Childhood Christmas-time memories?

[Corolla]

I thought this would be a good idea for a thread (not sure if it's been done before but anyway). What are some things you've remembered from when you were a kid around the Christmas season / winter?

Unrelated: That snowman I drew for my new avatar looks almost as bad as the ones I made when I was 9.

[*ClassicPinUp*]

What a great thread!

I have a few favorites; Every Christmas my mom would sleep in the living room so she could 'help Santa put the presents under the tree' while my dad and I slept in their room. I loved Santa as a kid but at the same time I was sooo afraid he would come into my room lol! Every Christmas my poor dad had to put up with me for the night.. I'd ask him "daddy do you think he's hear yet?" "daddy are when will I hear the reindeer on the roof?" Allllll night long until I finally went to sleep.

Playing with the Lionel trains around the tree! My dads been collecting them since the early 50's and his dad started collecting them in the late 20's-30's so we have a ton and I loved/love them as much as he does. We still put them out every year at Christmas (every train is still mint and they run beautiful.. made good stuff back then!) On Christmas Eve we'd have over lots of people and my cousins and I would sit around the tree for hours and play with the trains... only I was the only one allowed to use the control. I thought I was such 'hot stuff' for that

Writing our Christmas letters for Santa. My mom would have my cousins over and us kids would spend the day writing out our letters. We'd then usually visit the craft store and pick up things like glitter, stickers etc. to decorate them with. (I miss that!)

Making gingerbread houses! Candy and frosting every where but we had a blast!

[Corolla]

Originally Posted by AndAwayWeGo

What a great thread!

I have a few favorites; Every Christmas my mom would sleep in the living room so she could 'help Santa put the presents under the tree' while my dad and I slept in their room. I loved Santa as a kid but at the same time I was sooo afraid he would come into my room lol! Every Christmas my poor dad had to put up with me for the night.. I'd ask him "daddy do you think he's hear yet?" "daddy are when will I hear the reindeer on the roof?" Allllll night long until I finally went to sleep.

Playing with the Lionel trains around the tree! My dads been collecting them since the early 50's and his dad started collecting them in the late 20's-30's so we have a ton and I loved/love them as much as he does. We still put them out every year at Christmas (every train is still mint and they run beautiful.. made good stuff back then!) On Christmas Eve we'd have over lots of people and my cousins and I would sit around the tree for hours and play with the trains... only I was the only one allowed to use the control. I thought I was such 'hot stuff' for that

Writing our Christmas letters for Santa. My mom would have my cousins over and us kids would spend the day writing out our letters. We'd then usually visit the craft store and pick up things like glitter, stickers etc. to decorate them with. (I miss that!)

Making gingerbread houses! Candy and frosting every where but we had a blast!

I remember decorating the Christmas tree every year and a few times the Grinch (cartoon version) was on TV so I watched that as I was decorating the tree. I wrote letters too - one that went to a generic "let's make more money from stamps by creating an address for Santa" campaign ran by Canada Post and one to the local newspaper which also cost like $5 or something.

I think the address was:

Santa Claus
North Pole
H0H 0H0
Canada

Something like that... you'd get a letter back too. I was always amazed that Santa had all the time to decorate those nice letters to everyone that wrote. I can't even find a link to the whole "Write to Santa" thing on their website now either - maybe it's over.

I used to wake up at like 6am and rush out to open up my Christmas gifts (stocking first which was hung up in my room) and my dad taped them and never used to get up so I'd get all overexcited and annoyed him until he got up. I gotta rewatch some of them sometime... stopped when I was 9 or 10 I think.

Writing this made me remember how selfish I was. I got the old game boy for my birthday once with one game and the first thing I said was "Only 1 game?!?!"

[AB]

I remember the little silver arificial Christmas tree my grandparents had when I was little. I thought it was so sparkley and pretty. We always had real trees so this was something really different for us kids.

[*ClassicPinUp*]

Originally Posted by ~NeonFire372~

I remember decorating the Christmas tree every year and a few times the Grinch (cartoon version) was on TV so I watched that as I was decorating the tree. I wrote letters too - one that went to a generic "let's make more money from stamps by creating an address for Santa" campaign ran by Canada Post and one to the local newspaper which also cost like $5 or something.

I think the address was:

Santa Claus
North Pole
H0H 0H0
Canada

Something like that... you'd get a letter back too. I was always amazed that Santa had all the time to decorate those nice letters to everyone that wrote. I can't even find a link to the whole "Write to Santa" thing on their website now either - maybe it's over.

lol, we didn't have anything like that. We'd address the letter- To: Santa at the North Pole- and pop it in the mailbox... the mail man would just leave it in there and either my mom or dad would quick run and get it back out before I went to check. There use to be a website where you could track where Santa was but I'm not sure if that's still around (will have to check).

