Last night (wee hours of the morning to be exact) I shared a bit of a photo and mentioned a "Giveaway". I said I would be back this afternoon to post the finished item and to tell you what the giveaway will be. And here I am! There is, of course, a story behind this so here goes...........I love Christmas and all the memories and meaning that it holds for me. I have friends who celebrate Hannakah and many others celebrate holidays that I am sure carry some of the same feelings that I have for Christmas. I think that for many of us, the celebration of our holidays could be summed up as ...... a celebration of family. Holidays seem more joyful when celebrated with family and friends. My heart aches for those that must spend it alone. My own heart has been heavy of late because it will be the first Christmas without my dad. Some would say - he lived a long full life, let it go. And, you know what, I will. Time heals all wounds or so they say (do you ever wonder who "they" are?). But right now, and especially this past month, I have just had a really hard time. In preparing for this "Season of Joy", I was having a hard time seeing the joy. To try to grab some of that spirit, I stay busy with many volunteer actitivies and such and I participated in swaps but something was missing. I couldn't focus but then, I sent a package off to Nanette and quite by accident, it became a package that was filled with "JOY". It was originally going to be just a little package and then I kept tucking things into the box. I had to find a bigger box. We have enjoyed getting to know one another these past months and Nanette is one of my favorite bloggers (I had a message from her this morning that gave me "Joy" and also one from Nihal, another favorite blogger, that gave me "Joy" and will tell you about that one in tomorrow's post). Nanetter took the weekend off from blogging and so did I. My grandson was here so we had lots to do! Enjoying time with him and with my family at Thanksgiving helped me see the "JOY" that is right here with me all the time. I've always known that but sometimes things get us down and it's not easy to remember that. I've said before that I feel very blessed but feeling blessed and feeling joy are two different things. Yesterday, when I took my grandson home, I stayed to visit with my daughter, Collette, and she was doing a cross stitch piece for my mother while I was adding loops to stockings to donate to our local toy drive - and we were all watching "Home Alone 3" (funny but totally implausible). We talked about Christmas and plans and when we would go to see my mom/grandma in Iowa. And we talked about how we could make it a Christmas that was joyful and not a sad because my dad/grandpa wouldn't be there. We think we have a plan but it might change between now and Christmas. I'll be sure and post about it here, of course. Just before I left, I shared the quote that was on the daily calendar that Collette gave me at our retreat. It said "When hard times hit, take comfort in life's cycles and know that this, too shall pass." (It's from a calendar of quotes with artwork by Karla Dornacher. I love her work!)
I take comfort in knowing that I am blessed with lots of family and friends and I take great joy in that. There, I combined the two and they are one!! I am blessed with joy!! When I got home, I felt so much better and I finished up more stockings for the toy drive and then I got inspired. I would make a stocking that would celebrate "JOY"! And, in fact, I would make two - one will be for me to use to share my message of "JOY" when I set up a table at our local Holiday Showcase this coming Sunday. I haven't done this in years but I want to let others know that I enjoy doing programs about my quilts, penny rugs, singing, volunteering, etc. I have a plan and as it unfolds, I'll tell you more and let you know if it works, too. :-)
The second stocking and the one in the picture is for one of you!! Each day I will put a Christmas fat quarter in the stocking. All you have to do is leave your name and tell me if you had a Christmas stocking as a child. Share that memory if you would, please. And since you might have more than one memory to share, here's the deal..............you may tell me more than one memory and so you can get your name in the drawing many times if you share many memories. The only rule is that you may only share one memory each day between now and December 24 on this post. Now that means that if you share a memory every day between now and then, you'll get your name in the drawing 24 times!!! My resident Santa Claus will do the drawing. Ho!! Ho!! H0!! Just remembered, there is one other rule - you must provide an e-mail address or blog so that I may contact you if your name is drawn!
So, share some joyful memories with me. They will help to brighten my spirits. My dad would think this is so much fun that it will make me smile to think of him every time I read your memories and comments. 'Tis the "Season of Joy", for sure!! It's the start of a merry month. Time to turn up the Christmas tunes and do some more tree decorating!! Then tomorrow, I can put together my ornament swaps and get them in the mail. I feel better already!! Have a good Monday!!
Later friends,
Sandi
I am so enjoying all the comments and memories you are sharing. Tell me any Christmas memory even if you never had a stocking! I just love reading them!!!
87 comments:
Hi, Sandi: No, I don't recall that we ever had Christmas stockings. Times were tough on the farm back then, and we were grateful to get a gift. Sometimes purchased with S&H Green Stamps!
Hi Sandi,
Yes we had Christmas Stockings, actually they were not fancy just our everyday handknit knee high socks. This was in England just after ww11. The stockings actually were great fun and always had an orange and nuts in the foot.
Christmas is hard when you've recently lost a loved one. Hope it helps you to know that your blog brings much JOY to people. Ruth
Sandi, you are JOY to so many people! The stocking is beautiful. I am the 4th of 8 children and each one of us had a stocking handmade by my mother, along with one for Mom and one for Dad and one for my grandmother who lived with us, so 11 stockings hung by the chimney with care. As each of us married and moved on, we brought our own stocking with us. I still have mine and I treasure it.
More Christmas memories to come!
I'm still looking for one more PIF participant...just click the button on my sidebar if you're interested!
MGM
Oh Sandy! I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. You take your time healing your heart. I'm so glad that you are finding little joys around. We love you and take whatever time you need!
