Christmas Memories

As always the holidays get here too quickly and then in the flurry of activity they are over. Again this year, I haven't had the chance to decorate because of school and work and frankly I just don't have energy to dig all the crap out just to have to put it away again. We haven't even had the chance to do our Christmas cards yet which I hope we get to do this weekend.

I miss having a real Christmas tree in the house, but I do not miss having sappy cats walking around smelling curiously of pine with the tell-tale broken Christmas balls laying underneath the tree. I do have the holiday music in the CD player and that usually puts me into the holiday spirit.

Lass just got her tree up and it got me to thinking about all the things that are cherished Christmas memories for me. Perhaps they are memories for you as well.

When I was a kid, we always went to my Aunt Emily's house for the holiday weekend. She lived about an hour and a half away which gave my dad and I a lot of time to sing Christmas Carols in the car as much as possible. (This happened even in the middle of July.) My mom particularly loved when my dad sang, because he couldn't carry a note and she was an excellent singer. My nephew seems to have gotten my fathers inability to sing on key. Away in a Manger is a song that always reminds me of my father. Maybe we sang that one the most.

By the time we got to my aunts, she had her place decorated from top to bottom. She always had lots of colored holiday lights especially the old fashioned kind that bubbled when they got heated up. She had one of those ceramic trees painted white that had the plastic colored "balls" that would light up when you put a light bulb underneath. No one decorated like she did!

We decorated at my house too and we usually had a real tree my dad did the lights and I usually got to decorate. We had a handmade manger scene that always went under the tree. After I was done doing the decorating my dad would always say, "that's the most beautiful tree ever."

As I got older, we didn't go to my aunts as much as we had when I was kid. We would usually have Christmas dinner at my sisters with my sister's in laws. There was always tons of food, cookies and presents.

Sadly most of my family is gone so the big family gatherings don't happen anymore. But, as with any family, you make new memories as the years pass. This holiday I'll be making new memories as I join NittanyBri and his family and he joins mine. My nephew will be home from college in time for the holidays but will be leaving shortly afterwards for Fort Lauderdale which is completely not fair!