Originally Posted by ~NeonFire372~

I used to wake up at like 6am and rush out to open up my Christmas gifts (stocking first which was hung up in my room) and my dad taped them and never used to get up so I'd get all overexcited and annoyed him until he got up. I gotta rewatch some of them sometime... stopped when I was 9 or 10 I think.

That's so cute! I need to watch mine too I use to be the first one up at like 5am and I'd run through the house on the way to the Christmas tree screaming "it's timmeeeee!" Most of the time I'd have my presents open before anyone could grab the camera.

[PZelda]

It just so happens that my very first memory takes place on Christmas of 1986... Almost 21 years ago, when I was 16 months old. We celebrated Christmas at my paternal grandparents' house. My grandpa gave my four-year-old sis (now 25) a really nice and very big dollhouse that he had built all by himself. It may have looked plain, but it was pretty ****ing awesome and certainly held up WAY better than the dollhouses that are made today, plus our Barbies could comfortably fit in the rooms he had made. We still have it. At least, my dad does in the attic at his house. Me being 16 months old at the time, remember thinking to myself how big it was because it towered over me.

As for the grandpa who made that dollhouse... He recently passed away about 1 1/2 months ago (I made a thread here when he died). So the dollhouse is a nice way to remember him. He put a lot of hard work into building and painting the dollhouse and all the little details. It seriously looks professionally done... That's how skilled he was.

[Corolla]

Originally Posted by AndAwayWeGo

lol, we didn't have anything like that. We'd address the letter- To: Santa at the North Pole- and pop it in the mailbox... the mail man would just leave it in there and either my mom or dad would quick run and get it back out before I went to check. There use to be a website where you could track where Santa was but I'm not sure if that's still around (will have to check).


That's so cute! I need to watch mine too I use to be the first one up at like 5am and I'd run through the house on the way to the Christmas tree screaming "it's timmeeeee!" Most of the time I'd have my presents open before anyone could grab the camera.

Yeah, you can still "track" Santa.

http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.htm

[theshark8777]

If you address it to Santa, North Pole, you will get a letter back. At least in the USA, and I think worldwide, even without a stamp.

[coffield3]

My best was going church on christmas eve with my dad mum brother and sister, we dont do it anymore as we all have different lifes now. I have great memories of them times, i wish my dad was still alive, he would of dragged us no matter what!!

[Brieannas21]

I can remember my Christmas speeches that I had to recite every Christmas eve at Church, I can still remember a few of them to this day.

I also remember the Christmas when I was 5, I could have sworn that I saw Santa under our Christmas tree, I was on my way to my parents room (half asleep) on Christmas Eve

And I remember when I was 6 and I gotten my "big girls" bike, my first bicycle without training wheel.

[coffield3]

Originally Posted by Brieannas21

I can remember my Christmas speeches that I had to recite every Christmas eve at Church, I can still remember a few of them to this day.

I also remember the Christmas when I was 5, I could have sworn that I saw Santa under our Christmas tree, I was on my way to my parents room (half asleep) on Christmas Eve

And I remember when I was 6 and I gotten my "big girls" bike, my first bicycle without training wheel.

Me too!

[treky]

I can remember how the ENTIRE family-aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and our family-used to gather at my grandparents house every Christmas eve when I was little. She used to INSIST on it, and noone ever had the "guts" to tell her "no". (she was exactly like Marie on "EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND"-really!! ) In fact, I remember one year we couldn't make it, and she got mad and didn't talk to my parents for a few years.
Don't get me wrong, though. She had a lot of good qualities about her, and I'm sure she thought she had good reason to act that way.

I also remember, on a local kids show every Christmas eve they would say how "Santa had been spotted in the sky over our area" and they'd make it look official by showing a radar screen, and saying how they were "tracking" him, and on the screen they'd have a little white dot and say that it's Santa I remember me and my sisters and brothers used to watch that and really believe that they were "tracking" him! And how we'd always be sure to go to bed early that night-O, what memories!

[Corolla]

Originally Posted by theshark8777

If you address it to Santa, North Pole, you will get a letter back. At least in the USA, and I think worldwide, even without a stamp.

I'm pretty sure a stamp was always required here.

[Penny Lane]

My dad used to put on his Santa hat and beard and go outside at night and look through the living room window to see if we were being good. Well, this one time my brothers and sisters and I were fighting and there he was in the window shaking his finger at us. My gosh, I was paralyzed! I was absolutely certain that nothing would be coming my way that year! But it all ended up ok.Man, that scared the doodoo out of us!

[Sterling Holobyte]

What a nice thread idea, neonfire.


When I was little, we lived out in the country, and there were tons of pine trees on our land. So every Christmas we used to trek out into the woods and search for the one that would make the best Christmas tree. My dad or sometimes one of my older brothers would cut it down, and we would all drag it back to the house through the snow. The early darkness of the season added an almost magical atmosphere to our quest, even though we played in those woods all the time. But during this time it was special and really brought us into the spirit of Christmastime.

I'm so glad I grew up there by those woods. It was such a great place for a child's imagination.