What is your favorite holiday memory aka the Feel Good thread...

[missy]

Hey there PSers...I imagine some of us might be missing loved ones more than usual this time of year and could perhaps enjoy remembering some happy times with loved ones.

Please share some of your favorite or happiest holiday (or any time of year) memories to help chase away the blues and bring some cheer and happy tears to us all.

 

[monarch64]

My favorite holidays were those I spent with my family on the beach in Florida. Totally laid back, relaxed, and no giant stacks of presents to plow through. We went every year for two weeks and it was glorious. I am far more likely to remember happy experiences than a bunch of “stuff.” I highly recommend going away for the holidays, preferably somewhere with moderate temps and lots of relaxing things to do. Screw the over-commercialized hustle and bustle!

 

[Maisie]

I have 5 children and 4 of them are adults now. I remember with much fondness the big crazy Christmas celebrations. Wrapping paper everywhere, children laughing, delicious food and frosty walks with new bikes.

My 2 eldest are married now and live 180 miles away. I have grand babies! Number 3 is getting married in May so she will fly the nest. Then number 4 will be leaving home to live with friends and I bet he won’t come home. That just leave me, my husband and James. He’s 13 now! Where does the time go?!

I wish I could go back in time and do it all again.

 

[Calliecake]

My happiest memories were when our brothers kids were small. The kids and I would go to their favorite stores the weeks leading up to Christmas so I could see what they seemed to like best. Then my husband and I would go to Toy Stores and pick it up. The kids were pretty close in age and had so much fun together. When they opened their presents it was so much fun seeing their reactions. The whole Christmas season seemed magical. Hopefully we will be able to make the same memories for my grand niece.


@monarch64 Your daughter is at the age where the holiday season is so much fun.

 

[stracci2000]

Growing up in Pennsylvania, we would get so much snow! Me and sister and girlfriends would go out walking through the neighborhood just after a big snow. So quiet, no cars, or even tracks on the streets. It was like a winter wonderland.
Then we'd come back for homemade cookies and hot chocolate.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

For us the time leading up to christmas was packed with lots of family traditions. My parents spent so much time with us, baking cookies, decorating, making gingerbread houses, going to the theater and ballet. Christmas eve was magic. We didn't get to see the tree before , because it was the Christkind, who brought the presents AND decorated the tree. Then a little silver bell would ring - the sign we were allowed in.
The tree in all it's glory, the candles, the smell... Will never forget this.we were stunned every year.
Trying to recreate this for my own kids..

 

[missy]

Thank you Monnie, Maisie, Callie, Stracci2000 and Kipari for sharing your lovely memories with us. I love your happy memories and hope you have many more to come.

Some of my favorite holiday time memories when I was young was going with my family and our furry baby to see the tree and also going to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show with my family. Now as an adult my favorite things to do are still going to the tree with my dh and also walking in Central Park every November around the time of our first date which was in Central Park. It was a very romantic first date and we enjoy revisiting the scene of the crime so to speak.

I also love the smell of baking that usually takes place during the holidays not to mention eating the actual baked goods and sharing with friends. This year we aren't baking because of a crazy busy schedule but hopefully we can resume next year...and who says we have to wait for the holidays to bake right?
Maybe we will start a non holiday baking tradition.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

The "frosted" colored lights that were on the tree--not the clear bulbs of today, but they were opague like Cream-cycles. That warm fuzzy glow still makes me feel warm and fuzzy. And of course my Mother's exquisite baking. And the skating rink my Dad would pour every winter in our back yard.

cheers--Sharon

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I loved going with my brother to buy a real tree with the instruction to make sure the tree was even on all sides. My dad put the lights on and we decorated the rest of the tree. My mom baked and we all would stand around the lit tree to admire it. Every year my father would pronounce it, the best tree ever. The presents for us were never around the tree. We only saw them In the morning.
Christmas eve, my brother and I would go to church, which I thought was so beautiful. My parents did not go to church ever, but encouraged us to go.
We usually had company on Christmas and the house smelled so good. I grew up well and consider myself lucky. (It was not a perfect childhood, but good)
Annette

 

[yennyfire]

We lived down South from the time I was two, so every Winter Break, we'd drive up to New York to see our family....grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins....a group of about 25. Some of my favorite memories are roller skating in my grandparents basement with my cousins and then coming upstairs for my grandmother's delicious cookies and listening to my great aunts/uncles tell stories about our family. I'll also never forget the magic of the window displays in NYC and the tree at Rockefeller Center. Even though we are Jewish, Christmas is just magical in NYC (to me). While we've taken our kids to NYC several times, it's never been in December, so we hope to do that sometime soon and take them to see my grandparents house (sold decades ago when they passed)...

Great thread Missy!

 

[diamondringlover]

My favorite holiday memory? that one is very easy...my first child a boy was due 12/25/1985, he was actually born 12/26/1985 at 08:10 am, weighing in at 7 lbs 6 oz and he was 19 1/2 inches long, we named him Joshua Michael..no holiday could ever compare to that one

 

[elle_chris]

My dad is Jewish, my mom is Russian Orthodox so we never really celebrated anything. We did have a small Christmas tree when I was growing up, but they called it a "New Years tree."
Unfortunately, I don't have any real memories of the holidays.