Christmas memory: We, me and my sister, had the same kind of stocking from my Grandma. Hers was a kitty and mine had a bear. Every year our stocking would be filled with the 'stuff' we needed for the year...like hairbrushes, socks, bras batteries if we got a battery present. I really enjoyed opening it up to see what color toothbrush I got!! :)
I'll be back tomorrow! Thank you so much for this giveaway!
Yes, I remember stockings. Sometimes just a sock filled with fruit & candy, but it was so exciting as a child. I will pray that you will have lots of joy this Christmas.
Hi Sandi
yes one of my grandmothers always made sure we had a stocking for Christmas! And there would be one at her house and our house.
mary in H. Va
mwallace37@cox.net
Sandi,
Six stockings were hung on the fireplace at our house every Christmas. My mother made them out of red felt and they had a white cuff. She used glue for our names and sprinkled glitter to make them all sparkle. Stockings were filled with candy, oranges, socks, underwear and a few wee gifties that Santa found in Chinatown. We had to wait to open our presents, but the stockings could be opened as soon as we woke up. Many, many happy memories of ripping and tearing into those stocking. Life in an eight person household, was very special.
Anne Marie - Toronto (aka Amri - you can find me on the Pickle Posse, or in your email addresses, thank you very much)
I love all your comments!! Yep, giving me smiles and bringing me joy!! Here's one from Candy that she sent via e-mail.......
"We always went to Gram's on Christmas day. One year there were stockings hung on lines across the kitchen like laundry! It was a big surprise since we hadn't done that before. The surprise of the colorful things was a great joy for me and my younger sister and brothers."
Isn't that a picture to remember? I love it!
That is a long stretch for my memory...lol But the earliest I can remember is yes, I did have a people stocking, or one that was purchased made up of a mesh bag and full of fun things.....This goes back over 65 years, too...
Char
What a cute stocking. It would look great hanging on anyone's mantel.
One Christmas each of the older girls (I'm the 4th and last 'older' girl in the family, the three girls younger than me were called 'the little guys'...go figure!) received a Madame Alexander baby doll and a wicker basket to keep her clothes and things in. My mother embroidered each doll's name into the fabric of her back so we would know which doll belonged to which girl. My doll's name was Linda I think. Where I ever came up with that, I don't know. I must have had a friend named Linda.
Joy to you Sandi, and to all your readers!
MGM
Hi, Sandi: Christmas Memory #2 is the year I had chicken pox and had to stay at home while the festivities were at Grandma & Grampa's house next door. I remember standing on the sofa, looking out the window at their lights. I'll post a happier memory tomorrow!
Beautiful stocking, Sandi. As children, we didn't have stockings at Christmas except this one time, when we hung actual socks for Santa to fill. The next morning, they were full of melted chocolate candy.
Sandi, what a sweet thing to do. Your Joy stocking is lovely - really sweet and cheery. I think you really got it right when you talked about good memories making you feel better. I loved the quote too about "this too shall pass". So so true! I need to tell myself that all the time.
I did have a stocking when I was young. It was a hand-me-down because my oldest sister didn't hang one anymore and there are a lot of years in between us. But I didn't mind. Most everything I had was handed down. I remember coming down on Christmas morning to the tree lit with all the gifts underneath and the wonder and excitement of it all. Then I would discover my stocking - it always always always was the same. And I love that. I had an orange or tangerine, a candy cane, nuts (with shells on) and some loose candy. I was always so excited. The puzzling part was that by some miracle a bowl of nuts and oranges were on the table in the kitchen - and they hadn't been there before. How did the same things in my stocking get on the table??? hmmm I didn't really care but it puzzled me. Thanks for sparking that memory. It has put a huge smile on my face!
I remember so clearly our Christmas stockings when we were young - all five of them hung on the wall - no fireplace. They were red felt with white felt cuffs. Our names were on the cuff written in glitter. Beads and sequins decorated the stocking. I still have mine and will always treasure this childhood memory. I do notice how much smaller our stockings were than the ones of today. Guess that is the change in times as all we expected was candy and fruit in our stockings - no gifts. Of course, this was probably fifty years ago! Everything has changed since then. I really miss the simpler times.
Ayyy.. mamma mia Sandi dearest...
What a lovely top banner you placed, I'm drawn very much when my eyes firstly see it, you're so talented Lady indeed:)
As for my unforgettable memory..
Me, my mother and my sister had Noel stockings handmade, even ornamented and some painted in so creative ways. It was a very fun and lovely, maybe a bit tiring time for us but the result was awesome. Some pastries here even ordered to my mother, and I remember we had received a very good profit from selling some stockings:)
After that, till today we never sold our stockings but made only for our home:)
Hope you find this memory interesting Sandi:)
May Joy and peace find you not only these days but every second you breathe Sandi. You're again so generous to offer this giveaway. Count me in, who knows what Santa will bring us;)
PS Last weekend I was busy w/ my ornaments, Finally all done perfectly, and ready to post in London. I'm tired a bit...
Hi Sandi, this will be our 1st Christmas without my MIL & my grandparent (passed away this year). Sadly they seem to be the glue that kept family coming around. But I am joyful that my eldest is coming home for 3 weeks from college. And my little family will be complete. I made us new stockings last year --will have to dig them out and post a picture on my blog. Angie
Memory # 3: The only thing I have from my childhood (and I was probably about nine years old) is a tall walking doll I got for Christmas one year. I don't know what happened to her original clothes, but she's wearing a green sheath sweater dress -- made out of a sweater sleeve with spaghetti straps. She was purchased with S&H Green Stamps. Must have been a tough year. Her name is "Ellen". I know because I wrote it on the bottom of her foot at the time!
