Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Favorite Traditions....

This morning... in the midst of our "snow day"... Mickey and I began talking about our Christmas memories... the things that we remembered from our childhoods. Do any of you remember getting bags with oranges and peanuts? Mine came from our school each year. Our bus driver gave each child a box of chocolate covered cherries... I LOVE THOSE to this day!!! My parents had an angel that was placed on the tree each year... they STILL have her. She graced their first tree in 1954! Each year I loved to watch my dad place her atop the tree... and then he would declare the tree "the best we've ever had".

With our children, I always watched White Christmas each year. We would make it a special time, and they all grew up loving the movie. We would also take a day to bake and decorate Christmas cookies for Santa. The recipe book we used is the same one we used when I was a child.

As a small child, I remember going to my grandparents on Christmas eve to open gifts. The TV was left on so that we could watch the progress of Santa as he headed toward our home from Louisville. My grandparents had a silver tree with a colored disc that would spin... changing the tree from red, to green to blue to yellow, over and over. And my grandmother would always make rice crispy treats, sitting them outside on the porch to cool.

As our oldest daughters have started families of their own, we have had to "adjust" a few traditions... but we still have some... and they are beginning their own.

This weekend we will travel to celebrate the holiday with Mickey's family, where we will observe their traditions, and the week Christmas will officially begin for us. So, I was wondering... what traditions do you observe? What memories are dear to you? I'd love to hear all about them!!!

Merry Christmas... and I hope that your memories spark a warm and fuzzy Christmas feeling for you all!!!

5 comments:

Rebecca Jo said...

Teenie always gave us Oranges with Peppermint Sticks... somehow you stuck them in the oranges & then sucked through the mint like a straw... I didn't like it - but my brother LOVED it!!!

Teenie would also make every year "Fruitcake Cookies" - everyone hated those except me... maybe I just have weird taste!

Anonymous said...

We still watch White Christmas while putting up the tree and have made christmas cookies twice now.

Anonymous said...

We have always done our christmas on christmas morning and then gone to Grama and Pa's house except for that one year... what a sad year that was!!

Terry said...

I love our traditions. Most started with the birth of my oldest...25 years ago! Never heard of oranges for Christmas :-) Hmmmm, Maybe I'll stuff some stockings with healthy treats this year. The kids wake up with stockings next to them in bed on Christmas morning...Maybe santa can give them a little snacky before we are forced to emerge from our bed, hehe! My grandson and daughter will be with us again this year.

Cookies and wrapping are coming next week! Terry

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