It’s here – the week before Christmas, and it makes me smile because of the great memories.
Do you have favorite memories?
I do and maybe you’ll share one or two of yours.
Favorites:
Memories – Sugar on snow (hot maple syrup on snow) with my grandparents, our four-year old daughter wearing pink footed pajamas coming down the stairs to see Santa’s presents under the tree, midnight mass with the family, and watching grandchildren enjoy those same Santa presents pulled out of the big red bag left for them.
Christmas decoration – stockings and tree skirt my Mom made. I haven’t gotten them out in a few years because even before Covid we don’t host the holiday celebrations anymore. Maybe next year I need to get them out just because I like looking at them and remembering all the good times filling the stockings with presents.
Nativity – a huge set that I made in ceramics about forty years ago, my husband and daughter helped paint, and my husband made the stable. It’s quite heavy to get down from the attic so for the past couple of years I’ve used a smaller wooden one. The great thing about memories is I can enjoy both just looking at one.
Movie – White Christmas. I watch it every year.
Song – Silver Bells. The lyrics do make me think of the Salvation Army, the red kettles, and the bell ringers which in our area at least we don’t see anymore.
Toy – Snoopy playing the piano and how much my grandchildren enjoyed him when they were little.
Flower – Poinsettia
Food – If I’m honest, I enjoy most food and all desserts.
The holidays though are almost never perfect because Hollywood doesn’t script our lives. There are those we’ve lost, those that can’t visit, Covid, and things are different. Different can be tough so take care of yourselves this holiday season.
If the holiday is not looking exactly like what you remembered or want, try to make new memories which I know is easier said than done, get some exercise, and enjoy some good food even if you buy it. Delicious is still delicious.
From my husband and I to you and yours – Merry Christmas and have a safe but wonderful week.
NewEnglandGardenAndThread 
Memories are the best part of life, Judy. We may not have a white Christmas. It might snow Friday or on Christmas, but not yet.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday. Enjoy these memories and add a few more.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I hope you get a nice dusting of snow for the landscape and for Maddie. Merry Christmas, Dan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Merry Christmas to you and yours, Judy! Stay safe and warm,and enjoy the gift of Christmas!
LikeLiked by 1 person
So nice to hear from you. I hope you are both well. You are so right – Christmas is a gift and it should be enjoyed. I wish you a lovely Christmas.
LikeLike
Enjoy your white Christmas, Judy. You have some wonderful memories. Childhood Christmases were very special to me, especially the very few we spent with extended family.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, large gatherings at Christmas are wonderful childhood memories. They can certainly bring on a smile even when it might be just be one or two gathered this year.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful memories Judy! I love the ritual of taking out all the Christmas stuff. We didn’t do that last year, we had just a little tree and a few of the favorite ornaments. But I didn’t decorate the rest of the house. We did have our grandkids over for a brief few minutes, distanced, masked, and it was better than nothing. This year, everyone is vaccinated so we’ll all get together and have our present opening and feast. Fingers crossed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Unpacking Christmas decorations is like spring to me – as each one is unwrapped I’m just flooded with good memories of where they came from. I’m so happy you are able to safely get together with family. I’ll keep my fingers cross too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your memories are warm and charming. Christmas can be a lovely time of year, pretty and companionable. Happy Holidays!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you and hubby have a nice Christmas. I also hope your poinsettia is still doing well, the coffee is hot, and Henry and Jane are keeping you interested. What would we do without good coffee and good reading material? I don’t want to know. Merry Christmas.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Merry Christmas to you! We’re going very easy on the decorating, as my other half has a sore arm, and can’t lift stuff. But we’re going to see family this year. Yaaa!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some years are light and others are heavy decorating – all is well. Yes, family celebration. Wahoo. Enjoy every moment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, sweet memories. It is those sweet memories that carry us onto new memories.
I have so many wonderful memories. But the one of me as a little girl is when I could not come down stairs to open Christmas gifts until I heard Burl Ives singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, played on the living room stereo record player. That is many moons ago… but still a tender thought.
Thank you Judy for sharing yours…
Merry Christmas to you and yours my friend!
Enjoy the snow!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, you gave me goosebumps. I love that – Burl Ives and Rudolph. Your parents were creative, and they made it fun. Merry Christmas and enjoy your beautiful weather.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your memories are much like mine, except I never had snow w/ maple syrup! I love the picture of your shed in the snow with the tree limbs frosted with snow. Looks like a postcard.
Many things have changed physically over the years, but our memories remain constant. A nice comfortable place we can visit any time we want. I still use the tree skirt a dear friend made for us in the early 70’s! Amazingly it still looks like it did the day she presented it to us.