Morning, Good morning Sandi:) Hope this quick note finds you in the best of health bringing a biiiig smile:)
Another 'good' reason to visit me when you can -if you love surprises;)
Give my all best wishes and warm hugs to your Mother.
Ok, Sandi, here's another one for you...My grandmother lived with us for all my life until she passed away and she was always the cook, among many other things. For Christmas, she would always make noodles from scratch. She would make the dough which included ingredients such as - so many handfulls of flour, so many eggshells of water - you get the idea. I've never tried to replicate it! Then she would roll it out very thin and roll the dough up into a log, slit it down the middle long ways about half way through, then slice it and spread out the noodles on a floured towel to dry for the day. She always had to make much more than we needed for dinner because we would always sneak a few every time we walked by the kitchen. What was left at dinner time was cooked in a big pot of boiling turkey broth and that is what made the gravy for on top of the mashed potatoes! No wonder we are all a bit on the chunky side! The smell of Christmas dinner cooking and my very busy grandmother working in the kitchen all day are two of my very favorite memories.
MGM
My twin sister got a beautiful knitted stocking from her teacher, back when we exchanged gifts at school. My mom loved it so much, she figured out a pattern from just looking at my sister's, and then knit one for me. One side is a Santa face, the other has a Christmas tree. Our names were knit in the cuff at the top edge. I still have my mom's pattern, and even though I don't knit, I've found knitters to make ones for my kids, and now, for my grandkids as well! Thanks mom, for making something so nice for me, and even though you are no longer with us, I know you must be smiling when you see all the stockings hung on our mantle. We're now up to 12!
What a wonderful way to share the joys of Christmas. Holidays can be hard when you loose a loved one. Just rememeber to surround yourself with your memories of him. My kids laugh when they see the basket of rocks on my desk that were my mothers. But every time I look at them I think of her.
There was 5 of us kids & not a lot of money for gifts, but we all had stockings that were filled with a few small treasures, candy canes & whatever treats my Mom had made. All our stockings were felt & by the time I married they pretty much fell apart!
Memory # 4: We lived on a farm in western Minnesota until I was 11, and as with any farm, there were good years and there were bad years. When I was about seven years old, we were admonished to stay in our beds after bedtime Christmas Eve, even though we could hear strange sounds in our small farmhouse. When we woke up Christmas morning, there was a model train with track and buildings set up in our living room. Woo-woooooo. Mom and dad had been setting it up the night before, and also playing with it a bit. This is a favorite memory. It must have been a very good year!
Hi Sandi, What a sweet thing for you to do. The only stockings I remember were those we sometimes received at church.
It's so ironic that I was lead to your blog and question today. Last night as I was drifting off to sleep I started thinking about the doll that I received three years in a row for Christmas. The same doll..three years in a row! My maternal grandparents raised me and money wasn't ever in great excess. For the second and third gifting, my grandmother snuck her away a week or so before Christmas. Then she reappeared on Christmas Day with a new wig and new dress. She was all wrapped and presented as if she were brand new. No explanation of what happened to my "old" doll. I never had the heart to admit I knew what had been done, or to comment on the fact each doll's dress was made from the same fabric as Grandma's RNA convention dress. I get more joy from remembering her efforts to stretch a dollar while still giving me a happy Christmas than if the doll had come from Nieman Marcus.
The Christmas that I was 16 years old, all I wanted was a real grown up birthstone ring from my parents. I was, after all, a junior in high school and had a job and everything, so I was grown up. Right! Anyway, with 8 children in the family and by then some in-laws and grandchildren (of my parents, of course) it was hard to keep track of what new gifts showed up under the tree and who they were for. So on Christmas morning when we were opening our gifts, I was given some nice things and my last gift to open was a huge box like what you would package a really puffy bathrobe or quilt in. I knew I was not getting my ring. Very disappointing. I opened the box and inside was an old tablecloth that I had seen in the linen cabinet forever. I never really liked it. And now it was mine. Oh goodie. So I lifted it from the box with very mixed emotions and what do you think fell out from between the folds? Yup. The most beautiful opal and garnet ring I had ever seen. Aren't my parents just the best?
MGM
never had Christmas stocking but we had Santa bags we used to lay out on the floor and have it all organised beautifully around the tree...........hoping that Santa would put some goodies into them.........
We didn't have stockings. One of my favorite memories of Christmas (whether good or bad is dependent how I was thinking at the time).....we had one of those artificial trees that was aluminum (think silver tinsel for the whole tree)....we used if for atleast 15 years.....way longer than an artificial tree was meant to last....as the years went on it was looking very pathetic but it was our tree. When we look at old family pictures at Christmas time....this tree looks like a giant light bulb on the pictures. Now as time has gone by I don't feel so bad about that tree but as a child, the feelings I had about that tree were not always good.
Karen L
Memory # 5: My Grandma T. always gave each of us something knitted for Christmas. On a farm in Minnesota in winter, it was always appreciated. I remember a lot of mittens, and one year skating socks. And there was always a silver dollar in the mitten or sock (the dollar was from Grampa T.)
