Only 12 more days until Christmas! While we here in the Underground can offer no swans a-swimming, no lords a-leaping, no gold rings or partridges, we have something even better... books, books, and more books!
We’re kicking off the final twelve days of Christmas here in the Underground by talking about our “first holiday memories”. Each day will bring a new author, a new memory, a new book giveaway. Yep, we’ll be doing a book-a-day giveaway until December 25th, when one lucky winner will win a Grand Prize Packet, filled with books from some of your favorite authors!
Join me, Sable Grace, Kim Falconer, Joss Ware, Leah Cypess, Anita Bell, Dakota Banks, Nicole Murphy, Josephine Angelini, Juliana Stone, Helen Lowe and Kerrelyn Sparks as we share Christmas memories over the next twelve days. Pop in and leave us a comment to be entered in the giveaways.
There were seven people in my family, five of us kids. Money was tight, but excitement was high. I have a vivid memory of squirming and giggling with my sisters and brother as we peeked into the living room on Christmas morning to see a brightly lit tree surrounded by presents that hadn’t been there when we’d gone to bed the night before. It was magical, astonishing, and I could barely contain my excitement when I saw that the thing I’d wanted most in all the world was right there in front of the tree – an adorable stuffed Bambi almost as tall as a four or five year-old me. I’d seen that Bambi in a store with my Mother two weeks before, begged for it, and had reluctantly been forced to accept my mom’s verdict that it was too expensive.
The tree looked huge, the pile of presents looked as tall as a mountain in my mind. Where had they all come from? My mom couldn’t have wrapped and hidden that many gifts on her own, could she? Maybe Santa really HAD come and brought them! Maybe that’s how I’d gotten my wish and received my Bambi!
But I always knew that it was my mom’s doing. She was the one who made the day special. She was the one who bought the gifts and wrapped them, saving a little bit week after week out of the grocery money in order to do it. She was the one who baked the fruitcake that some of us loved and some of us hated, and she’s the one who always waited until we kids had gone to bed to bring the presents out, telling us Santa brought them while we were asleep, even when we were far, far too old to hear it. I kept up this tradition with my own kids, always remember how magical it was to wake up to your heart’s desire. I don’t remember what happened to Bambi, but I’ll always remember that morning.
Tell me a Christmas memory of yours for a chance to win a signed copy of SILENT NIGHT, HAUNTED NIGHT, and let the Countdown To Christmas begin!
29 comments:
There was the year my sister wrote all over my brand new doll's face with my mother's bright, red lipstick. My mother did and said nothing to her. Our birthday (we have the same birthday a year apart) is three weeks after Christmas. I got the tall bride doll, and she did not. HA!!
Sisters!!
At least you had your revenge, Roni! :)
My favorite memory is when my mom made denim jackets for me, my brother, and about 5 of my cousins. When I think back on that I am simply amazed that she took the time to do that. Also the Christmas I got a child size pinball machine. I had so much fun until my older brother broke it...LOL
koonie2888 at yahoo dot com
I remember one Christmas Santa left my sister and I a hot wheels race car track. (My mom & dad raced cars back then.) We got up and came down stairs and the little cars were wizzing arround on the bright orange track. We were so excited. The cat sat down right next to it and would catch the cars with his paw and knock them off the track so anytime we wanted to play with it the cat was locked in the bathroom, poor kitty.
My parents filmed every year and it's fun ro watch the old 8mm films.
Merry Chirstmas
Bonn1511(at)aol(dot)com
I also remember looking into the den and seeing presents that weren't there the night before. Such a wonderful and magical feeling. I remember getting my first watch (I was 5) it was a snow white one with a light blue watch band :)
Even though there isn't one thing that made it more memorable than other Christmases my most memorable Christmas was the last Christmas before my father passed away.
rockchick531@gmail.com
Your brother broke your pinball machine, Michelle? Brothers!!
Poor kitty just wanted to play, Bonnie! I'll bet the old films are hilarious.
Do you still do that with your kids, Sharon? (Put extra presents under the tree Christmas eve?)
Very sorry about your father, Tanya. Both my parents are gone, and I really miss my mom the most at Christmas!
Terri,
My best Christmas memory happened when my niece was only 2 yrs old (I was waaaaay older) but it confirmed to me that yes, Terri, there is a Santa.
My niece asked her folks for an electric Barbie car. My brother could surely afford it but they told her that it was something Santa could never deliver. Broken hearted, my niece said she didn't want Santa to bring anything then. One day, my father walked into a store and they were running a raffle - the grand prizes were an electric GI Joe Jeep and an electric Barbie Car. Well, he immediately entered the raffle. One day, about a week before Christmas, I was housesitting for my folks while they traveled to WI to see other grandkids and received a phone call. Knowing nothing of the raffle, I was surprised when they told me that my father had won. He had a choice of one of the grand prizes. As soon as I heard about the Barbie car, I claimed it. We ended up shipping the car through an airlines, costing almost as much as the car, but it was there on Christmas morning, parked in the driveway with a big red bow, and a tag saying it was from Santa.
So you see, wishes can come true because there really is a Santa - he just works through us.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
amyvalentini@aol.com
When my son was 2 my mother bought him this huge handcrafted rocking horse. The man who made it guaranteed that even some one 300 lbs could ride it. Well when we brought it out my son flipped. He was so excited, then a soon as he got off my husband got on. It then became the family gag that every one got on a had there picture taken! My grandmother sat backwards and even my downsyndrome uncle got on!
My grandmother worked for Saks in New York and we used to go into the city to go to the employee Christmas party every year.
One of my favorite Christmas memories is when I was four and I received a shiny blue pedal car. I was so excited that I screamed.
