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My fondest Christmas memories are those of my grandmother Doshia. She passed away about three years ago, and it seems like each year I miss her more. She was a real Christmas lover. Decorated her house up outside and inside, and made sure everyone was given gifts that they really liked. I dont miss her for those things though. I miss her PRESENCE. Just being with us was all the gift our family needed. Very, very seldom was she not happy and cheerful. She loved my son John, and would do anything he wanted, including letting him make her up around Halloween. We have pictures and videos with her in them, and I am glad for those memories, but sure would like to be able to just talk to her and hug her the way I used to. God bless my mawmaw Doshia, and for her love and devotion to her family.
-------------------- Maker of fine signs and other creative stuff. Located at 109 N. Cumberland ave. Harlan, Ky. 40831 606-837-0242 Posts: 4172 | From: Ages-Brookside, Ky. Up the Holler... | Registered: Jul 1999
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Aww John, I love stories like yours. My Grandma Isabel was a gem like Doshia. Every year when I was little my Grandpa Arnett and Grandma Isabel would drive from Minnesota.
Grandma would help make the decorations. Each year it was something new and exciting. And of course we would make lefse, kringla, krumkake, and rosettes. Our home was filled with Grandma singing and playing the organ, while Grandpa was out making snow angels. When we awoke our stockings were filled with hankies, candy and fruit and we each had a brand new pair of jammies my mom made for each of us. Those were such special times. Christmas is not all about just going shopping and buying. It is about filling your home with love. I miss my Grandma too. I can still hear her voice just like when she used to call. Thanks John, for getting this post going. I could go on and on, there are just so many good memories.
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My brother would always like to get up in the mornings those days & weeks before christmas & turn the lights on the tree while it was still kinda dark out on those chilly Chicago December mornings. We had these heat vents on the floor & we would sit by those & marvel at the lights and the mystique of another approaching Christmas. On Christmas morning we could barely contain ourselves & always had to get up by 5 or 6 in the morning. We were quite curious about our gifts, but I seem to remember only opening one maybe, before my folks got up. I don't think that was their request, I just knew their enjoyment in seeing us discover what was in those nicely wrapped boxes was a big part of the enjoyment for us as well.
My mom used to make snow men with marshmellows glued together with a sticky paste of confectioners suger & water. 3 big marshmellows with the top one cut back at an angle like a pointy cap, then 4 mini-marshmellows for arms & legs (some sitting & some standing) the buttons were those silver balls in the cake decoration isle & she used cloves to make a happy face & eyes.
I'm going to see my mom next week, & now I think I want to make some snowmen again!
Another memory is after seeing that fluffy confectioners suger she used to make the paste, I came home from school and a little saucer by the sink still had enough left to wet my fingers real good, load up my grubby paws, & get a nice big mouthful of... ...baking soda! yuck!
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This time of year I really think about my Great-Grandmother who passed away when I was about 6y/o or so. I don't really have any "Christmas" memories per say. But this time of year always makes me think of her and how I used to spend time with her making "Homemade pie's". My favorite was always "Gooseberry", I still to this day have never seen a gooseberry tree/bush or wherever that they come from.LOL and I have not eaten one bite of gooseberry pie since her passsing. I guess it is silly since I loved it so much, but as a child I couldn't do it and it just stuck into adulthood. The hardest time was when I was a teenager working in a local resturaunt that had an older lady working in their "bakery" making homemade pie's. I could always tell when she made gooseberry and it brought back fond memories of a childhood spent in an old kithcen with flour everywhere. I can almost smell it as I write this.
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I still remember the Christmas eve when my two little brothers & I were so excited we just couldn't settle down & stay in bed even though my folks kept telling us that Santa wouldn't come until we were asleep. Mpm finally gave us some cups of hot chocolate & was trying to get us to go back to bed when suddenly it happened.....we heard sleigh bells out side & she got real wide-eyed & said "That's Santa & if you're still awake, he'll have to pass on by!!" It took all of about 2 seconds for us to jump in bed, scrunch our eyes shut & try to do the best imitation of sleep we could!! It worked because the next thing we remembered was getting up early the next morning. Years later, we found out that dad had slipped out when mom distracted us with the hot chocolate & was running up & down the pasture west of the house through the snow shaking an old set of harness bells!! Dad's almost 80 years old now & has to use a walker to get around but I still have to smile when I think of what a picture he must have made that night, a long, tall 6'8" cowboy running through the snow & shaking those bells!! Oh yeah, I sTill believe in Santa!!