Christmas Memories 2- My DGS lived with us until he was 6. My DD is a single parent & in the Navy. While she was stationed overseas Damon live with us. When she was finally stationed in The US we packed up Damon & moved him to his Mom. Well, being 6 yrs old, he was really worried about Santa being able to find him. I told him that Santa was magic & could find him anywhere, but Damon still worried for 300 miles! So I told him that even though he would be with him Mom that Xmas,Grandma would make him a special stocking & as long as he mailed it back to me I would make sure it was filled every year. Damon in 15 this year & still looks forward to his special G-ma stocking!
Most of my childhood was spent in various locations in California so snow was not something we knew much about except in Christmas movies and the like. I remember one Christmas time, we all received new hats and scarves. I can't imagine what for since it never really got cold...not the kind of cold I discovered once we moved to New England anyway! One day the temperature dropped and the conditions were just right and we actually got a dusting of snow on the ground. You can imagine how excited all of us kids were to be able to put on our hats and scarves and run out to play in the snow! It didn't last long, and we got too warm too fast and had to remove the winter gear, but boy oh boy, did we love that little winter experience!
MGM
Memory #6: Lutefisk!!! We ALWAYS had lutefisk & lefse, boiled potatoes, butter -- and I don't remember what else, but that was the heart of Christmas Eve dinner at Grandma T's house. Yummy! Then came the bad part. We couldn't open gifts til the ladies finished cleaning up in the kitchen. This was waaay before automatic dishwashers -- we just had the flesh-and-blood kind! And lutefisk dries like glue on the plate. But Grampa T came through and entertained us kids! But that's tomorrow's memory.
What a fun idea to share the Christmas memories. Like Sue H. I have hundreds of good ones. Also a few sad ones. As children, we had Christmas stockings. When I became a wife, I continued with stockings. When I had children, the rule became that they could get up as early as they wanted and get the stockings, open them and do whatever to play or eat what was in them, but they had to wait until 7 to wake us up.
Of course, we were often the first ones up! We had the same rule - get the stockings and wait until 7. The boys were usually up before then, though. =) It's good to take a moment to reflect on those wonderful Christmases, and work on the Joy of the current one. I saw all the volunteer work you are doing, and that can't help but increase your joy. I try to concentrate on the positives in life, and count my blessings every day!
Memory #7: When we were children, spending Christmas Eve at my Grandparents' house, and after a wonderful lutefisk and lefse dinner,Grampa was charged with keeping the kids occupied and happy while the women did the kitchen clean-up. Not an easy task. This was the mid-'50s, and Grampa had a movie projector. He would purchase cartoons to play for us. They were the realy deal, like Mickey Mouse. What a big treat!!!
Here's another one...
One of the things I remember as a child around Christmas time was the Sears catalog which back then was about 3 inches thick. There were probably only 7 of us at the time and we would each jealously guard our time with that book and spend hours and hours pouring over each and every page, dreaming about all the wonderful things we could ask Santa for. It always amazed me to find one or two of things I wanted most waiting for me under the tree Christmas morning! That Santa is really something!
MGM
Oh my, this is really taxing my brain trying to think of all these Christmas memories! Ok, here's one not from my childhood, but from my very early married life. We got married a week before Christmas in Florida, went on our honeymoon, then returned to my parents' home to celebrate Christmas with the family before packing all my earthly possessions and all our wedding gifts into my little Chevy Chevette and driving back up to New England to settle down. Ah young love! So besides all the wedding preparations, I had to think of something to give my new husband for Christmas. So I went out shopping and picked out what I thought was a very nice gift, a new sweater for him. It was stylish, cozy, a good color for him. I just knew he would like it. So I wrapped it up and put it under the tree and waited anxiously for him to open it. He did and he liked it, he really did like it. So then it was my turn to open his gift to me. Well, little did I know that his family's idea of gift giving was not just one thoughtful gift. I think I spent an hour opening all the gifts he had for me! I was a little embarrassed but how was I to know? I had only known the guy for less than a year! After 26 years, he still gives me way too many gifts and each one is thoughtfully chosen just for me. And after 26 years, I still have to wrack my brain to come up with one good gift for him. But it's the thought that counts, right?
MGM
Memory #8: Living on a farm in the '50s, our most frequent playmates were our cousins. We had cousins about our same ages that lived on farms close by, and getting to play with them was always a highlight. Christmas was spent with my dad's parents, so my cousins Ernie, Lynda and Jean were there. That was always extra special, because they lived a little further away and we saw them less often. So today's fond memory is of ALL my cousins!
Oh I forgot that you could enter once a day...you are going on my to-do list from now on!!
Memory of Christmas: My family would make a gingerbread house every year. Each year for as long as I remember the roof was different. My favorite year was Frosted Mini Wheats. It looked like thatching with snow on it. We also did Cherrios, Lego candy, red licorice, and many others. It would always a great time putting it together. We had four people in our family so we each got a side and we all worked on the roof. We had to wait until Christmas day to eat the candy on it.
My grandmother lived with our family from before I was born until she died almost 20 years later and she was quite a wonderful woman. She was a fabulous cook, a near professional seamstress, she taught me to crochet when I was little, she was an avid reader...a very well rounded person. Anyway, every Christmas she would make her famous sugar cookie recipe, many batches in fact, since there were so many of us. And we would all sit around our huge table with bowls of frosting and colored sugar and sprinkles and cinnamon red hots and silver balls decorating all the different shaped cookies she had made. These would become gifts for friends or just snacks for us. Now my own children love to do the same thing, only I'm the baker now!
