A Heartfelt Christmas Story ... CHRISTMAS TREASURES THAT LIGHT UP OUR HOLIDAY
CHRISTY DORE:
Snowman
One of my fondest memories growing up was playing in the snow with my dad. One year, he built me a silly square snowman. It was so wonderfully different than all the other round ones and I loved it! So, fast forward a few years ... I still love snowmen. I have an entire tree with almost all snowmen decorations. Every year, I try to find at least one special snowman ornament to add to my collection. My square snowman ornament was my favorite find! I have since loved bringing my “old friend” out of its box to hang on the front of my Christmas tree. I will always cherish my memories of my dad, this one especially!
JANE BETH MCCARTY:
Santa
I had a hard time trying to decide what to share on this one, as pulling out holiday items brings back a flood of memories of family and friends. But then I realized that probably the favorite thing(s) I bring out every year are photos of my three boys with Santa growing up. There are many years when they were all happy and excited, but it seems that each year, someone was afraid of Santa (Parker had two years, but I digress). Here are the ones where Santa wasn’t too exciting.
And for those of you who think you should report me to Child Protective Services, I think the statute of limitations is less than 20 years, and they have all grown up to be three great young men! And for the many of you with young children, enjoy every moment because in a flash, you’ll be old and looking back at those years just like I am now.
KATIE THOMAS:
Charlie Brown Tree
This hand-me-down Charlie Brown tree comes with so many memories. All started 19 years ago when my sister was just old enough to pull over the big tree ... Then, I moved out for college and it became my starter tree. Now, I have two beautiful daughters that make precious ornaments to add. This is the first year they are decorating “their tree” by themselves, retiring the “gently used” candy ornaments with their homemade goodies. I hope this tree lasts another 19 years!!
JANIE GAUNCE:
Magic of Santa
Our son Chase was trying hard to unravel the magic of Santa this year. He was probably 7 years old. Right after he left this note, he tried to tie our door shut into our room so we “couldn’t go downstairs and be Santa.”
SHERRY SAYLOR:
Violin Treasures
Here are two of my Christmas treasures. I have MANY but none are ornaments. This plate was my Grandma’s and out of 6 grandchildren that are musicians - she gave it to me! (I’m a violinist). The Nutcracker is one of many - but he’s my newest one. My dad got him for me for Christmas last year. They are built in the town that the same grandma was born in Germany (my dad’s mom!) So I have my Violin Maker Nutcracker right next to my Violin Christmas plate -- makes me smile E V E R Y T I M E .
MEREDITH WALLACE:
The Navy
Here is my Navy Goat ornament, Betty gave this to me years ago so I never forget “our Navy Heritage”.
AMANDA BYLER:
Big Move
Here’s my entry. This is an ornament my mom bought for me last month. 2020 has been a really big (and tough) year for my family. Part of that included my parents recently moving from KC to Branson, MO. My mom loves buying ornaments for big events in our lives. Our family tree is like a time capsule; there’s countless ornaments for all of our life milestones! This year she bought my siblings and I ornaments to represent the biggest event this year: their cross-state move. She picked out this cute lil Rudolph for my own tree as a way to remember this year.
KRISTEN JONES:
Memory Lane
When I think about Christmas at our house when I was younger, I always remember how much fun we had decorating the tree. My mom, younger sister and I would get out the boxes of decorations: a weird mix of pretty ornaments, things we’d made in Girl Scouts or at school, ornaments with our faces on them, ornaments commemorating a year or an event. For the photo I grabbed a few that I have on my own tree now: the little brother from A Christmas Story (our family favorite holiday movie), an angel my grandma gave me from her tree when I was little because I liked it, and a wooden ornament our family dog got ahold of one year (see the teeth marks!). As we decorated the tree, we’d listen to Christmas music – but ridiculous Christmas music, like Alvin and the Chipmunks or an old New Kids on the Block Christmas album we had on cassette tape. We joked and laughed a lot, and it was always so much fun!
KATHY DEXHEIMER:
Bell
I was given this Christmas bell as a gag gift at least 37 years ago. Pre-Megan by 4 years.
This has the original battery and it has been held together with duct tape for at least 30 years. Still plays “we wish you a merry christmas” after all these years.
KRIS MINER:
Nativity
I retired the xmas tree ornaments the boys made as kids (bad mom) and I’ve attached a photo of one of my favorite ornaments. I like the simplicity of the manager scene and what it represents.
BETHANY BURTON:
Travel
My parents’ tree is dripping in ornaments and they all have stories attached to them. So when Brandon and I got married it was fun to start creating our own new memories and traditions. We love to travel and try to visit the aquarium or zoo wherever we go. Along our travels we began to collect ornaments from the places we went and we love revisiting all those places at Christmas time when we decorate the tree. Now that Willow is two she loved picking out her own ornaments and helping decorate.
AUSTIN MOODY:
Pickle
We do cookie baking and themed pajamas as our holiday tradition every year and then the usual sock, underwear, and clementines in the stockings.
One tradition the Hayford family does that I’ve found interesting over the few years is the Christmas Pickle. I had never heard of it until I started going to their Christmas events. Basically you hide a pickle ornament in the tree every year and the first grandkid who finds it gets a special gift. Kind of kooky but fun.
BONNIE CHAMPION:
A New Tradition
This is a Christmas story I found and sent to my dad and we are starting it this year and I am doing it as my gift for him. He is a person who has spent his life helping others every chance he gets and is not a fan of Christmas. Before every gift he gets he says, “I wish you wouldn’t have bought me this, I don’t need anything.” He was so happy when I sent it to him. You would have thought I told him I was buying him a car.
THE LITTLE WHITE ENVELOPE: “It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past ten years. It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it – overspending and the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma – the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else. Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was on the wrestling team at the school he attended. Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler’s ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.” Mike loved kids – all kids. He so enjoyed coaching little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That’s when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes, and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed a small, white envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done, and that this was his gift from me. Mike’s smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year. And that same bright smile lit up succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition – one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on. The white envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning, and our children – ignoring their new toys – would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the small, white envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn’t end there. You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree. And the next morning, I found it was magically joined by three more. Unbeknownst to the others, each of our three children had for the first time placed a white envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing to take down that special envelope. Mike’s spirit, like the Christmas spirit will always be with us.” For the Man Who Hated Christmas (A true Christmas Story by Nancy W. Gavin, December 2015)
Have a Happy Holiday FROM SOME OF THE GRAPES