Wishing you and Dennis a healthy, happy Christmas and a safe, uneventful trip to SC. Hope it’s wonderfully warm there and you get to squish your bare feet in the sand!
Ginger
LikeLiked by 2 people
Good words – comfortable place we can visit any time we want. I really like that. 🙂 I can only imagine the warm fuzzies you get when you unwrap that tree skirt every Christmas. Yes, fingers crossed it is an uneventful trip. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.
LikeLike
Awww I love this post! I have similar memories! One funny one is how I unwrapped just enough of my sister’s gifts to see what she was getting while mom and dad were out shopping. When they got home, I excitedly announced that I finally had my list: Little Drummer Boy 45 record and Alfred Hitchcock board game among them. Needless to say, name tags were not changed in my favor! Our tradition was that Santa filled stockings, and gifts placed under the tree ahead, were from mom and dad. I liked that, so we continued it with our kids. We added breakfast at home right after midnight Mass. I loved that dark, cozy, candlelit experience, allowing girls to open one gift each, then off the bed in new pajamas where they all slept together in one room for the night….but not for long! Five AM came so early!
Merry Christmas, Judy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my goodness, you and I both did the wrap piece. Too funny. Santa was a jolly old soul who really knew how to pick out just the right stocking gifts, and Mom and Dad always got some surprises and what we needed. I haven’t been to Midnight Mass in many years because it’s way past my bedtime now. 🙂 We would go to our daughter’s to watch the grandkids unwrap Christmas morning and would set the alarm early so we could shower, dress, and wait for the call to head over. Good memories – all of them. Merry Christmas to you, hubby and your three beautiful daughters and families.
LikeLike
Sweet post! And a very merry Christmas to you and yours. Even with the pandemic, this is my favorite time of year—the dark, the light, all of it coming together into one beautiful, heartfelt blend. And this year definitely beats last year, when Clif and I were alone. This Christmas, we will all be together, and wearing masks will not diminish our joy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s right. After last year, wearing a mask with family present won’t even seem like a task. I hope you have a wonderful day with good food, holiday cheer, board games and maybe even a movie snuck in. Merry Christmas!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Many, many thanks! And a merry Christmas to you, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Merry Christmas, Judy! Wonderful memories of past Christmases keep us going, for sure. I realized this year that it was up to me to create the holiday experience I want by focusing on the small things I can do to feel festive. Making and delivering homemade gifts has made me happy and talking to people on their doorsteps isn’t ‘the big party,’ but it warms the heart none the less.
Enjoy your holiday week!
LikeLiked by 2 people
It sounds like you are having a wonderful holiday season, and I can imagine you are enjoying your short visits, and I’m positive the recipients are too. I hope the rest of your holiday is as good as the beginning.
LikeLike
Thanks much!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have snow! We don’t and won’t. Not for Christmas. I always think it makes the season merry but this year I’m ok without it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No snow = no shoveling. It is beautiful on the trees and bushes, but clearing it is a job, and I’m grateful the younger crowd took care of that for me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s one of the reasons we needed to downsize. Not just the snow clearing but all that comes with a bigger property.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Those are wonderful memories, Judy and it looks gorgeous at your place! We’re supposed to get more snow this week in time for Christmas so, we’ve got our fingers crossed that we can get over the mountains to see our Grandsons. This will be the first year Littlest kinda gets it. I’m so excited for that.
Favorites-
Movie- I love all the old Christmas cartoons like Rudolf, Frosty the Snow Man, and Charlie Brown’s Christmas. I don’t think I’ll ever outgrow them if I haven’t by now. 🤣
Food- Osso Buco, Lasagna, and Pantonne, and the big juicy Orange always in my stocking.
Memory- The year I got my very first 2 wheel bike. It was beautiful. Navy Blue with white bits here and there that sparkled in the light. White Handlebar thingies and blue and white pompoms coming out the ends. It had training wheels b/c I couldn’t yet ride without them. We lived on top of a high hill then out in the country in San Diego with stairs from the top of the driveway to the front door. After managing to get the bike down the stairs and halfway down the drive without the bike getting away from my 5 year old body I was just getting comfy on the seat, and plucking up my courage to lift my feet and fly down the rest of the hill when my Dad called me to bring it back up to take off the training wheels and begin riding lessons!! Sigh. I didn’t even get to ride it with training wheels yet!!
Oh, it wasn’t easy. I crashed, and fell over, and drove it into the ditch across the road, barely missed getting hit by a pickup truck coming up the road, but after half a day I finally got it and was riding a two wheeler!! And, I never rode a bike with training wheels!! Every scratch, bump, scrape, and bruise was well and truly earned! 🤣 You know I never did get the courage to ride it down the whole hill from the top of the driveway to the bottom of it. My little brother did though! Oh my bike could fly!
