Favorite Christmas Memories

Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored collaboration with AMP Agency and Walmart. All opinions are 100% mine!

When I was asked to describe a favorite toy that I got for Christmas, my first thought was, “Dancerina!” I can’t remember how old I was – maybe 7 or 8 and I wanted this ballerina doll baaaad! I can’t even remember what it was about this particular toy that was so magnetic to me. Perhaps it was because as a little girl I was taking ballet lessons. Maybe because Dancerina and I both had blonde hair. I don’t remember! And that is sad to me, because I do remember wanting her! I don’t even remember actually getting her on that Christmas morning. In thinking about this as an adult, I thought it very odd that I had almost no memories of a toy I wanted so badly, other than the fact that I did receive her. So I pondered this. And here’s what I came up with: Christmas was such an exciting and magical time in our home. Christmas morning was when we saw what ‘Santa’ brought and when we opened our gifts. There was so much going on and so much joy, that it’s hard to separate out just one particular memory. And that’s a good thing!

It all started on Christmas Eve when we got together with my mom’s sister; my favorite aunt (along with my uncle and cousin). We switched off every year having a Christmas Eve dinner at one or the other of our homes, then opened gifts – not from our parents, but from my aunt and uncle. It was a tradition that held a lot of comfort; “This is what we do.” No wondering – and there’s a lot of security in that for a child. The funny thing is that what I remember most from those Christmas Eve occasions was ALWAYS looking up in the sky, either when we left my aunt’s or when we walked them outside to leave our house, and thinking that, “Maybe…just maybe…I’ll see Santa and his reindeer.” I don’t remember the gifts or the meals. I just remember looking into that night sky every single Christmas Eve. It was a magic night sky on Christmas Eve! It seemed to hold the promise of something wonderful.

We were not a wealthy family – not by a long shot. We lived in a tiny house; me and my sisters who are identical twins and our parents. We were a very, very close family. Our parents spent a lot of time with us. They were proud of us and our accomplishments. They loved us deeply and we knew it. On Christmas morning, all three of us kids were up at the crack of dawn. I had a significant issue back in those days: I was the oldest and the sleeping arrangements in our house were very unfair to me (I thought). See, my parents got to sleep in the same room, and my sisters, the twins, got to sleep in the same room. But me? I had to sleep in a room ALL BY MYSELF! Not fair! Of course, as I got older, this was a huge blessing!!! But I would almost always go sleep with my sisters – we all three slept in this big bed since I didn’t want to sleep by myself – and so we would all three get up at the same time and troop into our parents’ room to see if they were awake yet. Invariably the parents would have to go into the living room to “check”. It never occurred to us to question what they were “checking”. Probably just making sure that they hadn’t forgotten anything…like putting away the cookies and milk we left for Santa.

Then we would run into the room and fall upon the toys! Oh, Glory! Toys, toys, toys! They were not expensive toys – we couldn’t afford that. But they were always chosen with care and love and a great deal of thought. After we were allowed to play with the toys for a little while it was time to open the wrapped gifts. Since my sisters almost always received the same gifts, my parents made them sit back to back and open the same gift at the same time, so as not to spoil the surprise. My sisters dressed alike all the way through high school. This was their choice, and I remember in high school there were mornings when I’d hear, “I want to wear our red shirts.” “No! I want to wear the black ones!.” “No, the red!” “No, the black!” It never even occurred to them that one could wear red and one could wear black. Okay, I’m getting off track.

After the gifts came a big family breakfast and the rest of the day was spent either visiting family or having family over to visit. I remember it was tough as a kid to have to leave those brand new toys! But we had so many cousins that we spent time with that someone would have something fun and new on Christmas Day to play with.

And, although this has nothing to do with toys, another one of my most treasured memories is helping my dad sell Christmas trees at the church’s Christmas Tree sale. We would build a big bonfire, and my dad would actually let me ‘help’ the customers. At night, the men of the church would each take a night to ‘guard’ the Christmas tree lot, and when it was my dad’s turn, our whole family would sit with him for awhile around the bonfire with a picnic dinner and hot chocolate. It was special. It was what we did at Christmas.

So I can’t say that I have a ton of specific memories of specific Christmases, or toys, or meals. But when I do think back about Christmas as a child, I’m transported back to a wonderful, magical time where it was warm and cozy and I felt incredibly loved! My sisters and I are all grown up now, but all three of us live within 10 minutes of each other. We talk to each other and see each other frequently. They are my best friends. I am blessed!

If you want to get your kids that perfect Christmas toy that they will treasure, consider going to Walmart this Saturday! They’re having a Holiday Toyland event where all of the hottest toys will be on display! I’m going! Click here to see where there’s a location near you.