MGM
Memory # 9: The Sears Christmas Catalog. We would look and wish and dream. I remember one year I had my heart set on these shoes. They were so cool. They looked like saddle shoes, but the tongue was rigid and snapped up to put on, snapped down instead of laces. Finally they came. My instep was too high, and I couldn't wear them!!! Funny what you remember...
Hi Sandi,
My parents weren't much for Christmas stockings, but every other year or so we would trek up to San Francisco to spend the holiday with Mom's cousin and her family (they were both only children). My little sister and I would stay in the hotel with my parents and my older sister would stay at the house with her same-aged cousin. Mom and Dad would buy us those mesh pre-filled stockings to keep us entertained until it was time to open gifts in this very adult-centered family. I remember our ecstasy at all the little goodies in those stockings and we did stay entertained.
Firmly linked to that memory is the vision of driving across the Bay Bridge in the wet, wet fog. I always felt so excited to visit San Francisco and felt like it was my second home. Now I live 45 miles north of the city and I still love it!
hi Sandi, its aubirdwoman here lol hope you enjoyed your Christmas Tree. I always seem to get a swap partner who is talented and truly gracious. The card will be on its way as soon as I find it lol, then you can use it.
Your blogs are wonderful hope we will keep in touch.
As regards Christmas I just love it. My favourite memory is of teenage years in England, the Youth Group would walk from one end of our town to the other, visiting Church Members and singing carols. This usually took us at least five hours,on at least two nights before Christmas but what fun and enjoyment we had, especially if it was snowing.
One of my funniest Christmas memories was when my ex-husband and I were locked in the bathroom at the motel where the family party was taking place. It was 2am and the manager actually told my son that maybe his parents wanted to be in there. Wasn't so funny for him when he had to slide the screwdriver under the door to help us get out of the bathroom. I had never laughed so hard in my life. Merry Christmas. The stocking is darling.
Here's another memory for you. We used to drive from Seattle to South Dakota every Thanksgiving. My mom, dad, sister and me. Well one year when us girls were about 4 and 6, we couldn't go for Thanksgiving for some reason and went for Christmas instead. My parents thought this would be a great tradition to start because they got more time off for Christmas and Grandma's cooking so GREAT!!
Well anyway Christmas eve comes and my sister whispers in my ear around lunch time..."What if santa doesn't know we are here at Grandma's? We didn't leave a note or cookies or anything. What if he thinks we don't want our presents? What if he doesn't ever come back, cuz he thinks we moved!!!?!"
Now this is easily explained to a 4 and 6 year old. But we didn't ask anyone...we just tired to find a way to tell santa. We went and drew in the snow, we yelled into the sky...anyway. We were being tucked into bed and my sister starts crying. Mom asks what's wrong. We both blurt out, Santa isn't coming. He doesn't know where we are. He's gonna hate us!!!!
Mom explained to us that Santa knows everything. And we sang that song with him knowing if we were sleeping. And she promised that Santa would come. She was going to call the NOrth Pole to double check.
Well I think it broke my mom's heart to see us so worried about Santa. And probably all the extra packages she had to bring with her to be Santa... we never traveled to grandma's again on Christmas. It went back to being a Thanksgiving tradition! :)
I just found your blog from your posting at Pat Sloan's message board. Anyway....NICE blog and I am adding it to the list I visit each day. As for a Christmas memory, mine is not about a stocking but I'll share it with you....my dad (long-since deceased) used to wait until we were in bed each year to put up the tree. He had a HUGE display underneath it.....with animated skaters and skiers and hills covered with "snow" (guess it was BATTING but I was unfamiliar with it at that time...little did I know batting would be such a part of my life now!!!) It was like a fairyland when we woke up on Christmas morning and came out to see the tree and all the gifts Santa left around it! We didn't have a fireplace, but we did have stockings...but our biggest joy was seeing that display each Christmas morning...and when we were very little, we were sure Santa was the one who did it for us! Would love to win a stocking stuffed with FQ's and hope I might be the lucky one. :)
Hi Sandi,
Our stockings were very typical. Candy, oranges and nuts.
We allowed our children to open thier stockings while we are getting tea and coffee, turning on the tree, getting the christmas music going before settling in and tearing into the gifts.
I love this post. I just found you over at Pat Sloans. Welcome to the group!
I have lots of Christmas Memories. My favorite one is when my mom would call me from my room and tell me Santa had been there. We had wooden floors, so I would run and slide under the Christmas tree. It's so fun to remember that! Thanks!
I always had a stocking! It was huge with my name on it. It was always filled with fruit, candy, and some sort of present.
I am sorry to read that you have been down lately. But also glad that things are picking up. We had red stockings with the white cuff at the top. I remember taking glue and writing our names and sprinkling the glitter on to make them look pretty. I wish I still had them today!
Thank you for having this giveaway and letting us all take a trip down memory lane!
Lynn
One of my favorite stocking memories is when I was about 17. We were very poor and my dad was layed off so we didn't really expect a christmas that year. I woke up to a pair of pantyhose stapled to the wall with a grapefruit in the bottem of each leg. It was really funny, there was candy and other fruit on top of it but the grapefruits were great. I did get a few small things that year too, but it really was more important to me that my 3 year old brother and 1 year old sister got toys.
