When you were a kid...

[vraiblonde]

...what was your favorite part about Christmas?

My favorite part was going to my grandmother's and eating dinner off the good china. She only used it on special occasions, so it was a big deal when I was finally old enough to set the table with her good dishes. That coincided with me graduating to the adult table and leaving my cousins to their baby table.

And Gran's silver! She kept it in a case and it had to be polished periodically. Nobody does that anymore.

 

[vraiblonde]

Ooh, remember the Sears WishBook? My cousins and I would pore over it for hours.

 

[GWguy]

Ooh, remember the Sears WishBook? My cousins and I would pore over it for hours.

I remember that book being used as toilet paper in the outhouse.

My favorite time was the night before, when the house was dark but the tree was all lit up. The anticipation.

 

[itsbob]

Ooh, remember the Sears WishBook? My cousins and I would pore over it for hours.

Growing up an Army Brat overseas all of major shopping was done from Sears catalogues.. Wishbook got wore the hell out. Their RoughRider jeans, on the other hand, NEVER wore out.

When we got back to the states a trip to a REAL Sears store was like going to Disney! Remember back then they had snack stands.. like a carnival. Popcorn, sodas, candy apples.

K-Mart had Slushees..

 

[littlelady]

I remember that book being used as toilet paper in the outhouse.

My favorite time was the night before, when the house was dark but the tree was all lit up. The anticipation.

You grew up with an outhouse? Sears Roebuck catalog/Wishbook was like the Bible to my father. He never owned a credit card in his life and Sears was his go to. I remember the candy counter in the store, and the fruit slices. That was a big deal at Christmas. You are right, though, the anticipation was everything, and I was never disappointed. I found a lot of Christmas past when I recently moved. Sad, but happy.

 

[littlelady]

...what was your favorite part about Christmas?

My favorite part was going to my grandmother's and eating dinner off the good china. She only used it on special occasions, so it was a big deal when I was finally old enough to set the table with her good dishes. That coincided with me graduating to the adult table and leaving my cousins to their baby table.

And Gran's silver! She kept it in a case and it had to be polished periodically. Nobody does that anymore.

My favorite part was my parents; creating memories that I had no idea what it would mean to me all these years later. I found that out when we were in the process of moving in the past few months. I was trying to clean out and had a lot of heirloom silver, china, and crystal that I wasn't using. Well, I called Chesapeake Auction and they said that doesn't sell, anymore, so don't bother bringing it in. Times have changed. Sad, really. Does anyone dress for holiday dinners, anymore, or is it just jeans and sweats? I miss my parents. They were the best, but they still give me great Christmas memories. I am glad the auction house didn't want my stuff. I was meant to hang on to it. Maybe, being proper and respectful, and using nice things will come back into fashion. and

 

[Bobwhite]

...what was your favorite part about Christmas?

My favorite part was going to my grandmother's and eating dinner off the good china. She only used it on special occasions, so it was a big deal when I was finally old enough to set the table with her good dishes. That coincided with me graduating to the adult table and leaving my cousins to their baby table.

And Gran's silver! She kept it in a case and it had to be polished periodically. Nobody does that anymore.

The Christmas tree all lit up.
Driving around to see how other people decorated their houses.
That feeling you get...and
The music...oh, the music.
Watching White Christmas.

 

[my-thyme]

The basement was where most of the Christmas decorating was done, and the tree was down there!

My mother would never put the baby Jesus in the nativity until Christmas morning, we never knew where she kept him until then. Christmas morning she and daddy would go downstairs and plug all the lights in and place the baby in the manger. And Santa never wrapped gifts, so they were the first things we saw...

I am the oldest, so I had to follow the littles downstairs.

Oh, oh....the bar was also downstairs. The day we put the tree up, mom made fondue and we kids got to sit on those tall bar stools and eat fondue in between putting ornaments on the tree. She had three pots - hot oil for beef cubes, cheese for bread cubes, chocolate for cake cubes.

Thanks for the memories, mom and dad! And thanks for reminding me to remember them, Vrai!

