Christmas Memories

So lately I've been thinking a lot about life. It changes so quickly. I find the older I get the faster it changes. Most of the time it's good changes. But once and awhile life puts you in a situation that you can either sink or swim. I know these changes are necessary in life. They build us up and make us who we are. What would we all be like if we were never faced with challenges or obstacles?

I'd like to share with you some thoughts about Christmas. I've been thinking A LOT about Christmas...soo many thoughts run through my head it's crazy. Thoughts about past Christmas memories. Making new memories with my son. This will be our first Christmas with him in our lives and I want to make it special. I know he's not going to remember it but the photo's will show we celebrated it! I am one of those people who love Christmas more than anything in the world. There is something about Christmas that makes me sooo happy inside. So it got me to thinking. Why do I love Christmas so much?

From the time I can remember Christmas was always a fun and happy time of year. I have no one else to thank than my parents for this. They truly made Christmas what it is. When I was a little girl, when it was Christmas time it almost felt like their was magic in the air. When it started to snow I'd go outside and make a snow angel and then look up into the dark sky and watch the snowflakes falling down and feel them hit and melt on my face. To me they were magical snowflakes and I'd always make a wish. Christmas always meant that we were off from school and that mom was in the kitchen baking up a storm! My mom and I have the tradition of making braided Swedish bread every year and still to this day make it. Christmas also meant company! Lots of family coming over. Getting dressed up only to play with our cousins and tear a hole in my leggings or my brothers tearing a hole in their pants. I loved having family over at the house. It meant that the house was busy and people all over the place. It meant laughter. Wondering how our parents could possibly laugh that hard. It meant hours and hours of playing and laughing ourselves while the adults visited upstairs. It meant being able to sleep on my brother's floor the night before Christmas. Always getting to stay up extra late during the holidays. It meant watching Home Alone over and over again and knowing every line and rewinding the part when he steps on the nail. It meant that family had time off and were around to stop in at the house at any given time of the day. Sleeping in late and wearing pajama's all day.

Christmas Eve has always been spent at my Grandmother's church. It's the tiniest little church downtown. They have a candlelight service every year. I remember as a child getting all dressed up for the service every year in a Christmas dress. Once I was in Jr. High I started playing trumpet at the services along side my father. I have to say we were the highlight of the services. Year after year as a family we would go to the service. The thing I like about the service is that it never changes. Some people probably dislike this but I like it. It's that one constant thing at Christmas that you almost look forward to. The songs are the same, the program is the same, the pastor has the same jokes. I love it. I sit in the back pew and look around and remember all my memories. I remember trying to keep awake many years as a child. My favorite part is when they hand out the candles and we get to light them! It still is my favorite. Then the pastor says "Remember to dip the unlit candle into the lit candle" Then all the lights turn off and you just see the glow of each candle. Then we sing Silent Night. It is truly the most amazing thing.

It does make me sad though, to look around and see fewer and fewer faces that were there the year before. Unfortunately that church has a lot of older people in it. The choir is getting smaller and smaller. This makes me sad that eventually this service won't be the same. Things will change and the one constant Christmas tradition I have will soon fade away. I must also mention that as much as Christmas is my favorite time of year and I'm always in a positive mood, there is also a part of me that is sad. It often brings up memories of family and friends that are no longer with us. I always wished that God would let the people up in heaven down for one day. Christmas day. So we could see them once again and spend an entire day with them. I know this is not going to happen but wouldn't it be nice?

As I mentioned earlier, this will be my son's first Christmas. I want to start thinking of traditions that I can do every year to help him have the same joyous memories I had growing up. I want him to get super excited on Christmas Eve. I'll let him open one present the night before like we did when we were kids. I'll let him drink eggnog and stay up way past his bedtime. I'll watch all the classic Christmas movies with him in our pj's. I'll bake all the traditional holiday goodies. I'll let him decorate the tree like my mom did. Even though it looked like a mess with tinsel and bows all over the place, she let us do it and that meant a lot. As a family we will go out and find that perfect Christmas tree and load it on top of the car. We will go ice skating. Obviously most of these things will happen when he's a bit older... I mean he's only 5 1/2 months old now.

In closing I'd like to add the lyrics of my favorite Christmas song. I have many but this song gets me every time. It makes me happy, it makes me sad, but my Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without this song.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.
Here were are as in olden days,
happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
gather near to us once more.
Through the years we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

Don't ever stop believing in Christmas! Keep making new and special Christmas memories. Please feel free to leave a comment about your favorite traditions or memories. I'd love to hear them.