Nevertheless, It seemed like only a few months ago I turned 21. I'm already 2 days away from turning 22! However, 22 seems like a golden birthday for me. I've always loved the number 2. My FH asked me out on the 22nd, and the second dog in the second race has won me good money on my first time at the dog tracks. I'm telling you, the number two for me is a very "auspicious" number...and I'm not even superstitious. I plan to have a "quiet" Wednesday...shopping in the (chaotic) mall, eating dinner with the darling and watching a movie afterwards. That's how this college student plans to spend her birthday. I've been 21, I'm not "required" to have a crazy party and be intoxicated. I don't need a keg to have a good time. I'll just sip my pina colada or whatever at some Irish pub and move on.
As to the contest. I know I said I would do 4 weeks of contests in the light the Christmas spirit. However, this spirit has been a little fatigued by everything going on, and I feel that I only have it in me to do just one more. However, I don't want to bum you out... so I'll randomly pick 3 winners for this next contest.
The contest closes at: Thurs. Dec. 13th @ 7pm. Prizes mailed next day.
Be ready to supply your address THAT NIGHT if you want them before Xmas!
~The Contest Question~
Describe your most memorable Christmas (or Hanukkah)? What was magical about it?
Ex: People, events, scenery, feelings, surprises, transformed experience, etc
Prizes: All 3 winners will be drawn from a hat. The order drawn from a hat is their prize placing.
1st place & 2nd place= (Set of 6) Santa's Elves stitch markers from my Etsy shop!
3rd place= 1 free pattern of your choosing from my Etsy shop.
This time, no double entries. No requirement to blog it. Just answer the question.
I do realize that this contest question is more religiously based, so if you are turned off by it, there will be another opportunity to participated in the future.
11 comments:
Although I don't remember it because I was too young, I love watching this one particular Home Video of Christmas. My brother wasn't born yet, and I was probably around 2 or 3. We lived in our old house. My mom was video taping. My favorite part is watching my dad sit on the little green John Deere Peddle Tractor that my sister and me recieved from Santa. He was so big compared to it. We kept the tractor for many years, and it was sad to watch it grow. John Deere's are big in my family because my grandpa lives on a farm. He has about 5 huge John Deere tractors and they are all for something different. My Dad and I will watch this video occasionally and tear up because I'm not his "little" little girl anymore, but instead am his "halfway through college" little girl.
When I was in the third grade, I guessed what everyone's gifts were before they opened them. Everyone said I must have found were they were hidden and peeked. But I didn't. I think it was just that my parents always tried to get us what we wanted most. Plus the sizes of some of the packages helped with guessing. That was the Year I got a doll house.
So, big typo in my post. It wasn't sad to watch it grow..but sad to watch it go.
I would have to say that my most memorable Christmas was three years ago. My eldest son Evan has a heart defect and had one of three surgeries to correct it a few weeks before Thanksgiving that year. He sailed through the recovery period only to have a stroke the day after Thanksgiving while we were at my husband's parent's house. He was in the hospital recovering for three weeks and I was hoping that he would not spend his first Christmas in the hospital.
He got out a few days before Christmas and we were excited since we had purchased tickets before he had the stroke to go see my family. Well a day or so later he started puking up a storm. He had picked up a nasty stomach bug at the hospital and then passed it on to his loving parents. There was no way we were going to be able to fly.
Christmas was saved when my parents and sisters all drove out to see us instead. It was quite memorable for so many reasons, my son was alive, we were all recovering nicely, it was my son's first Christmas and we got to celebrate with family.
My most memorable Christmas was 14 years ago. I was pregnant with our first son(a happy "accident") and we all sat down to have Christmas together-his parents and mine. Well everyone takes turns opening gifts and DH said that this one large box had to go last. Well I was dying to know after he said that! So around and around we went. It ended up that the box was the very last one to open. So I opened my present and it was a stuffed Christmas mouse. Around his neck he had a gold chain and a hand-written note that said: "Would you, could you,PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE..." and on the inside: "take this off it's choking me!" and behind the card was an engagement set!!!! DH got on one knee, and the got back up and went to my father to ask for his daughter's hand and my parents blessing (how wonderful is that!) Then he came back to me on bended knee and proposed! I was crying and sobbing and practically yelled YES.
