Memories of Christmases past

Preparing for Christmas at my house has made me think about Christmas when I was a kid. I remember my parents always decorated our whole house for Christmas: stockings, indoor decorations, garland, outdoor lights, the whole nine yards. It was gorgeous and I really loved looking at it all.

When it was really cold outside, my mom would make homemade hot chocolate and we would drink it and snuggle under a warm blanket. I've always loved her hot chocolate, there was just something soothing about it. When I was in high school, I remember coming home from a rough day at school and it was cold outside, but a cup of homemade hot cocoa could make it all better.

On Christmas morning, I would love to wake up early and run to the Christmas tree and I would try to guess which boxes held what, then I would peek in my stocking and wait for my parents and my sister to join me.

When I was a child, I remember playing in the snow and making snowmen. When we were at my grandma JoAnn's house in western kansas, all the grandkids would go sledding and build snowmen in my grandma's yard. I remember snow ball fights with my cousins and making snow angels in the snow that covered the ground.

When we would get cold enough to come in, my grandma's house had a fireplace and we would sit by the fire to warm up. She would always have a stocking for each grandkid and a beautiful tree decorated with lots of lights. Christmas at her house meant there was always lots of homemade food and treats and we'd all eat way too much. When we would leave her house to go home, she would always give us a bag of treats, usually cookies or candy for the ride home.

We always had a wonderful Christmas and now that I have children, I want to give them the same kind of memories. I hope that each Christmas is wonderful and special and that when they get older, they will look back and think of all their past Christmases and be filled with the same warm happiness that I am.