-------------------- Chris Elliott 1longshot@classicnet.net cell 62084two2232 Posts: 686 | From: Scottsdale, AZ & Anthony, KS, USA | Registered: Dec 1999
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Hey Troy my granny used to make gooseberry pies too, except my grandad used to pick them from the gooseberry bushes in his garden, the bushes are low and covered in thorns but grandad always managed to get a bowl full without getting scratched, but not me hands covered in scratches I remember he had huge calloused hands from years of working on the railways in the days of steam before he retired, he also worked on a farm as a ploughman, I used to have all these wonderful ideas of farming in the old ways, grandad just used to laugh and say "son how you like to spend 10 hours a day walking in horse sh*t"
-------------------- Steve Broughton Alpha Grafix Signs Lowfields Road Benington, Boston Lincolnshire, England Posts: 315 | From: Boston, Lincolnshire, England | Registered: Aug 2001
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My mother was always the Christmas nut in our family. She used to get so annoyed with me on Christmas morning - I'd be sleeping soundly and she'd come and wake me up because she wanted to open presents! She's even worse now. Her house looks like the North Pole for months. She called me the week before Thanksgiving and asked me if we had our tree up yet.
My husband and I like to open our presents on Christmas Eve. Every year, I make a couple of big platters of neat little appetizers (on the good silver of course!) and then we sit on the floor in front of the tree and eat and open presents with a bottle of good champagne.
-------------------- Kimberly Zanetti Purcell www.amethystProductivity.com Folsom, CA email: Kimberly@AmethystProductivity.com
“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.” AA Milne Posts: 3723 | From: Folsom, CA | Registered: Dec 2001
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My Mom WAS Christmas! Every Christmas eve she had all the family over. Every aunt, uncle, cousin, grandparent and friend we had were at our house on Christmas eve. This went on year after year until she died 2 years ago. The crowd changed, Mom was the last of her siblings, but the house was still full. She had sons-in law, daughters-in-law grandchildren, great grandchildren, neices, great neices, nephews and great nephews. There were lots of friends that we thought of as family also. Everyone in town called her "Mama Ethel".
When we were small, we had the best decorated house in town. One year I can remember her collecting soft drink and beer signs. She cut out a life sized Santa and all 8 reindeer with a chisel, then crimped the edges for safety's sake. She then painted them and put lights for the reins. She always went the extra mile to make Christmas special. She added to that set for the next 30 yrs.
Christmas will never be the same without her, but we have so many wonderful memories. We still celebrate together. She wouldn't have it any other way.
-------------------- Kathy Joiner River Road Graphics 41628 River Road Ponchatoula, La.70454
Old enough to know better...Too young to resist. Posts: 1891 | From: Ponchatoula, LA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Where I grew up,in Switzerland, most people celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. We never had a tree up and decorated before that. The Christmas tree was completetly part of that special night. We kids had to wait in our room, somebody would read stories to us, but we could hardly concentrate. Then finally a little bell rang and we all ran to the living room where the tree stood, beautifully adorned and with real candles all over and gifts underneath. But the tree was so magic it was almost better than the gifts. We would sit around it and listen to Christmas music and the Christmas story and after that open the gifts. We were allowed to stay up late, and at midnight we dressed warm and stood in the open window while all the churches near and far would ring their bells. I'm talking about an entire orchestra of bells. I think I wanna go home for Christmas....
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Chris Elliot's reply made me laugh as I could easily imagine the picture he was painting. It is really sad in Aus. at this time because there is a big controversy going on at the moment about Kindergartens banning Santa. The politically correct teachers and some religions have decided that Christmas is not to be commercialized and the children are not to be lied to anymore. Sad isn't it, when the kids already grow up too fast and now the goons are trying to take away the last bit of fantasy left in their short lives as littlies. I say long live Santa!!!
