for such a short time.


Christmas changed again in 1999 when she married.  Darryl became a part of our holiday activities.  He and Amy are Christmas opposites.  He does not get excited about gifts.  He loves giving them, but he doesn't care if he gets anything or not.  We have spent a number of years trying to create excitement over opening gifts in Darryl.  Nothing worked until......

Christmas changed again.  Now we have our precious Amelia to bring that joy that only a child can bring to the season.  

Amelia is four years old now and actually talked with Santa.  She can't wait until Christmas Day.  She makes the season special for the whole family.


Christmas will change again this year.  Amy, Darryl, and Amelia will come down the weekend before Christmas to have "Christmas" with us and with Darryl's family. We will have a meal and open presents on Saturday night while Darryl's family will have a meal and presents on Sunday.  Then they will return home to spend the actual holiday.


Bubba and I will spend Christmas Eve and Day just the two of us. We're blessed because we still have each other.  We're making plans that will make the weekend special for us. Things change and that's part of life. The title of this post is "Ghosts of Christmas Past".  It's nice to take a walk down memory lane sometimes.  One of my favorite sayings is , "You can't put a price on a memory."  The memories I have are priceless and I'm very thankful for all of them.  I want to wish all our family and friends a very special Merry Christmas.  Make it a memorable one!