Song- I’m dreaming of a White Christmas- probably because I’ve had so few of them in my life. This year will be white!
Flower- Toss up between Poinsettia, and the Holly Bush with berries.
Your quilted topper looks beautiful! Merry Christmas, Judy! 🥰
LikeLiked by 3 people
Oh, I love your memories and thank you for sharing. I had a bike at my grandparents farm, it was blue, I started with training wheels, but I had flat road surface to ride on. I do hop you get to see your grandsons and maybe even watch a couple of those favorite movies together. It doesn’t get much better than Rudolph, Frosty and Charlie Brown. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that everyone is healthy and you have safe travels so you can feel those little arms around your neck in a wonderful hug.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🥰
LikeLiked by 1 person
Judy a blessed and merry Christmas to you and yours. There is a place in the heart where we can visit those that we remember. Once you are there the hugs can last as long as we want or need.
LikeLiked by 3 people
John, you brought tears. Beautiful sentiment and so true. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your garden looks so pretty
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you. It was that kind of snow that sticks to everything and just spells winter. Merry Christmas!
LikeLiked by 1 person
⛄️
LikeLike
LikeLiked by 2 people
Merry Christmas to you too! We went to Lowes this morning, and they have four spots set aside for Veterans. Someone had decorated the signs with lovely fresh wreaths and blue ribbons that said ‘thank you for your service.’ For my husband and myself, it certainly caught our attention and made us smile.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I am thrilled to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to tell me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You have some wonderful Christmas memories! Your snow is beautiful! Wishing you and your family a Christmas filled with joy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Beth, and you too. I hope you have a lovely week.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Merry Christmas and hopefully lots of wonderful memories to add to your existing ones
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! Merry Christmas to you too. I hope your shawl project is going well. I’m hurrying to finish a lap quilt so I can pack up my machine to go south.
LikeLike
Hope you get finished in time and have a wonderful trip
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy Christmas to you and your family, Judy. When we travel overseas we usually buy a tree ornament or two and it’s so nice every Christmas to hang them on the tree and remember where we have travelled. They always bring on some happy memories.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I do that too, and it is wonderful unwrapping those ornaments and going back in time. I hope you have a marvelous holiday and that 2022 is better for all of us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. Let’s hope 2022 is a great year for everyone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Judy, I envy your snow, but not your low temperatures. Your garden shed with the red bow and snow-covered trees remind me of a Christmas card. You absolutely should unpack those stockings and tree skirt. Love your advice to make new memories when things aren’t as expected or remembered. Change can be a good thing. Merry Christmas!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is definitely winter here in NH this week. Change can be good even when we find it challenging. Happy holidays!
LikeLike
It looks beautiful, Judy, and I would enjoy a white Christmas, but not here. That would really shock everyone. 🙂 We have all the usual decorations (as you’ll be seeing throughout the week) except for a large tree. At Christmas I like to deliver plates of homemade cookies and candy to places like our bank, store we frequent, the library, etc. Making Christmas cookies with the girls with sprinkles all over is good, if messy, memory. Finding just the right gift or getting just the right gift (like the keyboard last year from my husband. The children’s Christmas Eve service when we were in grade school, all done by memory not projected on the wall, and getting a paper bag of candy, an apple, and an orange when we left. Going to my grandparents’ house on the farm on Christmas Day after having Christmas at home on Christmas Eve after church. Good stuff.
Have a blessed and happy Christmas!
janet
LikeLiked by 1 person
You gave me goosebumps with your wonderful memories. You’ll be making new ones next year that’s for sure. 🙂 Have a wonderful holiday, and I wish I could send you some snow for just a few minutes so you could explain to the neighbors what it was. 🙂
LikeLike
What a lovely Christmas post Judy, I enjoyed reading about your memories, and especially the snowy images. We are looking forward to having the whole family for Christmas, and even decorating the tree brings back such happy memories. Merry Christmas to you and your family, may it be peaceful and joyful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for the greetings. I’m so happy you will have your whole family with you. It doesn’t get a lot better than that. Enjoy every moment, take photos, and have lots of smiles.