My mother has always loved the color red. Red is not one of my favorite colors. Mom used to put ALL RED lights on the Christmas tree. Ugh! She thought it was beautiful. I was too young to argue. She grew out of it. Now her tree is beautiful!
MGM
I understand your sadness as my father died Dec. 21, 1981. He was 59 yrs. old and died of a massive heart attack. We were on our way to IN where our families live from FL with our 5 kids when we received the news. That was a very difficult Christmas. But it does get easier as the years go by. We did have stockings, one of our dads socks, that we hung behind a stuffed chair. We didn't have a fireplace! There was always and orange in the toe, some candy and one gift.
Merry Christmas!!!
libertythreads@charter.net
another!! We used to decorate our tree with paper ornaments. Each year my grandma would buy us a Christmas ornament. It was our present from grandma. Now I have a full tree full of each years memory. We would get a different ornament for something we did each year...like softball girl, or buying a kitty. Now I look at my tree of 20 ornaments!
Hi Sandi, love your blog!!! The best christmas' are spent with my family...eating, laughing, grateful to be together and seeing a person's face when you give them something from the heart!
I just love that Legacy of Stitches on your blog saying, so beautiful and soooo true! Many Hugs, Mary
http://mary-myneedlethread.blogspot.com
Since you mentioned music in your own post today, I will share this musical memory for the giveaway...three words... Mitch Miller Sing-along! Or maybe that's considered four words.
MGM
I think my best memories of Christmas would have to be when my 3 children were small and I'd hear their footsteps very early on Christmas morning ... then hear their happiness when they discovered Santa had been. They're all grown now but they still get excited like little kids on Christmas day :o) - just not so early LOL.
I'd love to be in your draw ... this stocking has my name on it!!!!
Hugs,
Joy :O)
One of the best Christmas presents we ever ave was to a needy girls. They were our same age and everything that we wanted that year, we bought for the girls. We wrapped it all up and gave it away. It was such a great feeling to know that we made a good Christmas for someone.
I love Christmas, I love the music, the lights, the trees, the celebrations & parades & special desserts.And most of all I love making special little gifts for my family & friends. And when time permits I make special fancy Christmas stocking just because!Sometimes I give them away & sometimes I keep them to decorate around the house with. Once I tried to trade in my 28 yr. old daughter's childhood, threadbare stocking with one of these & she flat out refused. Her stocking is so fagile that we put it under the tree as it would fall apart if you tried to hang it. Happy Christmas, Teresa
One of the best family traditions that we have is if we get a big present, my sister and I would get a Christmas ornament that symbolized it. Like one year we got a baby grand piano. (My sister and I have played since we were 3.) Anyway it was being delivered the next day but my parents thought that we needed someone to open. So we got an ornament in the shape of a piano. When we got it, we were like, "Thanks mom and dad. we'll hang it on the tree." And they were like "well we better pick a spot for it and vacuum." Vacuum??? Yeah do you think it should go in the window or over here. "Then it finally clicked that we were getting a big piano! So fun!!
Hi Sandi,love reading your blog. Yes we had stockings they are made from red fabric that has a sheen to it. outlined with silver rickrack and three silver bows with bells on the ends, and our initial on it.they would be filled with small gifts, candies and always a apple and a navel orange. Mom still hangs them on the wall in there apartment and all seven of us still check to see if any thing is in them even though the youngest is 43 and me the oldest is 56.Guess old habits die hard :-}
Marge
Do you know anyone with a great stocking pattern?
Last year I made stockings for my mom, sister and hubby but they were too flimsy. They only stood up when they had something in them. Maybe I need to use felt.
Memory: My mom used to always have a bowl of nuts on the kitchen table with a pretty nutcracker next to it. my sister and I didn't like the nuts so we would try and dress them up as dolls or make faces on them. We never understood why she had nuts on the table when no one in our family liked them. Then one Christmas our uncle came over and ate the whole bowl. I guess he was suppose to show up in years past but never did. The nuts were for him. It's a tender moment to realize how much my mom did the little things for the people she loves.
Memory: We got bike one year for Christmas, my sister and I. They were 10 speeds. That means they had front and back brakes that we never had before.
My sister took hers out and was racing around. Our family dog walked in front of her and she slammed on the front brakes to not hit him. She flew over the handle bars right into a gravel driveway. She got up and had a rock in her skull about the size of a quarter. We had to go to the Emergency Room on Christmas for my sister. We laugh about it now. I think we even had McDonald's for dinner cuz it took so long. We had all the turkey and trimmings the day after with my sister's stitiches in her head!
Oh my! I've missed a few opportunities to share memories and have a better chance at that stocking! No power for 3 days will do that!
Anyway, here's a Christmas memory from the Christmas after the year we were married. My husband and I drove down to Florida to spend Christmas with my family. It was lovely and nice to see everyone after a year. The next day, all the girls went shopping which was a blast. When we got back to my parents' home, my husband said he got a call from his family saying there had been a fire in our apartment building and we lost everything in our storage area in the attic, except one thing they were able to salvage. It was a little ceramic Donald Duck statue from my extensive Donald Duck collection. He was dressed as a firefighter and had a hose wrapped around his legs and he was looking in to the nozzle! Isn't that something? Luckily we had apartment insurance and received about $1500, mostly from my Donald Duck collection and my husband's hockey equipment. Of course we never even tried to replace any of what we lost. About 2 months later, we were in a head-on collision on a bad snowy day and our car was totalled. The insurance company gave us barely what we still owed on it, so that $1500 from the fire was our downpayment on our new car! See, things always work out for the best. You can find blessings in every bad situation.
