Friday, December 23, 2011

Christmas Memories

I have been wanting to write about my favourite memories of Christmas, so have been trying to determine what memories about Christmas I like the best, and to tell you the truth, they are so diverse and so far spread internationally that I can't choose.

I loved my childhood Christmas' with the smell of turkey or baked ham roasting in the oven, and waking up before dawn and having Dad turn on the Christmas lights, before we could come downstairs, and yelling out " Oh, look what Santa brought!"  I would almost jump down the stairs three at a time, with so much excitement, barely able to contain myself. 

When I was a small child my parents didn't have a lot of money for big expensive presents, but somehow at Christmas time, it all just happened.  There she would be, a new doll for me to love and maybe sitting in a small pram, or there may have been a dollhouse, or a huge box of wooden Tinker toys  (remember those?), which Dad would turn into a ferris wheel, or a windmill!   It was always such a magical time.  I remember one year I received a cowgirl outfit complete with cowgirl boots, and Joyce was given a Pinocchio string puppet--I was fascinated by that puppet!

There are just so many happy memories, those of my teenage years, and young, innocent love, and hope, and then university and life-long friends, and then my first years in Australia. 

Maybe one of my funniest memories was one year, when Mum and Dad came for a visit to Beulah, when we lived on the farm.  Beulah was a very small rural community and very community minded.  Bronwyn was about 4 and Lauren was just 2, and as was the local small town habit--the whole community gathered at the local pub, and waited for Santa to arrive on a firetruck!  (Reindeer can't take the heat of an Australian Christmas, so sometimes Santa has to be helped by the local communities.)  Anyway the pub put on a big bbq, on the pathway, and the beer was flowing, and people were laughing and a piano had been found and brought outside where it was cooler than in the pub, and there was music and excitement. 

My parents had never seen such an uproar of anticipated excitement, and the night was buzzing.  Santa arrived in a local fire brigade truck, dressed in the full suit and regalia (poor thing) it had to be about 36' C and handed out lollies to the kids and "Ho Ho Ho'd" all over the place!  At one stage someone had to tuck his 'belly' back in again, as it came loose, but it was all good fun!

As the night progressed my new sister - in -law had convinced members of the community that we had just discovered that we were in fact real sisters, well step sisters at least, as my Dad had been in Australia during the War and lo and behold, she suddenly arrived!  (Mum knew nothing of this, as well)...It wasn't true of course..but so much fun to see the look on every one's faces! Even Mum's! Dad went along with it, and Mum kept looking at my sister-in-law suspiciously for a while--we soon filled her in though.  -- She still didn't smile a lot though, now that I think about it!

There are still so many happy memories, ones of all our girls and their surprised faces on their Christmas mornings, the ripped paper and squeals of excitement, the first Christmas I had with Chris which was also sadly, the last one we had with Lauren, but all in all -so many wonderful memories--I could go on and on, but I won't (Thank Goodness, you say!)

I just hope you have been blessed with wonderful memories at this time of year, and wish you so many more!

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