The all of the family was hugging and crying (even my Daddy!) DH's little sister, 14 at the time was ecstatic, saying over and over "I really wanted you to be my sister!"
Every time I look down at my ring I am reminded of how cute and sweet and kind and caring my DH is. I am truly one lucky woman!
I think this year is going to be my most memorable Christmas. It's the first one being married, and my husband gets to come home (we're both in the Navy). Yup, the best is yet to come.
My most memorable Christmas memory is decorating my tree every year. I've been crafting for at least 35 years. I only put handcrafted ornaments on the tree and each one always brings back memories of its making and with whom I did it. We always laugh over the "macaroni angels" we made so many years ago. Saw them at a craft fair and headed straight for the grocery store for supplies. This was before everyone had glue guns. So we glued together our glorious macaroni and while waiting for them to dry, watched as each head just rolled off. We finally managed to get a couple to stay together, and they have long been eaten by mice in the attic, but we'll never forget the laughs we had making them.
Wow, I can't top Shannon's story! :)
My most memorable Christmas was when I was around 9 or 10. During the summer, I spent a LOT of time riding my bike. It wasn't a great bike. It was a used one that had been donated to Sheriff's office toy drive one year. Dad had fixed it up and repainted it and gave it to my older sister who used it for a long time. She's six years older than me, so when she was finished with it, I got the bike. It was definitely well-used.
That summer, it had finally given up the ghost. When I went to ride with friends one day, it literally fell apart in my hands. The rest of the summer had been spent bike-less, a crushing blow to my good times.
That Christmas morning, I woke up and heard dad in the kitchen fixing breakfast, as was normal on weekend and holiday mornings. When I came out of my room there, in front of the Christmas tree, was a beautiful, brand new bike with a BIG red ribbon on it. To say that I screamed in joy would be a vast understatement.
I have no idea what else happened that day. I just remember being SO glad to have a new bike and wishing there wasn't snow on the ground so that I could go ride it.
It was the best Christmas ever.
One of the most memorable xmas thoughts for me is very untraditional...for a new england girl! Growing up on a farm in new england you are used to the norman rockwell xmas's...frozen ponds, skating, bon fires & fresh maple syrup and doughnuts. Well, moving to hawaii was quite the change! But after a few tropical kalikimaka's you adjust! You get used to seeing lit palm trees, decorative lit lawn dolphins pulling santas sleigh. One xmas eve we pulled the top off of the jeep, had thermos's filled with hot mochas and chocolates, stuck xmas cd's in the player and drove around the island to view the lights. We even drove to the top of one of the mtn's to overlook the islands light display. Now you wouldn't think it but we also had to bundle up as it was in the low 70's, very cool evening! At the end of the night we stopped by the aloha tower for a late night dinner, we had a few friends with us and this quickly turned into a yearly tradition. I will miss it this year.
My most magical Christmas would probably be any of them from my santa days. I can remember one in particular although the year evades me. But santa put the tree and all up during the night. In the morning, I walked into a magical display of Christmas lights, and wonderful toys everywhere. No present Holiday sentiments will ever match that.
Hold on to their santa years as long as you can! It will be their best memories.
My most memorable was more of a miracle. I was a single mom with one child. All I wanted was for us both to have enough to have a special meal and a few presents for her. (6years old) Not much. We made ornaments along with a few from the years before, and put them on a huge Ficus tree I had and used as our tree because it was too expensive to buy one.
