December 1, 2015- Christmas Memories

We have to go to O’Johnnies next week for the Christmas ornaments that we collect.  I should have just stuck with the Puppy Love series which I didn’t start getting until #5 or 6; I bought the previous ones on eBay. I also collect the Muppets, Snoopy, Scooby Doo and sometimes others like when Disney has Sleeping Beauty, The Lion King, 101 Dalmatians and Lady and The Tramp which are my favorites.

   This all gets to be pretty expensive. We use some money from the property tax rebate for this. Mom collects the Sky’s the Limit and Santa with an animal series (I forget its name) and sometimes cardinals. Mike has been getting the Frosty Friends series since the early 1980s. He also collects” Star Trek” and some Star Wars.

     I used to collect the raccoons in the 1980s- early 90s. We never kept the boxes for any of our Hallmark ornaments until the mid-1990s which we totally regret.

     Christmas used to be my favorite holiday up until the early 90’s. It still was just a little bit up until 1995. I loved decorating, watching the specials-“ Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and” A Year Without a Santa Claus” esp., listening to Mom’s albums – Elvis and Nat King Cole were my favs- and helping to make the cookies. We used Grandma at the farms old chocolate chip cookie one which was the best.

   We had 2 Christmases – at home with Dad’s family and at our Aunt Ann and Uncle Joe’s house on another day after that and before New Year’s Eve. My favorite gifts from grandma at the farm and Aunt Ann were the handmade ones like crocheted pillows and blankets.

   We have the handmade stockings from our aunt and also the ones with our names in glitter on them. She and Uncle Joe made a cute reindeer in his woodshop. Mom made grandma next door a ceramic tree that Aunt Joan got when she died and now we have it because Tony gave it to us after his mom passed away.

   We had a live Christmas tree during the 1980’s and I think in 1979 too. My favorite ornaments are handmade by family and friends.  Cindy’s mom made an angel out of a blue Styrofoam egg carton and a wooden toy soldier out of a clothespin. Michelle T’s mom also used clothespins to make a reindeer. There is also a Popsicle stick sled and a Christmas spider from our grade school’s holiday bazaar.

 Grandma at the farm made stuffed animals for that one year. We have some of them. She gave us both a snowman.  The mommie and baby duck were for me and Mike got the penguin and a gingerbread man

   We made ornaments in Kindergarten. Mine is just a red glass ball with my name on it and yarn for the hook. Mike’s is a wooden spoon with glitter, pine cone pieces and yarn hook. I made decorations that were in a Woman’s Day special Christmas craft issue. One was an angel made out of a cardboard oatmeal container and Styrofoam ball.

   Our church had the manger with live animals, usually llamas, sheep and/ or goats in it. I think that mom said that there was a camel once. We would go to Christmas Eve mass. One year they had trees from around the world – decorated according to various countries with a story about their traditions posted nearby these.

    Dad would drive around after mass so we could look at the light displays and the luminaries. I just recently found out that this is the name for those candles in brown paper bags with sand. We would put the Yule log on TV when we got home, or was that not until the next morning? Perhaps it was both times.

                                               
                                             
                                        
                                               
                                                  

 

 

 

 

Tri-Chem Santa

                    

 

                                                
                                          

                                         
                                            
                                                                                1979
                                                  
                                                                              1985
                             
                                                      

  


                                                              
                                                                                            

                                            

                                                              Made by Great Grandma

 

                                        
                                                         handmade blankets and pillows

 

 

                                            

 

 

 Yule Log 1985

 1980

 

Note -the only photo that isn't mine is the luminaries- that is from an internet search