 

[NorthBeachPerso]

Nothing. I despise Christmas and that hasn't changed in 60 plus years. When I was little it was like being waterboarded without the benefit of water.

I will admit it was almost fun when the kids were little, then we went to my mother's house and the whole family got waterboarded.

 

[Misfit]

We’d hang our biggest socks in the living room where the tree (real tree) was. Mine was one of those knee high athletic socks with the stripes that made me look really cool in gym class with my short shorts and rec specs. Anyway, we could never sleep and my dad would always end up threatening to beat the Christmas Christ out of us if we didn’t shut up. I’d end up sitting at the top of the stairs by about 3am waiting to hear my parents move so I could pounce them and go downstairs. We had to take turns opening presents which was torture.

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

Finally to be able to set up the train set around the base of the tree. And playing with it nearly everyday until Christmas in the living room that no was was allowed, (us kids), to go in unless we had "company" over. Then, the next morning, all us kids would go outside to survey what all the outer kids got for Christmas. A new Schwinn, or those metal roller skates, GI Joe etc. and play all day together with our new stuff. In addition to the new chest of drawers amount, it seemed like it, of all the new clothes. Underwear, shirts, pants, jeans, etc. Then, and maybe the best part, was to visit the Aunts and Uncles to find out what they got for us. Oh, there's so much more that made Christmas soooo much better back then than today's Christmas.

 

[mAlice]

If I may ...

No, you may not. Good grief, if you say that IRL every time you speak, people probably run and hide from you.

 

[vraiblonde]

then we went to my mother's house and the whole family got waterboarded.

(Not at the memory, just the way you put it.)

Anyone remember the Life Savers candy "books"? I was probably the only kid in America who actually liked those and looked forward to them.

 

[Grumpy]

...what was your favorite part about Christmas?

The pine smell from the xmas tree..The turkey roasting in the oven on xmas morning. Christmas carols on the stereo.

 

[RoseRed]

No, you may not. Good grief, if you say that IRL every time you speak, people probably run and hide from you.

That grates on you, too!

 

[Homer J]

Some great stories here. I remember going to church on Christmas Eve. We always had to wait on Mom. We were in the car ready to go and she always had some last minute thing she had to do in the house. Strangely enough, Santa always stopped at our house while we were at church. We opened presents on Christmas Eve when we got home. I remember one year Santa actually came and knocked on the front door while we were playing with our new toys. Freaked me the hell out. I found out years later it was really the boyfriend of the girl who lived up the road. Her folks actually had a horse drawn sleigh that they had restored and he rented a suit and went out and visited a few houses with small kids. What a treat!

 

[my-thyme]

Anyone remember the Life Savers candy "books"? I was probably the only kid in America who actually liked those and looked forward to them.

Loved them! They were in our stockings every year.

 

[itsbob]

(Not at the memory, just the way you put it.)

Anyone remember the Life Savers candy "books"? I was probably the only kid in America who actually liked those and looked forward to them.

EVERY year.. Part of our stocking loot.. Loved them..

 

[Blister]

My fondest memories are Christmas morning breakfast, Dad would go to Wood's Produce about a week before and get the Hot link country sausage and hang it up in the garage to dry so the skin would get nice and crisp. Played outside with all of the kids from the neighborhood, usually a big football game, or bike riding on the trails in the woods if someone got a new bike. Back home for a big turkey dinner, basically Thanksgiving all over again. Most years we would be joined by a stray kid or two, that were brought home by my older brothers or sisters.

 

[mAlice]

That grates on you, too!

Yes. I'm 'bout ready to iggy it.

How are you today? Good thanksgiving? We went to my uncles again. Looks like it's going to be one the new tradition, which is great. We didn't have family up there, so T-day was always unremarkable.

Spending the rest of the holiday working around the house. B built new shelves for the pantry yesterday. I can find stuff now. Like the 3 bags of flour I didn't know I had. It's taking forever to get everything put away and organized.

Tomorrow we have the hearing for our business license.

I stay so busy that, at the end of the day when I climb in bed and turn on the tv for a little down time, I'm asleep 5 minutes into whatever we're watching.

Livin' the dream!

When you comin' down to see us?