I've been meaning to sit down and write about some of my most cherished Christmas memories, but I've been too busy with Christmas!!
As a child of the 60s, my Christmas memories start with the JCPenney and Sears Christmas catalogs! I think they arrived in October or November, and we four kids would scan the pages, finding treasure after treasure to add to our "Wish Lists". The toy pages had circles everywhere, with our names next to the desired items.
Then the inevitable pre-Christmas warnings would come. "You know we don't have lots of money... Don't plan on getting everything you circle... We'll do the best we can, but..."
But my childhood memories of Christmas morning (or more often than not, Christmas Eve) always include each of us with a huge pile of unopened gifts, pen and paper ready (thank you notes will be written before school starts in January!) and finally, "I got more than I expected!" Mom and Dad did everything they could to make it a merry Christmas for us - Dad working, working, and working, and Mom stretching every penny!
Oh the joys of Baby Tender Love and my darling Zip the Monkey (who later married Tippy and had a son named Chip.) This is the face of child who was not deprived! A seven-year-old with arms full of toys and hair uncombed! Definitely Christmas morning!
Kim, don't shoot me for this picture! Love the skates!!
The year I got my Barbie Winnebago - and a pile of other gifts!
The year that Kim kept telling me I was getting the "Gerber Doll" that I DID NOT WANT - only to find a Barbie car in the box!
There was the be-yoo-tiful "fur" coat that even PETA wouldn't protest.
The song "The Christmas Shoes" always brings tears to my eyes. Tucked in the second verse are words that describe by childhood Christmases: "Momma made Christmas good at our house, though most years she just did without." I'm thankful for the gifts, but mostly I'm thankful for loving parents that made Christmas good at our house.
5 comments:
Beautiful post, and I loved the pictures. Brought back memories of you kids at that age. Pleasant, wonderful memories. Merry Christmas to you all. (and through your blog, Merry Christmas to Kim too).
Oh yeah, Christmas in the 60's & 70's... And I still dig looking through the JCPenney catalog!
Sis. Hopper,
I'm glad you're part of our memories. Merry Christmas to you and all your family!
Caroline,
I have a difficult time throwing any catalog away without first flipping through every page!
Merry Christmas to you and your family, too!
Kathy,
Oh my goodness this is hilarious! I haven't seen those pictures in years! WOW was I making a fashion statement or what? !!!! If I remember correctly, I was wearing a light blue robe as part of that lovely ensemble!
And Dad...kinda makes me think of "Twas the Night Before Christmas"!
Also, I'm glad you remeber the same things I do. Our parents made so many sacrifices so that we didn't have to do without. I sure miss Mom this time of year.
Love you and can't wait to see you.
Kim
P.S. Merry Christmas to you too Sister Hopper. I think of you often. One of my favorite places to eat is Phil's in Moss Landing. Whenever I'm there, I think of you and Bro. Hopper.
Kim,
I think we were all looking mighty fine! I don't know what Rod spilled down the front of his shirt, Rick's glasses are the style now, but I don't know if Mom's hairdo will EVER come back!!
Even if I didn't remember, just looking at those pictures told me that we got plenty for Christmas!
"I'll be Home for Christmas" is playing on the radio right now. Can't wait to see everyone!
Love you!
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