2 days before Christmas, my boss called me into work. I told her I had my daughter and no sitter. So, she demanded I bring her. The tone scared me and all the way in (40 minute drive which I had to use some of my Christmas money for gas to get there!) I was thinking I was going to be laid off or fired in front of my baby...They would not do that…would they??? Couldn’t they just tell me over the phone? How will we make it? I was already thinking of what I could sell, (The camera I treasured and took pictures of my baby with for years, it was a Nikon and had 4 lenses a motor drive..filters, etc, it would be work at least a couple hundred! But, no more pictures, I would have to save up to buy another and would never be able to afford one like this! Besides my daughter, it was the only thing I got out of the divorce) and it wouldn't hurt to have Christmas a little late, would it? I was scared, but, I was staying positive for Sarah, thinking there was nothing that was going to ruin our holiday…no matter what. People do it that are worse off, so can we!!
My boss was waiting for me with Hotels General Manager in the bar. My heart pounded as they both got up from the bar and came to the door to meet me. All I could think of was.."what did I do, what am I going to do..I have to have Sarah go somewhere so she does not see her mom lose her job! Please don’t embarrass me in front of my baby!
They asked me where I parked and I told them the employee parking lot. The general manager took off the other way and we started down the long hallway to the other end of the hotel to my car. Good..I can put sarah in the car and maybe my boss will tell me the bad news in private and the GM will bring my pink slip and paycheck. And Sarah won’t hear a thing…Thank goodness they did not take us into the office!
So, with my knees about to give out, we get to the car and I told Sarah to get in. My boss said "No, she needs to stay with us" I said, "well, it is cold, I want to turn on the heat for her". But, my boss insisted as a huge refer truck pulled up and the general manager stepped out. I held Sarah close to me, trying to make her feel safe and warm. "What is it mommy?" "I don't know honey" I replied as they opened the back of the truck.
What was inside was not only tons of groceries, but, wrapped gifts for Sarah and myself. There was so much, we had to find cord to tie the huge boxes to the top of the car, and we put sarah in the front seat and shoved things around her and on her lap. My car was packed!! Under the seats, in the glove box, from the floor to the top of the car!!
I guess my boss asked that the hotel sponsor us, since I was a single parent. She had asked me what we were doing for the holidays a few weeks before and knew I was a single mom and asking for extra hours to buy gifts for Sarah. I told her all the great things we were doing to the tree, and making gifts, sewing quilts, knitting scarves etc. When she asked what about dinner, I told her I was not sure yet, but, usually we get great stuff at the food bank. But, I don’t ever remember saying that we were lacking..I always knew there were people worse off so I never complained about our situation, we had what we needed, we just needed each other and our love. I guess she thought we deserved more.
What they did, The food, the gifts, gift cards for toys, clothing and grocery stores was overwhelming. I was on my knees crying. I could not stand for a long time! I guess all that stress I had built up burst through and I became a blubbering mother that could not express my appreciation enough as they loaded my car.
Sarah is now 26. We still talk about it every year. About how we made tons and tons of cookies from the 50 pound bag of oatmeal, bags of chocolate chips and nuts! (The GM and EVERYONE LOVED these cookies and would request them every year! We still make them, everyone loves them. ) We had food for months with the 2 turkeys, huge ham, and , I think someone must of bought half a cow with all the beef! I had to borrow my friends Freezer to store it. And then the huge Costco sized sugar, flour, cases of staples, stuffing, everything including fresh fruits, vegetables and boxes of chocolates! I had to store a lot of the dry goods in my closet..I just had a tiny little kitchen and it could not fit everything. The gifts were piled high under the Fichus and almost covered it! It was not a small Fichus! And the gifts, she got all the things she told me she would like to have but, I could not afford! I got beautiful the things I would never buy myself, like perfumes, leather gloves..etc.
It will and always will be the most memorable. When I thought I was losing my job, instead, we got blessings from people that did not even know us!
This is why, now that we are better off...we give every year. We want people to feel the same way we felt. Blessed, worthy and hopeful of peoples generosity and good spirit. To know I can pass that kind of feeling on to others like it was done to us is the best gift I can give myself. How can anyone forget that?
Sorry so long.
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