Memories Of Christmas
Memories of Christmas Past in Youngstown revisits the best holiday memories from your childhood. This annual holiday spectacular at the Arms Family Museum features breath-taking vignettes and vintage Christmas decor from the 1800s through the 1960s. It fills seven rooms of the 1095 Arts & Crafts mansion of Olive and Wilford Arms.
Memories Of Christmas
This one-of-a-kind winter wonderland rivals the best of the professional holiday displays as seen in New York City, Chicago, and Atlanta. Exquisitely arranged, the vintage decor on display includes toys, trains, ornaments, lights, trees, and more. Every year visitors say how much the vignettes bring back their best nostalgic childhood memories.
Take a break from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Let this warm, comforting essential oil blend of spiced cinnamon and sweet vanilla immerse you in the glow of joy-filled memories of holidays past.
Make incredible Smoky Mountain Christmas memories with a stay in a luxurious cabin and by adding our exclusive Christmas Memories Pass*, which includes valid admission to Dollywood for your entire stay, a holiday meal at any Dollywood restaurant and more!Christmas Memories Pass Includes:
With your children, take time in the next few days, before the last-minute crush, to write about the sights, sounds, aromas, and activities that make the memories swirl every December. One person can do the writing, or you can share the pen and let everyone write something. Optionally, tuck in photos, Christmas cards, ticket stubs from a play or choir performance, or other memorabilia to enhance your journal.
This is a great post Roberta. Thank you for sharing your Christmas memories. Your recollection of the feel of the afghan on your grandparents couch sure pulled some memories out of my elderly brain too.
For many of us, the holidays generate some of our most vivid memories. And it's funny the weird things that stick with us. It's often not at all the presents or the egg nog. For some laughs and a bit of cozy cheer, I rounded up people's favorite Christmas memories.
One of my own favorite memories is from when I was about 8 years old. It was a few days before Christmas, and I remember my mom was putting some finishing touches on the tree. My older brother and I could barely contain our excitement, and he went and got his brown Fisher Price record player, and the 45 of Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl." At the time, we thought this was pretty much one of the greatest songs ever composed. (I kind of still stand by this...) We played the record over and over, and held hands and danced around the tree while my mom strung tinsel. To this day, I associate the "whoa oh oh oh oooohs!" of that song with memories of a sun-filled room, and feelings of happy anticipation and joy. A bit random, I know. But as I said, oftentimes it's these oddball, unexpected little moments that stay with us. And it's a sweet reminder if you're worried about your own children's happy memories, that the smallest, seemingly insignificant moments (to you) will last forever in their hearts and minds.
What strikes me the most about these memories is the fact that not one of them is materialistic in any way. Our culture has become so obsessive about consumption and always wanting the next best thing that I find that many adults are passing these ideals onto their children. Lining up outside of toy stores at 3 am on Thanksgiving, spending hundreds of dollars on technology for children as young as 2, and getting into arguments with fellow shoppers over the last Hatchimal have become the norm for the modern holiday season.
This is one of those memories that is evoked by smell. I used to love the musty, old scent of our decorations as my brother and I pulled them out every year. We used the same ones year after year, and that is what made them so special. They all had their own special place where they belonged, and once everything was out, our house truly felt like Christmas. We used to love surprising my mom with the decorations when she came home from work at night.
what fun memories! Christmas Carols on the car radio is a big one for me, too. Love your tradition of hanging stockings on Christmas Eve!One sweet memory of mine is my Dad wearing a silly too-small Santa hat on his head as he handed out gifts on Christmas morning.Merry Christmas to you and yours! Happy Memory-Making to you and yours ?
"Christmas Memories" is a heartwarming original play written by local playwright Andrew Mahan featuring musical performances. Christmas Memories is about everyone coming home for the holidays. While families get together at the local diner for hot chocolate, a blizzard hits and traps everyone inside. To keep spirits high until their inevitable rescue, they share their favorite memories of Christmas in the Square. Laughter and warm moments are shared and will surely bring back warm memories of your own.
