Christmas Past

[Diane Amberg]

 My Christmas memories were wonderful too. I didn't have any family here except my parents and sister. We were here and everyone else was in Kansas and Oklahoma.  We always had a big white pine that went up the week before Christmas and we took it down on New Years Day. Later on we would have the Mummers Parade on T.V. and do the mummer's strut around the living room as we took the garlands off the tree.  It's a wonder the ornaments survived!
We had stockings on the fireplace that we could raid before breakfast, but the living room door was closed and off limits until after breakfast was cleaned up.  Then Daddy would go in and turn the tree lights on, and we would be welcomed into the living room.  It always smelled so good...pine, vanilla and Scotch Tape.  To this day, the odor of Scotch Magic Tape makes me think of Christmas. We got wonderful gifts, some very practical, (clothes) some creative, (Tinker Toys) some arty, (modeling clay, watercolors and drawing paper.) Mom would sometimes make doll clothes, sewn or crocheted and there were  boxes from the relatives.  Grandpa Boyd always sent a big box of pecans, as well as personal gifts. One of my favorite gifts was a box with holes in it that was under the tree when I was 5. It held a Banty rooster and a little hen, who were named...what else, Cocky Doodle and Henny Penny.  She lived to around age 10, and he lived to a ripe old 13, and died on Christmas Day. The Christmas schedule changed as we got older, but we always managed to have Christmas Dinner at ''home."

[Bonnie M.]

"was pleased I had a gift for every adult."

Flo, to this day, I find much more pleasure in giving than receiving!  You learned that at an early age.

And, Wilma, I've heard of having the "real" candles on Christmas trees, and I always wondered how in the world they could do that, and the tree not go up in flames?  Apparently the tree was just freshly cut, and still had a lot of "sap" (moisture?) in it.  What a beautiful sight that would have been!

And, Diane, your Christmas's would remind me more of the way it was when we were raising our children, as those years between our ages does almost create a "generation!"  There was a "huge" difference in the Christmas's from when I was a child, and the Christmas's that our children would remember in our home as they were growing up.  But, in both generations, we always believed in Santa Claus, and we still do! 

[Diane Amberg]

I've been told that back when there were real candles lit on trees, as you said, the trees were very fresh. The candles would be in little tin holders that clipped to the branches and were lit for only a short time when the gifts were being given out. There was a container of water and a sponge on a stick to dab any needles that did begin to smolder. Unfortunately, there were some serious fires then, as now.

[Wilma]

I don't know how often my grandparents had the real candles.  It might have been the only time as they didn't from the time I can remember.  And their house didn't burn down.  They lost it in a tornado 3 years later and I do remember that.

[frawin]

One Christmas I remember was I came down the stairs early to see if Santa had been there!  At the bottom of the stairs was the front door (with a glass window in it) and it looked across the pasture to the neighbors a mile north.  Well, when I looked out the door as I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw a small red light off in the distance.  I remember running up the stairs again  as fast as I could go waking everyone saying Santa had just been there and I saw Rudolph.  Several years later, my parents told me that what I saw was actually our neighbor's tail light and he was feeding the cattle early so they could celebrate Christmas.  What imaginations we have as children!

Myrna

[Janet Harrington]

We would always go to Grandma Hancock's farm and get a tree.  A real tree.  To this day, real cedar is still the best smell.  Grandma would help us pick it out and when she did, we always got a big one.  When mother and daddy picked it out, it was a small one that would go on the table.  One of my best gifts I got from Mother and Daddy was a guitar.  I learned to play that and played at school, home and church.  My fingers can remember the fingering, but my callouses are gone, so it would hurt to play now.  I still have two guitars stowed under the bed that probably couldn't hold a tune now if they tried.  We always had homemade directions, especially stringing the popcorn.  Sometimes more popcorn was eaten then got strung for the tree.  We always kept the tree up until at least past my birthday.

[greatguns]

Oh yes, the cardboard star wrapped in foil.  Not only did we string popcorn on the tree but some years we got to string cranberries also.  There were two men in Latham that always went and got our tree for us.  Mother allways told them to get a small one and we girls told them to get us a big one.  Every year when they got to the house with it they would have to cut it off so it would fit in the living room.
  Christmas was more of an event than going to the closet and getting out the artificial tree.  You knew you would get a new pair of fannel pajamas for Christmas.  We always got one new toy until we were older then it was a new board game for all three of us.
  I think one of the most fun Christmas's I remember was the year Dad dumped a cigar box of pennies on the floor and what you got was all the pennies you could scoop up.  My middle sister got the most and that was 53 cents.
  I can't imagine any child getting to excited over a handful of pennies or new PJ's in this day and age.  After all how much thought and love is put into gift cards?
  It is such fun to read of everyones Christmas's past.  Merry Christmas!

[Janet Harrington]

Out of all my Mother's pictures, this is one that I really like.  This is my Grandmother Hancock, Mother's mother.  Grandma was always one to make fun out of everything.  She was always a kid at heart up until she died.  Her last words that I remember her saying were when my husband, Jim, played Santa Claus out at Twilight Manor and he got Grandma to raise her head and answer "Santa Claus" when Santa asked her who he was.  Always a kid at heart.  Now, I was too young to remember this picture being taken, but it is my favorite.