Holiday Blog Event: Becky Condit – Christmas Pajama’s

Christmas Pajamas

When my children were small we fell into rather than decided on certain traditions. On Christmas Eve the children were each allowed to open one gift when we got home from Christmas Eve church services. I pretended to make a difficult choice, then handed each of them the one package they were allowed to open. Somehow they never caught on that it was always the one from their Granny and it always contained some really cool pajamas or a princess-worthy nightgown, which they were allowed to put on right away. My thirty-something daughters still talk about the year they received harem-style pajamas. Bicycles and dolls have been forgotten over the years but those pajamas linger as one of their all-time favorite Christmas memories. Sleepy heads snuggled in while Daddy read The Night Before Christmas, and then off to bed. The result was they always looked nice in the pictures taken the next morning as they opened Santa’s and other gifts. Cute kid pictures on Christmas morning: mission accomplished! This is a tradition that has been retained in our family as my grandchildren now open one gift on Christmas Eve, and it’s always from me and it’s always some really special pajamas or nightgown. They haven’t caught on to the trick yet either, but boy, do they look cute in their Christmas morning pictures. Continue reading Holiday Blog Event: Becky Condit – Christmas Pajama’s

Holiday Blog Event: Rick R. Reed – A Favorite Christmas Memory

One of My Favorite Christmas Memories

One of the greatest joys of my life is my son, Nicholas. He’s far away now, living with his husband, Tarik, in Montreal, but I miss him every day. Around the holidays, I think a little more about Nick and the many happy Christmases we shared when we were all living much, much closer together in Chicago.

Rick and Nick at Mt RainierOne Christmas, though, stands out. Because Nick’s mother and I divorced when he was six years old, we had to share him on the holidays. Usually, I got Nick on Christmas Eve and his mom would take him Christmas Day. One year when Nick was in high school, all the forces aligned to make it a very special Christmas Eve for just the two of us.

It’s seldom we can have the luxury of not sharing our children with others, especially on special occasions like Christmas. But this time, this Christmas Eve, it was just Nick and myself. I will always hold this memory close and dear to my heart, not only because it was just us two, but because of the magic of what we experienced. Continue reading Holiday Blog Event: Rick R. Reed – A Favorite Christmas Memory

Holiday Blog Event: Lorraine Fico-White – A Sense Of Family

A Sense of Family

When I think of Christmas, I think of family. Christmas meant going to my grandparents’ home on Christmas Eve with my aunts, uncles, and cousins to feast on an abundance of food (always several different types of fish), play games, and laugh. We’d sing Christmas songs led by my uncle, who sang totally off-key. We made memories. Continue reading Holiday Blog Event: Lorraine Fico-White – A Sense Of Family

Holiday Blog Event: Melanie Marshall – Memories of Christmas Past

Memories of Christmas Past

Christmas holds so many wonderful memories of family and Christmas past that when Andrew asked me to share something about Christmas especially in regard to families and children, I found myself reliving so many joyous Christmas memories, both from my childhood and my daughter’s, recent and decades ago.  It was a tough choice but in the end I chose to go way back to my own childhood and an overworked Dad and Mom who never failed to bring the magic and joy of the holiday season alive each and every year. Continue reading Holiday Blog Event: Melanie Marshall – Memories of Christmas Past