Christmas memories...

I have avoided blogging about Christmas traditions and the like, because I thought I would go overboard with too many details. Anyway, now that Christmas is nearly here, I've been inspired to. =) I'm going to do it in a list, inspired by Natalie's post. This is going to be a strictly Christmas post. So here's what my Christmases have been/are like and what I love about Christmas.

1. On Christmas Eve, we always go to my grandparents' house to open gifts there. We take pizza (usually from Pizza Hut), which is a tradition that got started because the pizza places were pretty much the only food places open on Christmas Eve. Sometimes we'll watch a Christmas movie together, but usually we just eat and open gifts. Then on the way home, my family always drives all around town looking at Christmas lights while we listen to Christmas music on the radio. When we get home, I watch "It's a Wonderful Life," then go to bed. Or, at least, I toss and turn all night. I still struggle with sleeping well Christmas night. I feel like a little kid, waiting for Santa, anxious to get up early, LOL.

2. On Christmas morning, we get up early (well, with the exception of my brother, we always get up early around here) and open presents. Then we go eat lunch with my grandparents and my great-uncle. Granny used to come Christmas morning to visit us, but she passed away nearly two years ago, and it was longer than that since she was able to visit us. We also used to get together sometime around Christmas with my dad's side of the family, but because of some things that happened with my aunts this past year, that won't be happening this year. It's sad when things change.

3. My favorite Christmas song is "I'll Be Home for Christmas." It reminds me of my grandparents. I also love "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen."

4. My family has this CD called "Wranger Cowboy Christmas: Volume 4," with Christmas songs by country stars who were famous when I was growing up. Not Carrie Underwood or Taylor Swift...Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Alabama, etc. It's just this short little CD that I think my dad got free with a pair of jeans at Tractor Supply. According to the case, it's from 1998, and we've been listening to it every year since then. I used to put it on when we opened gifts on Christmas morning. I love this CD and associate the songs with Christmas morning.

5. I can't really pinpoint the best Christmas gift I ever received. Every year, there are a few gifts that really stand out as favorites. Definitely top of the list when I was a kid are my two American Girl dolls (they're in my hope chest now, hopefully for my daughters someday) and an awesome underwater Lego set an aunt gave me. It had a coral reef, a boat, sharks, and a shark cage, and was pretty much the coolest Lego set ever. =) Probably my favorite last Christmas was my Kit-Cat Clock.

6. Every year my mom buys me and my brother each an ornament. So our tree has all sorts of ornaments, old and new, ranging from Pooh to Harry Potter to Elvis to Snoopy.

7. I prefer more small gifts instead of just a couple large ones. And I unwrap presents very slowly. =)

8. I believed in Santa Clause until I was probably 11 or 12. I desperately wanted him to be real. You know how they "track" him on Christmas Eve on the news channels? Well, I thought that he must be real, or they wouldn't do that.

9. When I was younger, my parents had to set a time when I could wake them up on Christmas morning, because I got up so early. I would lay in bed awake until I just couldn't stand it any longer. Then I would sneak downstairs, where "Santa" had left our main gifts unwrapped under the tree. I would check out those presents (but not peek in my stocking. That was strictly off limits), then go wake my younger brother up. Then we would whisper in the living room until Mom and Dad heard us and woke up or it was time for us to wake them up.

10. I get at least two or three calendars for Christmas every year. My mom always gives me one or two, and then other people, who know my interests but aren't sure what to give me, usually do, too. They're always Lucy or Elvis, and I always keep them afterwards because I cut out the pictures and use them in my journal or frame them and hang them up. Crafty, thrifty packrat, that's me. =) Never throw anything away...you might need it someday. These three lovely Elvis pictures came from a calendar I got a few years ago:

11. Probably 80% of my gifts this year (and over the past three or four years) will be vintage or old-fashioned style things. It sounds a little extreme, I know, but that's what I love. And everyone knows it. =) You wouldn't believe the great, unique old things people can dig up for me.

12. I made all but about three of the gifts I'm giving this year. This is the most sewing I've done in such a short period. For gifts this Christmas, here's a running total of what I made: 4 reversible placemats, 6 reversible coasters, 4 pillows, 3 bags/purses, 2 mini-wallets, 1 long mini-wallet, 1 iPod cozy, 1 fleece plush puppy, 2 crayon holders, and 1 mouse cat toy. I believe that's all. I eventually want to get to the point where I make all the gifts I give, and I was almost there this year.

13. I only peeked into a gift one time my whole childhood. I shook, sniffed (yes, sniffed), and listened to nearly ever present, but only once did I actually peek. I don't know what enticed me to look into that one...it wasn't odd shaped. It was a VHS tape of the movie "Madeline." I only knew that because it had a sticker across the top of the box that said the title. I'll always remember that, and I felt so guilty that I never did it again.

So there you are. Many of my Christmas memories. I went a little overboard (I had only intended there to be 10), but that's okay. I'll be back with a short post tomorrow, and then will probably be off for a few days (if I can stay away from Blogger that long). I'm off to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas." =)

Edit: I just got a sort of early Christmas present- a huge surprise! There's an elderly lady who lives down the road from us, who was a very good friend of my grandma's when they were younger. She's sickly, and a while back, her family was cleaning out some of her house. One of them had mentioned that she had lots of sheet music, because she was a pianist and violinist and even taught music lessons, and they would give it to me if I wanted it. Of course, I said yes, but I didn't hear anything else about it. Then today, she called again, so my parents ran down there and bought home three big boxes full of sheet music! There's original, copies, books, and sheets. Of course, there's some stuff that I probably won't play, and some organ and violin music that I know I won't play, but this is still awesome. There are two books in particular that are awesome, full of oldies sheet music. There's one that has all classical pieces. It was so amazing! I skimmed through the boxes, and already found some great stuff. "Moon River, "Easter Parade," "All I Do Is Dream of You," and a ton of Irving Berlin songs. I'm so excited.

Until next time,
Kristin (missvintagegirl)