-------------------- Drane Signs Sunshine Coast Nambour, Qld. dranesigns@bigpond.com Downunder "To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer" Posts: 965 | From: Nambour, Qld. Australia | Registered: Nov 1998
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Those people arent politically correct David. What does it hurt to let a child believe in something that gives them nothing but happiness in their hearts and minds. There is too much going on in this world to not let children have a figure that they can look up to and cherish. And who is to say there is no Santa? We have one here who works all year gathering up toys to be repaired, donations to buy new toys and other things the kids need, and then spends all day and evening giving out those toys to children all over our area. And I am sure he isnt the only one. I have a sister who teaches Kindergarten and First grade, and she makes sure all her students have something nice for Christmas. Santa isnt just a imaginary figure conjured up to make children happy. He, or she, is more a feeling in the hearts of all of us. THose that dont care to believe, well, I feel sorry for them. I gotta go now, gotta finish my letter to Santa.
-------------------- Maker of fine signs and other creative stuff. Located at 109 N. Cumberland ave. Harlan, Ky. 40831 606-837-0242 Posts: 4172 | From: Ages-Brookside, Ky. Up the Holler... | Registered: Jul 1999
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Man is this bringing back memories. I have a large family, and we never had a lot when growing up, but we had enough especially at christmas. I remember weeks before christmas, my sister and I would practise sneaking downstairs so not to wake up mom and dad. We lived in a really old house and the stairs were really squeaky, so we would memorize those parts of the steps so not to walk on them christmas morning. Another tradition that's popular here in Newfoundland is "Mummering" that's where people would Dress up really strange and hide their appearance and then they'd go to freinds and family bang on the door and say "Any mummers allow'd in? Then they would go inside and dance and have a drop of Home Brew or Rum.. I tell you it's a sight to behold. There'd be men with big bras on, full length underwear, then stuffed with pillows, humps on their backs and mitts on their feet. Another christmas memory I have was when my son was about 5 years old, he was so excited christmas eve that he crawled into bed with us and he would just talk and talk, we tried to get him to settle down but he could'nt. So of course I said that Santa will not come to our house until he went to sleep... just then in the Darkness our whole room lit up with this bright red glow, And I turned to colin and said 'There's Rudolf, you better get to bed as fast as you can, Well he levitated off the bed, and I'm sure his feet never touched the floor all the way to his room, he flew! What happened was that our Neighbors Security light came on with the movement of the trees and he had Red Floodlights installed for Christmas, you talk about perfect timing. To this day my son who is now 15 talks about that night, and asks what it was, and of course I tell him it was rudolf, what else could it be?
[ December 09, 2002, 09:40 AM: Message edited by: Neil D. Butler ]
-------------------- "Keep Positive"
SIGNS1st. Neil Butler Paradise, NF Posts: 6277 | From: St. John's NF Canada | Registered: Mar 1999
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My parents told my brother he had to stay in bed until 7:00 (a.m.) Christmas morning. He was about 5 and just learning to tell time. My folks had barely fallen asleep when they were awakened by the toy train whistle. They went down to send him back to bed, it was only 11:35pm., he had opened his presents and was having a great time.
Diane Balch
-------------------- Balch Signs 1045 Raymond Rd Malta, NY 12020 518 885-9899 signs@balchsigns.com http://www.balchsigns.com Posts: 1725 | From: MaltaNY | Registered: Jan 2000
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![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
and I have not eaten one bite of gooseberry pie since her passsing. I guess it is silly since I loved it so much, but as a child I couldn't do it and it just stuck into adulthood. 
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
I remember he had huge calloused hands from years of working on the railways in the days of steam before he retired, he also worked on a farm as a ploughman, I used to have all these wonderful ideas of farming in the old ways, grandad just used to laugh and say "son how you like to spend 10 hours a day walking in horse sh*t" 
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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