2 Christmas memories or traditions really that I have are when my family and I bake cookies! I love it! Sure it's not healthy or good for you, but it is good for your soul! ;) We always make a variety, my fave being the sugar cookie cut outs!
My other fave tradition, it's not necessarily mean, but my sis sure gets tired of it, but I don't care! That's the joy of being the youngest! Anyway, I always double box-double wrap her gift. No matter what it is! I like to make her work for her gift! I currently have her gifts wrapped once, since they're slightly larger than normal I have to get a big box and wrap that up, so I'm trying to find one, have one now but I might be able to get a better one!
I remember how during the holidays my whole family would go sledding down the local hill. It was a lot of fun. Afterwards we would all go home and warm ourselves up with hot soup. Now we live in a place that rarely sees snow and it makes me recall those younger days.
Cambonified[at]yahoo[dot]com
One Christmas when I was quite young, my mother noticed that there were presents missing from under the tree. She had forgotten to wrap part of our Christmas!! She snuck into our bedrooms, and then told us how Santa used to leave presents for her under her bed. My sister and I ran to check - and sure enough - there were presents under the bed.
I checked under the bed for many Christmas mornings after that year. :-)
My first real memory of Christmas was when I was 5. My little sister and I shared a room and I was so uber excited that I could not go to sleep. My mom kept coming into the bedroom and found me sitting at the window waiting to see Santa. By 1 am she was so tired and fed up with me that she made me a cup of hot tea. Of course she put a little whiskey in the tea to get me to sleep. It worked and I didn't want to wake up in the morning....LOL Hmmm maybe that is why I am not a Whiskey girl.
Happy Holidays everyone
my fav memory is decorating the tree with my mom.. shes got all these amazing ornaments, some were her grandmothers.. and its like crawling back down memory lane going through them...
thanks for the chance to win!
alainala AT hotmail DOT ca
My favorite memory is when i was around 7 and i was scared of santa... when i went to the mall around christmas tht time santa was there for a picture...but i was soo scared of him tht by mistake trying to get away from him i pulled of his mustache...and v have a pic of tht. lol
Lovely memory :)
I remember that my twin-sister and I always had to stay in our room on christmas until a bell rang. That was the sign that Santa had left and that we could come out. I loved that bell and I´pretty sure I will continue this tradition with my own kids :)
When I was a child, my parents always got up with us and let us look through our stockings first- and we always knew that Santa would leave us an apple, an orange, and a candy cane! Then we had a homemade fruit strudel for breakfast before settling down to go through our gifts! Santa only wrapped about half of them, so the waiting was the WORST. :) Happy holidays!
I was sick. I always seemed to find a cold or flu at that time of year when I was young. But this year I kept running a fever. I got up because I felt awful and my parents just finished putting together a plane that my uncle got me (via Santa). I stood there shaking because I was excited and sick at the same time. I remember thinking (I was like 3 at the time) that Santa was real because my parents saw him! My mom was just worried if I had too much excitement and had to try to coax me back to bed. LOL
My favorite Christmas memory is of my grandfather. Each year on Christmas Eve, the entire family would gather at my grandparents' house. This included all their 11 children, in-laws, grandchildren, a few grandchildren, various extra family, friends, etc. After dinner, everyone would gather and my grandfather would read the story of the first Christmas aloud from his Bible. This was what made Christmas for me, and since he passed away, I really miss it. I do have videos of it from various years but it is not the same.
I remember many Christmas nights when my sister and I (and anyone else that wanted to go) would pile in the car and drive around town checking out all the beautiful lights and decorations, and then come home for pumpkin pie, yummy!
Barbed1951 at aol dot com
My memory is more a collective one of many Cmas times. EVERY year until I went away to college our stockings had a giant candy cane, a coloring book and crayons plus several small items. To this day I love coloring books, and had a blast coloring with my kids:)
I remember the year santa left my sister a monster truck with missles, she got so upset because santa thought she was a boy. We still love to hassle her about it.
ticklebear2 at yahoo dot com
Christmas in your family sounds very similar to mine, Terri--and even when money was tight they were always magical.
Well, my most memorable Christmas was when I was about 8 or 10 years old. I was arguing with my sister - as usually :) -, and suddenly we heard jingling. It was Santa - okay, now I know it was my godfather, but we were so surprised then that we stopped arguing and almost started to cry, because we thought we wouldn't get presents, because we were bag girls xD Of course, we got presents but we didn't argue for a while after it :)
And now merry Christmas to you! :)
mikki-mano@hotmail.com
I remember the year Santa got us cowboy outfits and guns. My little brother shot plastic pellets into my mom's gravy and got us all in trouble.
alterlisa AT yahoo DOT com
http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com/
One Christmas my brother and I woke up early... we are talking like 4-5 am early and woke my little sister, let the dog outside, and settled down to open gifts. We decided it was still dark so it was too early to wake mom and dad. My brother and I were probably 10 and 11. We decided that we would just open a couple then sit down and play or read until the parents finally woke up. One of the dogs decided to wake my mom, we got sent back to bed with orders not to leave our rooms until 9. We usually got to open gifts at 7. We might not have gotten in quite so much trouble had we not gotten my 4 yr old sister up. We did have fun though and we ended up open gifts before 9 anyways because we always left between 9 and 10 for Christmas at my Grandparents in the Adirondacks. Grammy had a turkey and ham and we all ate in shifts doing dishes and reheating between each feeding 80 to 120 people each Christmas. That year was our turn for homemade gifts from Grammy and Grampa instead of store bought. With 50 grandchildren she couldn't make for all every year. I got a large cloth bag with my name quilted onto it. I used that bag all the way until college when someone stole it from the laundry room.
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