What is you FAVORITE Holiday Memory?

  I started this  2 years ago and always get such a great response I wanted to do it again this year.  Post your favorite holiday memory to share with us.  I will be bumping this post up a few times between now and Christmas so we can enjoy all the great and wonderful stories.

Here is mine,   please share yours:
My favorite has not changed so here it is again for the new folks and everyone

Growing up every Christmas morning we would go to my Grandparents. Their house was a huge 675 sq feet and here is where they had raised 6 children. Imagine if you will all 6 children plus spouses, grandchildren plus spouses and great grandchildren. 45 or so would enjoy Christmas breakfast together shoulder to shoulderStarting at 7am the crowd would start arriving. The first to arrive would start cooking breakfast. Full on eggs ham bacon biscuts toast coffee, you get the idea. After you ate you took your turn at the stove. Plates would be passed over heads and under tables, thru the windows and out the back door. Everyone ALWAYS showed up and there was always more than enough for everyone the more we ate the more food there seemed to be. It was hot and everyone bumping into each other. The hugs were never ending and the noise, a loud roar. Grandpa would spend the day looking around with his silly smirk and beam at the mob scene he had created. Grandma would radiate with the love she felt so deeply for each and everyone of us. after breakfast came the presents. The tiny front room would be filled to the ceiling with gifts for everone. Grandpa would shop every year and pick out the gifts for each of us. One year while I was in my twenties, he bought me my first power drill. He loved the fact that I worked on my own car and had asked him to teach me wielding, (which he never did, he said that a pretty young lady should never be burned) yet he was so proud of my ambition. Grandma would always hand make something for each of us. Imagine if you will 45 handmade bedsize quilts, or 45 handmade dolls. Each one lovingly crafted with us in mind. She saved old clothes and used the fabric in theses crafts. She made me a doll in a gown made from the fabric of my aunts wedding dress. I have each doll she has made me to this day. I hold dear those memories, the first 30 years of my life were embedded with the love of my grandparents, though they are gone now, I know that they are with us as we carry on our version of the tradition with my own family.

((((((((((Sue)))))))))) Great post!!  I actually have a few.

One would be getting together with my dad's side of the family (mom's side was in Minnesota...I still haven't been there). It was always a big party until gramma passed away. Gramma always had something special for each of us grandkids.

My next favorite memory is the Christmas after Matthew and I started dating. We'd been together since my 17th birthday three months before Christmas and he asked me to marry him on Christmas day.

My next fave is the Christmas after I turned 18, when my parents gave me my first sapphire jewelry. That was very special to me.

And finally, Jason's first Christmas. He was 8 months old and all he wanted to do was play with the wrapping paper...lol

Oh, I almost forgot one. The second Christmas after my daddy passed away, my mom gave me his Star of David. That's the gold one that I wear all the time. The only time it comes off is for surgery or x-rays.

Those are GREAT memories..

My FAVORITE Christmas Memory is of  the times that I lived with my Gram & Pop (or one of my Dads side's relatives) .. Someone in the family (usually my Uncle) would dress up as SANTA. It was such a production for us kids. As we were in the living room just after dinner talking and laughing, we would  all of a sudden  hear bells just outside the house, then we would hear a THUD on the roof..  We always wanted to run outside, but were never allowed to peek (that was against the rules) so as we waited PATIENTLY (okay okay, not so patiently, LOL)  all of a sudden there was SANTA in our house caring his bag of presents.. He would sit and call us up one by one, and give us a present. We got to sit on his knee and talk to him for a bit, then open our gifts. After that he would have to go.. (he was very busy, he always said)     I only was around for a few of these, (story for another time maybe) but oh how the memory is strong..

It will forever be my FAVORITE Christmas Memory.. 