Now that I'm an adult and married to a Catholic, we have a Christmas tree, a Menorah and celebrate everything!
We leave the city and spend Christmas and New Years at our house in upstate NY.
Absolutely love waking up to a beautiful snowscape with no one around.
I just never feel more at peace than at this time of year.

 

[autumngems]

Growing up in Ohio we always had snow. I loved sitting by our big front window watching the snow fall at night. It was so beautiful and silent, everything was magical and looked like sparkling diamonds on the ground. Morning came and we kids would go out and build a snowman and dig tunnels through the snow until we lost feeling in our toes. Then it was inside for chicken noodle soup and hot chocolate and letting our clothes dry until our next outing. I miss those childhood carefree days.

 

[Kaleigh]

Fun thread. I miss the ones when the kids were little and had such wonder in their eyes and all the love and excitement that would fill the house.
My daughter is married now. My son moved away. I had them for Thanksgiving. But won't see them for Xmas.

 

[Bron357]

Growing up we didn’t have a lot of money so Christmas presents were very modest. When I was 9 and my brother 7, we got the hugest and best surprise ever, we got Dragster bicycles. We were over the moon. That night though I got into a bit of trouble with my mum. I had this habit of liking to sleep with my presents. Mum came in to check on me after “lights out” to find me in my little bed with my dragster bike, which she insisted I put back in the garage. Later that night, there was a huge kerfluffal, as Dad had found my bed empty. Yes, I was in the garage with my pillow and blanket sleeping alongside my precious bicycle.

 

[GliderPoss]

Great thread! Such lovely descriptions. I loved Christmas as a child. There would be the lead up - going with Dad to get a real pine tree (we grew up on a farm so would just cut a big branch off one of our own trees) then all four of us girls would put carols on and decorate it together. We would then polish the family silver (inherited) and lay the formal dining table with a lace cloth, all the silver cutlery, family Wedgwood china (my parents wedding gift) and crystal glassware (also inherited) - this was purely for special occasions! We have our main festive meal on Christmas Eve when it's cooled down (remember it's summer in Oz) so we would all get dressed up in our finest dresses and Dad would let us have sparkling apple juice as "champagne" a rare treat. Roast turkey and all the trimmings followed by pudding & brandy custard - my Mum is a fabulous cook. This would be the highlight of the year for us - Christmas is still to me more about the joy of the special family meal rather than the presents the next day. Lastly that night I would always sneak out after everyone had gone to sleep and go look at the Christmas tree glowing silently in the lounge room corner...it looked magical with soft twinkling lights and real glass ornament balls. It was my favourite moment. I understand now that I was truly a very blessed child.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

I loved going with my brother to buy a real tree with the instruction to *make sure the tree was even on all sides*.
Annette

So many funny memories, when dad listened to us girls and brought back a huge tree AGAIN and it would touch the ceiling or we would come home with what mum called a "corner tree" that had uneven branches...
My sister and I always wanted to adopt the asymmetric trees because we pitied them when no one else wanted them. Our parents always gave in.

 

[KaeKae]

When we were kids, there was always one gift under the tree "from Dad." Oh, I imagine Mom actually went to the store for him some years, but there was one from him. For many years, that gift was a pair of ice skates. Some years, we opened them early. In NJ, you take the very cold weather when it comes, as you might not get another week cold enough to freeze the ponds. Dad would be the one to take us to the park for skating and sledding. Our park had an indoor area with a big fireplace going and you could get hot chocolate. It tasted so good after being out in the cold for so long!

 

[Scandinavian]

My DH - then boyfriend for one month... - taking the night bus across the country to be with me when I started missing him..
And that he acutally bought me my Christmas gift before we even started dating... Kind of sweet

 

[ringbling17]

Growing up I would say my favorite holiday memories were going to Rockefeller Center every Christmas Eve. I remember sitting in the back with my brother and sister in NYC traffic waving at the cars behind us until someone waved back. I loved seeing the huge Christmas tree, eating those candies warm peanuts and roasted chestnuts and walking around looking at all the lights. Then we would visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral and look at the window decorations at Saks. Afterwards we would go to midnight mass at our local church in Brooklyn. It was always so magical to me as a child. It still is actually!

 

[lyra]

The food. I'm totally romanticizing it at this point, but I miss the food. I can never get the wild rice casserole my Grandma made exactly right. Not even close. I miss my mom's shortbread cookies and those thumbprint ones. Her butter tarts were divine. A lot of things we don't even bother with anymore, partly because we eat healthier even at Christmas. It just wouldn't be the same, you know?

 

[stracci2000]

I also have fond memories of Mom making seafood on Christmas Eve, and Dad roasting chestnuts on a cookie sheet in the oven. Italians love their chestnuts! And a seafood dinner featuring fried smelts is traditional on Christmas Eve. Smelts are small fish that are similar to sardines.
Now that I live in the southwest, smelts and fresh chestnuts are hard to find. No smelts anywhere, but I finally found chestnuts at a specialty grocery.