LikeLike
I read your insightful post yesterday morning, and then took it with me through the day. I kept thinking about that whole Christmas memory thing; it’s a two-edged sword, isn’t it? Even the happier ones are tinged with loss now. Since I can’t remember where I left my coffee, I have my doubts about making new memories, but it’s good advice. As to my favorites: all Christmas carols, but maybe especially “Adeste Fidelis”; the family gathered around the piano with trombone, violin, and voice giving Spike Jones a run for his money; peeking at the Christmas tree from my bed; my Uncle George’s tree with bubble lights; the electric train in the basement toy section of the local department store; my mother’s bajillions of Christmas cookies; “The Stingiest Man in Town” at Purdue; the box of Mrs. See’s sent by my Aunt Jean from CA every year (you knew chocolate would figure in there somewhere!)…it’s a mishmash, isn’t it, for all of us? As always, I love your posts and the way they make me reflect. Ditto the comments you invite. Thanks, Judy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes – the Christmas season is rather up and down emotionally between losses and changes out of your control. I guess the season mirrors life with its ups and downs. I smiled thinking about the family gathered around the piano and what raucous fun you must have had. We never had bubble lights, but I did so want some. I haven’t had See’s candies in several years, but I do remember how absolutely delicious they were. Top notch chocolates! I wonder if they ship to SC? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
p.s. The photo of your winter garden is gorgeous. I think it is emblematic of the peace we all wish we could give each other.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re right, it does look clean and peaceful. After the past several years, I think you and I both wish peace for everyone, but it sure sounds like 2022 is going to start off with more than a few frost heaves.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a gorgeous photo! It looks like a perfect place for Christmas. You have such lovely memories.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, and your recipes are much appreciated throughout the year. Enjoy a wonderful holiday, and i won’t concern myself with whether or not your family is eating well. 🙂
LikeLike
I have so many happy memories of Christmas, especially when our children were little! We would have them wait upstairs on Christmas morning until my husband could go down and turn on the tree’s lights , then they would rush down to open their stockings first. So much excitement! We had a lot of fun filling the stockings the night before, wrapping gifts, finding the special Santa gifts for them, etc. I miss those days, but it was a LOT of work. There was the year when one young daughter (I think she was five) told me quite seriously that Santa WOULD bring her a life-size mermaid doll. A little creative adaptation of a large “Groovy Girl” doll, and voilà! A mermaid. Our little believer was happy.
The kids started singing in our church’s children’s choir as pre-schoolers, so Advent was filled with Sundays when the children would sing, which was so lovely. Both of our daughters performed in the annual professional production of The Nutcracker in our city, for several years, and parents were called upon to volunteer as chaperones backstage, staff for the souvenir sales booths, etc., so I spent a LOT of time watching The Nutcracker, and it never got old. I also enjoy the winter gardening that our Southeastern climate allows, with pansies mingling with cool season vegetable, camellias, and hellebores. I love all aspects of the Christmas season: lights, sounds, scents, food, children!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful family memories, and I bet you could ace a crossword puzzle on the Nutcracker. 🙂 You made my gardening pulse quicken just seeing pansies, veggies, camellias, and hellebores. Young children do make Christmas so much more festive, and I can imagine those choir memories are truly special. Happy Holiday to you and yours.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A merry and healthy Christmas to you both! ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you and the same to you and your family. Enjoy the festivities and stay well.
LikeLike
Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, and sincere season’s greetings to you as well.
LikeLike
So many great memories, Judy! Although our Christmas celebrations have changed a lot over the years, much of the joy and warm, fuzzy feelings are still with us… oh, and egg nog, definitely egg nog 🙂 Have a very Merry Christmas!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes to egg nog! I bought some this week. I hope you and your husband have a lovely holiday and that we’ll see more stories in 2022. You are an excellent writer!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Enjoy your white Christmas, Judy. I hope your Christmas Day is wonderful. My fondest memories are of our Christmases in New Hampshire. I had a wreath hanging at the top of each window as well as a candle lite in the windows and a Christmas tree in each room of our main floor. I still enjoy looking at photos of our historic old home decorated for the holiday with snow on the ground, it looked like one you might see on a Christmas card.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You certainly had some beautiful decorations and knew how to accentuate the architecture. I use to linger over those photos because everything looked so appropriate to the period. You know how to decorate! 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you for your lovely compliment Judy, I loved that house.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A beautiful trip down memory lane Judy – loved reading your favorites – next year you must post an image of the manger you made! You’re so right, things change and instead of being surrounded by 26 family members as was our norm, for the third year we’re “home alone”. We spent the day with 8 other “orphans”, one of whom hosted all of us for a beautiful dinner and many smiles. New memories indeed. Not the same but some day I’ll look back and smile about this one too! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can do that. 🙂 We were ‘home alone,’ ate some good food, finished Michael Connelly’s latest book, and started packing. One must keep busy when life is somewhat upside down. By next week, we’ll probably be in the same growing zone. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person