Christmas Memories

My Oldest Christmas Ornament, originally uploaded by Snakelover61.

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The little toy solder Christmas ornament is made from a wooden clothes pin. It is, by far, the oldest ornament on my tree. I was a mere child when I first received it. It decorated a present given to me by my uncle Tony's girlfriend, Carolynn. I think she made it herself, but I could be wrong on that point. No matter. I was just a kid, but I can remember she was very sweet to me and I loved her just as much as I loved Tony. They were going to get married and that would have suited this little boy just fine!

But Tony was tragically killed in a car accident while they were in college. Carolynn picked up her life and went on, eventually to become a wife, mother and, I suspect, a grandmother. I hope her life is filled with joy and love.

This was one of our family's ornaments as I grew up. When I was all grown up with Christmas trees of my own, my mom made sure I got it. It represents my childhood to me. And two people I loved, but who left my life far too soon.

I'm still making Christmas memories. Mindy and I went to a Christmas party at my mom's. We played a matching game where you had to guess which person was responsible for each piece of Christmas trivia. It could be a favorite memory, a favorite present, a Christmas tradition or just a little-known fact. As long as it was Christmas related and wouldn't be common knowledge of the people at the party. Anyway, I thought it might be fun to share some with you.

Here's Mindy's...

"The house I grew up in had no fireplace. Since it's common knowledge that Santa comes down the chimney, we had to build a cardboard fireplace every year to facilitate his entrance. I have no idea where one buys a cardboard fireplace (maybe Sears and Roebuck). But we had one. We hung the stockings on the chimney with care, with a stick pin. The fireplace had red brick, white mortar with a black shelf on top. And we had some orange paper flames with an orange light bulb behind to similate a nice cozy fire."

Sweet, isn't it? Can't you just imagine a sweet little baby-girl Mindy eagerly awaiting Santa next to their cardboard fireplace? Awwww!

Here's my mom's...

"Christmas time is full of wonder for me. It is truly a time of love, joy and sharing. My first memory of our Christmas tree was purchased from a "tree lot" then decorated with lights, cardboard ornaments and lots of tinsel icicles which had to be carefully draped - not thrown - over the limbs. The kids would pick and string up red berries along with freshly popped corn to use as garland."

A simpler time, for sure!

My own was just a bit of trivia that I didn't think many people would know about me. "I prefer my egg nog diluted with skim milk." I love the flaver of egg nog, but it's just so thick, it doesn't seem like a drink. So I mix just a little skim milk in it to thin it down. Oh, and of course, sprinkle with nutmeg!