Christmas has always been very special to me - what with carols, Mom baking cakes and stocking up on goodies, Dad decorating our home with the Christmas tree and tinsel when we were young, and the early morning church service. Add to this list Sunday school plays and tableaux, visiting relatives, friends, and neighbors to distribute cakes, entertaining guests at home, giving gifts to children ... well, it would go on and on. Amidst all this flurry of Christmas activities what stood out was the happiness we got by sharing what we had with others. This is a lesson that our parents taught us quite early in life. Our mom used to work in a government school where most children from less privileged backgrounds attended.Ever since I can remember until the year Mom retired (for more than 30 years), her students (numbering anywhere between 20 and 40) were our special guests. We used to host them for lunch, spend time with them and give them cakes and gifts. This made us really happy. For, the true spirit of Christmas is sharing and giving. Ultimately, the joy of Christmas pervades everything we do. That's what makes it so special. With these memories of mine, I set out to gather special childhood memories of friends, colleagues, and relatives.Here go the memories... Spirit of giving"In those days, our Christmas tree was the good old casuarina branch. We were in Salem then. Going and fetching the branches from the foothills of Yercaud brought us the greatest joy. Of course, I still remember the colorful twirling tinsel that we used to decorate the house with... the traditional sweets and savories (ribbon pakoda, diamond-shaped crispies, and athirasams) that Amma made... the distribution of the goodies to neighbors. I can never forget how I would go clad in the silk skirt that Mom would herself stitch for me, with a plate loaded with snacks and come back with something on the plate. You see, everyone to whom we distributed the eats would give us something in return. I would never return with an empty plate. That was the spirit of Christmas - 'giving'. And, how can I forget the idlis and mutton curry - our staple Christmas breakfast and the sumptuous biryani that followed for lunch."- Anitha Bennett, freelance author, and educational consultant, ChennaiWas Santa real?"When I was a little girl, we lived in Calcutta, now Kolkata. Some of my earliest impressions of Christmas include the decorations on the iconic Park Street there. My parents would take me to see the sights, and I remember being bedazzled by the flickering fairy lights, the strings of stars of many colors and sizes, and the glittering 'snow'-laden Christmas trees festooned with tinsel and shiny baubles in all the shop windows. I can still see in my mind's eye the huge cut-out of a sleigh pulled by reindeer, carrying a plump, red-suited Santa complete with a bulging sack of gifts that seemed to hover over the street one year. I couldn't quite decide then whether it was real or not! There was also Flurys, the famous bakery where you got the most amazing pastries. And then, the novelty of being woken up before dawn and bundled into a sweater, scarf, and socks to go to church for the beautiful special service which infused even us kids with a feeling of comfort and joy."-Susan Philip, freelance editor, ChennaiA feeling of togethernessMemories... Oh... memories of Christmas! It all began a couple of weeks before Christmas... How parents put up the huge (six-and-a-half foot!) tree overnight, decorated it, and woke up to surprise us when we walked in sleepy-eyed... how my siblings and I would lie down under the tree every night after dinner and family prayers, look into it from underneath the tree and build stories about the small world inside the tree. We imagined there were little elves that dwelt on the tree and were in charge of the lights - it was all crazy, but fun! This was followed by gifts and parties.And, the most important thing about Christmas was the baking of cakes. It was truly a family affair - we experienced a feeling of togetherness. We would mix the rum, raisins, dried fruits, and spices, and leave them to ferment a couple of months before Christmas. Then, a few days before Christmas, we would bake - yes, 'we' - I mean all of us would be a part of this process - beating the flour, pouring it in tins and cups, placing them in the oven, and then checking on them every now and then to see if they were done. And, everybody we knew would get at least one cake - so, imagine how many cakes we would have baked. Another happy memory is the carols - we would begin the rounds around 7:00 p.m. and wind up yawning around 5:00 a.m. The church members and friends we visited to sing the carols would wait eagerly for our visit (ready to stuff us with gingerbread, cupcakes, masala tea, and of course, black coffee to help us stay awake!). It was all so much fun!- Hannah S Mathew, freelance teacher, trainer, and certified diagnostic counselor, ChennaiThe true meaning of ChristmasI can recollect quite a few incidents - A few days before one particular Christmas, we had given our new clothes for tailoring. My parents and sister got theirs ready on time; but, I didn't get mine. Finally, on the 22nd, the tailor said I wouldn't get mine as he was extremely busy. But then, Dad coaxed him into giving it, and on Christmas eve I got my new shirt and trousers stitched. And, on the morning of the 25th, off I went to church at 4:00 a.m, clad in my new shirt and a wide grin on my face to accessorize it!Another memory is of one Christmas when Dad had been traveling on account of work. Looked like he wouldn't be joining us for Christmas. We were a bit upset. But, then surprise of surprises! On the 23rd Dad came home. Both of us immediately set off on Dad's bicycle in search of casuarina branches for our Christmas tree. We rode many kilometers before reaching a casuarina grove, obtained permission, pulled out our sickle, cut down a few branches, loaded them onto the bicycle and sped back home to put it up and decorate it. Another memory is of the carol rounds I participated in wishing people a merry Christmas. That particular Christmas, when one of the team members, read the verses from the book of Isaiah chapters 9 and 53 in the Bible, before the final song and prayer, I started pondering on the true meaning of Christmas. Was it just new clothes, trees, decorations, cakes, and so on? I realized that they were only worldly signs of merriment. The true meaning of Christmas was that Christ was born on Christmas day to forgive our sins. This revelation made that Christmas very special to me.- Prince Jeevanand, Human Resources Professional, Muscat Connect with us onComments 041b061a72