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Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Childhood Christmas Memories - by Judy Ann Davis

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, 
and we are better throughout the year for having,
 in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.”
Laura Ingalls Wilder
One of my most favorite memories of Christmas is going out into the woods with my family and canvasing the hillsides to find the perfect tree which we'd load on our Farm-all tractor and bring home. To be honest, it wasn't always the most perfect tree. Many times it was a bit misshapen and often boasted a few holes, but it was "our Christmas tree." By the time the lights were strung and the ornaments were placed on its branches, it was considered the best tree ever.
My mother had the most beautiful reflectors that surrounded the bulbs on the light strings. They were stars with mirrors on the points to reflect the light from the colored bulbs.  An angel was always placed on top, and down below the tree on the front skirt, the manger scene held an important place.

Tinsel? We put lots of tinsel on our tree. Talk about helping the aluminum foil industry! We'd start placing it strand by strand until one of us tired and started putting clumps over the branches--and in the end some tinsel was actually tossed near the top.

Someone asked me once what was my favorite gift? I think my Betsy Wetsey doll was a highlight of my presents, but I always loved books. To this day, I remember "Black Beauty," "The Bobbsie Twins," "Heidi," and the "Trixie Belden" series.


What were your favorite childhood memories? 
Please share them below in the comments


Wishing everyone a Holly Jolly Christmas
 and Happy New Year!



8 comments:

  1. Sounds like a happy childhood, Judy Ann! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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  2. We had the magnificent silver aluminum tree with the color wheel that shined on it turning it different colors. The greatest Christmas memory was all the company we had- There were several kids my age +/- 5 years and we had a houseful.
    People don't do that so much any more- It's a shame because all those gathering make the best memories. Thanks for sharing your memories : ) Merry Christmas!

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    1. Oh, I remember those silver aluminum trees! Very bright and festive. Yes, people together sharing Christmas made the best memories. Merry Christmas to you!

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  3. Judy, I'd forgotten about the reflectors. I wonder what happened to those my mom had when I was small. We usually went to my aunt's for Christmas dinner and there would be a houseful of people. Family getting together makes a holiday more festive. I miss that now that there are only our two daughters and my husband and me. Lovely post. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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    1. Oh goodness! I remember the mirrors falling off, and we used to re-glue them back on to keep reusing them. Merry Christmas to you and your family, too!

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  4. Oh, how this brought back Christmas memories for me. The scrawny tree and the Farm-all tractor we hauled it on. I also enjoyed getting books. One of my favorite was from a friend of Mama's in Chicago. It was a picture book of 50 dog breeds and their personality traits. I loved it and learned a lot from it. Thank you for this post, Judy Anne. Have a Merry Christmas.

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  5. Isn't it funny how the least expensive things made the most impressions and memories for us? Merry Christmas to you, Laurean.

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