What's Your favorite Holiday Memory...

[HaventGotALife]

It's a little early, but I was wondering what everyone's favorite memory was during the holiday season? Was it a shopping trip? A family dinner? A time with a significant other? A great present? Cooking for a feast? Details!

My favorite Thanksgiving memory was this year. We traveled upstate to see family I hadn't seen in ages. Everyone one of us cooked something for the meal. I had some quiet moments with my mom just talking and I gave her a piece of my writing, telling her what I was thankful for and how much I love her. She survived cancer a couple of years ago, and it makes the holidays that much more special.

My favorite Christmas memory was one year we got so many Star Trek figurines that I thought we were rich! Dad, my parents were divorced, got us TVs for our rooms! We spent New Year's (and started a tradition) renting movies (now we just buy them) and having a marathon with finger foods.

My best non-family memory was the first Christmas I wasn't single. I remember the snow falling in the silent, dark night during our first kiss. And the first time I had ever spent the day in bed with someone on a cold, snowy Christmas day.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

cool topic! =)

My favourite memory is of an ingenious idea my mom had for the present distribution:

She tied all the presents for each family member to a string (with 1-2 yards space between the presents) and arranged them on the sofa. Then she spread the best table cloth over the heap, with the ends of the strings dangling out from underneath. Then everyone sat on the floor around the sofa, grabbed their respective string ends and started to wind them up, while the presents would gradually appear from under the sheet.
The most fun we've had in years! Particularly when the dog took turns tyring to help pulling on the strings and licking our ears It was both chaotic and hilarious.

(If you'd like to copy the idea: be sure to arrange the presents in a way that keeps the strings from getting entangled and thoroughly fasten the table cloth to the sofa, else it'll get pulled off together with the bigger presents and the whole heap will be revealed)

 

[Naira]

Cooking dinner with my mom in the kitchen which is usually much warmer than the rest of the house due to the oven being on all day long.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

does it get very cold in Greece, Naira? I've never been there (yet) and I always have this stereotype in my head of vinyards and olive groves and eternal sunshine. I bet it has very little to do with reality.

 

[Amaris]

I've talked about this one before, but I was a Santa Claus for a local farmer's market about 9 years ago. The one that we had hired ended up being a few oars short of a full lunch, and so I volunteered, as not to disappoint the kids who were waiting expectantly for Santa to show up. I will never forget the moment they announced that Santa had arrived, and when I walked through the door, all dressed up as that Jolly Old Elf. Even with all of the children that had been waiting in the common area, you could have heard a pin drop. All of those little faces were trained on me.

Being Santa Claus is something that can change your life. I've said this before, but once you put on that red suit, and meet those children, hear their hopes and dreams, each just as varied and imaginative as the child sitting on your knee, you gain a new perspective on life, and what it means to grow up.

I played Santa Claus for 3 weeks, before I finally succumbed to the flu and gods knows what else, but I wouldn't trade those experiences for anything.

That is still my favorite holiday memory.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

awwww! *melts away* That's a beautiful memory! I'm a little envious.

 

[bbjeg]

My favorite holiday memory overall was when I was a kid (maybe 7). When I was younger, my parents struggled from paycheck to paycheck (five kids would do that). That Christmas, we were on the brink of skipping it that year though on Christmas eve, someone knocked at our door. Several families entered, all caring gifts. Our family was selected in a bringing gifts to the unfortunate program. The pile of gifts were taller than me. I always been a fan of Christmas after that.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Soooo many good memories, but one that stands out because it was hilarious. We had an old store-bought christmas tree that wasn't in the greatest shape. It was a chore to set up. We also had a dog who was very excitable. At one point, our dog had backed up into the tree, and then the next thing we hear is this loud *CRACK* as the tree toppled over. He actually snapped the broom-like trunk in half, and it spent the rest of Christmas being supported by wire.

 

[Sephiroth]

Christmas 1997, a life long friend of mine confessed her love to me, we were together for a very long time

 

[rhubarbodendron]

those are the best relationships, in my experience A long friendship is a very solid base

 

[Naira]

does it get very cold in Greece, Naira? I've never been there (yet) and I always have this stereotype in my head of vinyards and olive groves and eternal sunshine. I bet it has very little to do with reality.

It can get very cold as well, mostly in the North. For example, in my hometown (which is not in the coldest of areas) it easily gets around -8C during winter nights.

 

[Kirby]

Christmas 1982. I was 14 years old, and Denver was hit with a massive snow storm that basically shut the entire city down for several days. My mom, dad, and my two brothers just hung out. We did a lot of shoveling and playing in the snow with the neighbors, but it was really a very simple and fun time.

 

[SmoothieX]

Does my ex-wife blindsiding me asking for a divorce count?

 

[rhubarbodendron]

I think since it happened at the holidays and you remember it fondly, it does meet the conditions of this thread