I have been feeling a bit nostalgic these days.
I think it is the holidays that makes me think back to my own childhood.
I had a really good childhood. I know not everyone can say that and I am happy that I am one of those who can say without a doubt that I had the best childhood imaginable.
We had Christmas traditions like many families do. One of my favorite Christmas traditions involved pajamas.
My mom somehow managed to make us pajamas every year for Christmas. Our tradition was to open one present on Christmas Eve and it was the pajama present so we could wear them that night. These were not your usual run of the mill pajamas. Oh no. These were fun pajamas with hats and tails .
Sometimes they were not easy to sleep in because the tails (depending on the animal) got in the way. But lucky me got to have a complete set because I was the baby and got the hand me downs.
Or course we had the family Christmas card and letter every year and my mom still writes her Brown Daze newsletter. Pictures usually were of the whole family and my dad got pretty creative with his photography and had us pose or act out different scenes. Of course this one is my favorite.
That’s me as Baby Jesus. I love that I have copies of these pictures from years ago that I can look back on and reminince about.
We tried to make some memories with our own boys as they were growing up and one of the most important memories I have is how important stockings were to us. I really make our family stockings the highlight of Christmas Day and try to fill them with really great things. Usually I have too much to fit into them and we have to have Stocking Annexes.
What is one of your Christmas traditions that you cherish? I would love to hear all about it in the comments. Remember that every comment this month means a 50 cent donation to our Comments for a Cause recipient – The Connestee Fire Rescue Auxiliary.
14 Comments
Leave a commentThis is so sweet. What a wonderful way to grow up. Love that you have the photos.
I know. I am so blessed in so many ways. It is easy to be reminded of that around the holidays especially.
Isn’t it wonderful to have memories of Christmases past? My dad died when I was an infant (and sisters were grown and married), so it was just Mom and me. She fought with a cedar tree each year, to try to keep it straight – and watered. I realized after I was grown that she just did that for me. She probably would have fine with a tiny little artificial tabletop tree.
It’s bittersweet to think of the sacrifices she made to try to make sure I had nice Christmases.
Bittersweet indeed. I honestly had no clue what these traditions would mean to me later down the road. I am so blessed. I love that your mom got that cedar tree every year for you and yes—she probably would have been fine without but she did it for you. That is what parents do. They do everything within their power to make it a perfect time of the year for their kids. Thanks for sharing your memory. I loved it.
Love the pictures. My one lasting childhood Christmas memory was the year we three boys got a sled but there was no snow so we had to walk downtown and slide on the creek.
My parents had open house every Christmas day so the parade of people would start early and go late. Honestly, I remember it as being somewhat chaotic.
Ha!
Oh, my, how precious these photos. There’s a striking resemblance between you and your siblings.
A favorite tradition: That would be attending Christmas Eve worship services, especially singing “O, Come All Ye Faithful” as we Sunday School kids walked into church. And then singing “Joy to the World” as we exited.
Love this and the pictures you shared from your childhood. Sounds like the pajamas your Mom made were quite the pjs!
My favorite Christmas tradition we do with our kids is that we have Birthday Waffles Christmas Day morning and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus 🙂
Love love love “Stocking Annexes”!!!!!!!! In a day and age of excesses, it would be a fab idea to limit gifts to items that fit in a (normal/regular sized) Christmas stocking. There are really very few, if any, items that are really ‘needed’ (for which I am very thankful) and many others have need of a happy moment brought to them at this time especially.
Just love those pictures. I too had a wonderful childhood and sometimes feel guilty when I hear some of the horror stories from others. I guess we were just lucky. I also have many great Christmas memories. One that comes to mind is of Dad hitching up the team of horses to a sleigh and giving us all sleigh rides with jingle bells and all. It was just like the song. We were all so bundled up we could hardly move. More recently I made my son and his four children all matching nightshirts out of a bolt of white flannelet with little black and white cows on it. I even found cow buttons. The youngest wore a version of that nightshirt forever as he got all the hand me downs!! This was a feel good post. Thanks!
My parents were anti-Christmas activists in the 1960s and 1970s, so my happy Christmas memories start when I was old enough to get paid for singing the carols I’d always loved in aid of charity. “But it’s not about the un-Christian ‘Christmas Machine’–it’s about raising money for shelters and soup kitchens when they need it most!” I love carols. And missions.
OH MY GOSH! THOSE ARE SOOOOO CUTE!
My (male) cousin who is 6 months younger than I, grimace over some old holiday photos because for some reason our parents used to be us matching Christmas outfits!!! Why? We weren’t siblings or twins!! LOL But we also kinda look back with fondness too. He teased me that he would show up in a wedding gown on my wedding day. ha.
Stockings are one of my absolute favourite traditions too. Gotta have the stocking and a clementine or tangerine in the toe!
We always had the tangerine in the toe as well! My parents made a big thing about stockings which is why I continue to do the same. This year I have stockings for Micah’s fiancee and for Aaron’s girlfriend and it was so much fun shopping for girls for a change! Theirs are overflowing!