A special Christmas memory which still continues today is our family Christmas party.  On my father's side there were 5 siblings, 3 sisters and 1 brother and my Dad.  In 1955, my aunt hosted the 1st family Christmas party.  I am an only child and my parents divorced when I was 1 1/2 so getting together with my cousins was always a special time for me.  Us kids were always dressed up to the nines and each family would bring presents for the kids.  We would have dinner, sit around and sing Christmas carols have a visit from Santa and then we would ask my Grandmother if we could open 1 present.  Poor Grandmother, we would bug her until she gave in (but truth be known I think she loved it and she was always going to let us open one.)  We got to pick the one present to open and of course we always picked the biggest one, the rest would come home with us and wait for Christmas Day.  We then would all get in our Christmas jammies and eventually fall asleep and then awake either at home in our bed or in a cold car on the way home.

This tradition continues today, we just had our 53 annual party at my house.  Most of my cousins have had kids who have grown up and some are having their own.  My aunts and Grandmother have all passed away and some of my cousins have moved out of state but my one cousin and I continue trading off hosting this party year after year to keep the tradition alive.  Generally there are between 40 to 50 people who come.  We stopped the tradition of bring presents for each other and now bring canned food and toys for those less fortunate.  This year, I was proud because all the food and toys that everyone brought was given to students and families *****side within the school district for which I work and live in.  Talk about feeling good. 

Blessings to you and yours this holiday season.

Always,
Barb

When I was 11 years old my family moved to the "big city of San Jose", at that time it really wasn't huge like it is now. Mom was working at Fairchild and D as working for Safeway as a butcher. But, money was very tight we were paying rent there and a house payment in the foothills. We, me and 2 sisters all new Christmas was going to be sparse. Christmas day rolled around and we opened our gives that morning, all 3 of us were pretty disappointed none of us got anything we had hoped for...We thought it was because we had gotten caught "peeking" at the gifts my Aunt had sent from over seas. So, after we had opened everything we had received, Dad told the three of us to go out to the garage to get some firewood...we all head for the garage and as I opened the door are resounding, "Oh, My God" flew out of my ever running month!!! There lined in a row were 3 brand new, never ridden, 3 speed bicycles.You have never seen 3 more shocked and happy girls!!! That was the last Christmas before Mom and Dad divorced, so, it has bitter sweet memories. Dad always tried to make Christmas a special day.


HUGS
JOY

OH wow Sue, I must've missed this last year... what a nice idea...wow, I have so many, I'll share a couple...my brother who is now in his late 50's told my Mom after Dad had taken he and our older brother shopping for her when he was probably 5 or 6, "I can't tell you what I got you for Christmas, but you won't have to use that dish for butter anymore!"    

Then, I was probably 6 or 7 and I decided that I was going to hide behind the big couch in the living room and wait for Santa!  Now, why I thought this would be ok when my Mom couldn't get w/in a block of the Santa at the mall w/o me  screaming my head off....anyhow, I thought I was quiet, but of course my Dad heard me get up and I was just pushing the couch aside and crawling behind it when he found me.  "Missy, what are you doing?"  "Shhh, I'm hiding from Santa!"  "Honey, he won't come if he knows your awake!"  And with that he picked me up (might be the last time any man scooped me up in his arms...LOL) and put me back to bed....

That's all I can think of right now, but maybe I'll come up with something later...,thanks Sue, that was fun!    Merry Christmas to all my buds on OH!  xo Kim

Sue,
I love you posting this.  I will share mine.  I have 2 that seem to stay with me.  When I was little my Grandma had this gold bell that you would pull the thing in the center and it would play jingle bells.  Well, when we moved from New York to California Grandma gave it to me.  I carried that bell around forever.  I used it so much it eventually broke.
My secobd memory was that when I was in my early 20's I guess.  Mom and Dad would have an open house on Christmas Eve.  Many people would come in and out of the house in the evening. I remember when we got older our friends would come over.  MOm and Dad would continue with the open house.  When all of our friends would leave we would all open our presents.  As we got older the open houses got less.  All of us kids had families of our own. Friends would move away others would get divorced and people went their seperate ways. Then ,as it was just the family Mom still made a a ton of food.  Mom, as she got a bit older she was tired and eventually quit doing it.  It makes me sad that we no longer do that.  Life  now goes own without Mom but I have such great memories.  Thanks again Sue
Love
Liz