Glad to be back online!
MGM
We woke up another morning to 'Santa' visiting our house and bringing our family a computer. My dad was sitting at the computer when we woke up at 7am. He was trying to load a Jurassic Park game. I had to go load it for him...his 8 year old daughter! LOL It was a great time. We played that computer game as a family all day and for most of the year!
My dad loved filming our Christmas morning mayhem with his 8mm camera. Man those lights were bright! Good memories caught on film, and a few years ago my mother had them all transferred to DVD so they would be saved. Then she gave us all copies!
MGM
I hadn't thought about my childhood stocking for a long time. I had a red stocking made by my mother. It was always filled with candy, nuts and an orange on top, every Christmas the same. A wonderful happy memory. Thanks for giving me the opportunity me to remember it.
Oh dear, I don't see any room for improvements on your blog. It is so lovely. I will need to read some each day as there is so much to absorb. Enjoy it very much.
And, I don't remember having a Christmas stocking.
Your big Christmas tree is very pretty.
Another memory:
My sister and I had been up the night before Christmas for some reason. We decided that whoever woke up first, wakes everyone up. Usually this is around 6 or 7am. Well this year we woke up at ten! My mom loved it.
My dad on the other hand, did not! He had been up since 6am with my uncle. We opened our present and the last one was a hunt. We were told to go all around the house and yard for other clues. Finally we got to the back of my uncle's truck where we had a new quad!
It was just so funny that the one year we sleep in is the year that dad wanted us awake!!
Power Tools! Yes, I love power tools and one Christmas right after we moved into our current home, my husband finally gave in and actually gave me what was on my Christmas list...a cordless drill! He even admitted later that it was a pretty cool thing to have! Men!
MGM
I lived in alabama for several years when I was a child. we spend christmas' at grandmas. when we moved up north, grandma always made sure we got to her house for the holidays. of course we had stockings, southern tradish was oranges,tangerines, nuts, ribbon candy,candy canes and a small toy. grandma hand made our stockings(which is why she had to repair them every year) we kids were tough on them. all I remember of those stocking was they were red and white and had our names on them. ah....memories... (mauh) Liz
Another memory: This is really fun thinking of all the past!
One year all my sister and I got from my mom was long sleeve t-shirts from Old Navy. Like probably 12 of them total. I still have some of them and wear them too! It was such a great gift because we could trade and wear them under things and everything. That's all I remember getting that year! LOL
Last year was my son's first Christmas. He was 6 month old so not so much fun. He didn't like the sound of ripping wrapping paper, he cried. Poor guy!
Anyway my mom and sister came up for the holiday to see Connor. Christmas morning was so relaxed. We got up when we wanted to, opened presents, made breakfast and all took a cat nap while Connor slept. It was just so wonderful to take a break from our busy world, especially the days leading up to Christmas, and just relax and be with family. You can't BE with anyone else like you can with family.
My husband and I were married almost 8 years before our first child was born. Having come from a large family, and not living near any family at the time, Christmas was hard for me without children or relatives around. One Christmas a few years after we were married, we noticed an announcement in our church bulletin asking for helpers for the Bishop's dinner over in the next town. My husband and I decided that is what we would do for Christmas, so we spent the day working in the kitchen, setting tables, serving people, handing out gift bags and visiting with all the homeless and others who came to enjoy Christmas dinner with our local bishop. It was a wonderful way to celebrate!
MGM
The first Christmas that Chris and I were married we had twenty bucks to spend on each other. That's it.
I bought him a pair of tennis shoes from Wal-Mart.
He cheated and somehow got a little extra money and got me some bath things and a seat warmer/vibrator.
It was a good Christmas. We didn't have family around or many friends but we did learn a lot about each other.
It will be a Christmas I will never forget. I spent what else little money we had to have pumpkin pies and a small turkey. That's it.
One Christmas my parents decided that instead of purchasing gifts for all their children - there are 8 of us - they would give each of us something of their own that they thought we would want to have. At every family celebration of my entire childhood and a good portion of my adult life, the center of the food table was a big (I always thought it was big, but now I realize it's not!) beautiful, shiny silver punch bowl and little silver cups to go with it, and a heavy silver ladle to scoop out whatever delicious liquid we had to drink. I loved that punch bowl set and that's what my parents gave to me and my husband that Christmas. Now it's our's for family celebrations and good memories!
MGM
No fireplace at our house growing up, so my stocking hung on the TV! Definately a child of the late 50's. My stocking was one of the fleecy red ones with a white cuff, purchased in a store, though my mother sewed. In fact I remember many Christmases with a box filled with Barbie clothes, both crocheted and sewn. My stocking was traditionally filled with an orange in the toe, a toothbrush, and some small toys and coloring books or word game books. I think, as I have read the other responses, you can tell whose parents lived through the depression. The stocking you have made to commemorate your memories of your Dad is beautiful and I would be honored to win it. Thank you.
We had Christmas stockings. I still think I have mine from when I was a tiny girl. It was made from a stretchy fabric and had the traditional red and white stripes on it. Santa would fill it with little toys, pencils, a new box of color crayons, or maybe some coins. Of course candy was added too! Above where the stockings hung, Santa would always set out for each of us kids, one perfect red apple and one perfect orange. Back in those days, fruit at Christmas was a major treat! I continue that tradition to this day.
I have so much JOY at Christmas. My Mom always made Christmas magical for myself and my sisters. No matter how poor we were, we never felt deprived. In later years we weren't poor but truly the riches we received at Christmas-time are the memories my parents created for us. I always thank them for that, quietly now, to myself, on Christmas Eve. I miss them both so much, even though it has been about ten Christmas' now, since they passed away.
I hope to leave my children (three adults and one young-un) the legacy of wonderful childhood memories of Christmas...as well as "a legacy of stitches" from all the home made treasures I give them each year. Merry Christmas Sandi!
Sherri
http://walkerlady.blogspot.com/
When I was in high school, I flew all by myself down to Florida to spend 2 weeks with my Auntie and while I was there she taught me how to do counted cross stitch which was all the rage at the time. That Christmas, the sister who had drawn my name for our sibling gift swap gave me a pretty little basket that was LOADED with just about every color of DMC embroidery floss available! What a wonderful gift that was. I still have some of that floss, plus loads more and I dip into it whenever the need arises. I think that was the beginning of my appreciation for having a stash of something useful!
MGM
I think I may have already mentioned that I am the 4th of 8 children. Well, after I married and no longer lived in my parents' home, or even near their home, my husband and I traveled to spend Christmas with my family a few times early on in our marriage. I always loved the beaded ornaments that my grandmother had made and I noticed that they were slowly disappearing from my mother's tree. I knew where they were going too...my sisters who lived close by were swiping them for their own trees. Imagine that! So I picked out a few that I was particularly fond of and asked my mother if I could have them. She said ok to most, but the little drum that I picked was the only one still with two drumsticks attached. She told me I couldn't have it because it was the last one with two drumsticks. I told her that was exactly why I wanted it. Well, I guess she couldn't argue with that. I have hung it proudly on my tree every year since then. I posted pictures on my website just the other day.
MGM
I'm sorry I've missed the last few days! My mom and sister came into town and we have just been talk, talk talking!!
Memory:
Every year my mom would send out Christmas cards. When we got old enough to know what was going on she was ask us what we wanted to put for what happened that year. Every year she would keep that and we would see what we thought we important that year. It's great to look back and see our memories grow. From when we were little, we would remember making Christmas cookies and hanging stocking and maybe Thanksgiving. Each year it grew longer and longer back. Just so fun.
Hi ,
I think back to Christmas morning and the stockings were the favorite thing to dig into. We always had Icy Squares and they tasted soooo good Xmas morning. There was always a little gift too and something I could have never guessed in a thousand years. I try now to make stockings special for my two children but Icy Suares these days never seem to taste as good as back then. Happy Holidays! Thank you for this wonderful Xmas giveaway. ~Susan.
oh yes!! we had stockings. and my mom would always fill them even with little money.. with stuff.. however we always had to wait untill she got off work to enjoy Santa's bounty.. which made me sad..
One Christmas for me was all "Donald Duck" which made me very happy. I had started collecting all things Donald Duck when I was an early teenager and that continues today, even though most of my early collection was lost in the Christmas fire which I already reminisced about here. So anyway, this one particular Christmas everything I got from everyone was somehow DD related..t-shirt, Christmas ornament, statue, pen, you name it, I got it with that cute cranky duck on it! It was fun!
MGM
That stocking is adorable. Check out my blog to see some of my stockings: fivehealthyhearts.blogpsot.com. My favorite Christmas memory is seeing my daughter dance in the Nutcracker performance at the Fox Theatre. It's so magical...it's as new as it was when I was a little girl. This will be my first Christmas without my mom, she lived with us until she died in May and those stockings were all her handiwork. I love things that are still around long after we are gone! Merry Christmas.
Well, this isn't necessarily a good memory, but.. My broke her ankle on Christmas Eve day one year. It was a pretty glum evening for me, and it was the year I definitely knew that Santa was not real. : (
Last year my mom and sister were coming from Seattle to visit with Connor and us. Connor was 6 month old then. Anyway the day before they got here I realized that they didn't have stockings. We had already spend ALL our money on presents. So I had to be creative. I got out my scrap material and handmade them stockings. They weren't very good and they are really filmsy but they did the job. My mom surprised me by bring them back as her and my sister's stockings this year!! :)
Growing up very poor, my mom always waited for the last minute to buy the tree with the $5.00 she always reserved for it. It was such a sad tree! One year my brother and I decided to clean awnings for people and we made $75.00 that weekend. We purchased an artifucial tree and all the trimmings so my mother never had to worry again about buying the last tree.
19 Christmases ago was my oldest child's first Christmas. She was exactly 3 months old on that Christmas day. It was really the very first time I could actually connect with a tiny bit of the true joy of the very first Christmas so long ago. I knew what it was like to be a mother. It was wonderful and so special.
Sandi, thanks for the opportunity to spend some time on memory lane these past few weeks. Your little giveaway enticed me to remember things that had not been thought of in years. I have realized that it is good to keep in mind that everything we do has the potential to create memories, good or bad. I'll be trying much harder now to create really good ones for my children.
Merry Christmas to you!
MGM
I just found this so I hope I'm not too late! I did have a stocking when I was young. In fact, I still have it! It's red felt with white felt at the top and my name is on it in gold glitter! I think my mom added that after she bought the stocking. I remember getting oranges and apples in my stocking when I was young. We didn't get toys or candy back then. Merry Christmas! :0)
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