In this thread, we talk about our Favorite Holiday memories

[DaemonSeid]

Feel free to share any moments that you may have about the holidays, times shared with friends and family, toys and gifts you may have received, relatives long gone.

[epchick]

I just remember spending Thanksgiving every year at my grandmother's (well up until 1996, cause she passed away that August). There was always a table for desserts only, and then a table for salads, and then a table for all the rest of the food. I never understood why we had soo much food, but that is what was special about those Thanksgivings.

My mom is heavily opposed to having so much food. When I get my own place, Thanksgiving will be like it was at my grandma's.

[nikki1920]

My first Thanksgiving home from college. My parents kept saying how grown up I was. I was like, "ya'll just dropped me off three months ago!!"

I'm not really looking forward to this holiday season.

[UGAalum94]

Downtown Athens, Georgia was always pretty once they put up the lights. I can remember it being kind of snowy once when I was there and the lights were up. Beautiful.

[honeychile]

My immediate family and several cousins went to my great-aunt's cottage next PSU the weekend before Christmas when I was 6. We woke up Christmas Eve, and we had been snowed in - as in HUGE blizzard! The guys had to dig a path to the garage to get wood (this was before there was central heating in the cottage), but to me, it was like a tunnel. We put holly on the mantel for decoration, and my great-aunt showed up out of the blue (she got a ride from the ranger!), with some pottery mugs she had just made. We drank hot cider from the mugs, ate hot dogs from over the fireplace, and my daddy read the Christmas Story to us before we went to bed. I don't think I ever felt such joy & love as that Christmas Eve & Christmas. It was a great age to realize that you didn't need tv or toys to have a wonderful Christmas!

[ASTalumna06]

I remember this one Thanksgiving dinner where it somehow turned into everyone confessing things that they had lied about. It all started when I began talking about these two goldfish that I had when I was younger. I told the story about the night that one of them died, and how my mom said the fish was probably sleeping. Everyone laughed. Then I said, "Those fish lived for a really long time." Then my mom said, "Do you know how many times I had to replace those fish?!" Yea, apparently they kept dying, and she kept buying new ones before I noticed. It was hilarious.

For the rest of the dinner, everyone was confessing stupid little things to each other and we laughed the whole time.

One of the things I owned up to was the fact that when I was young, I would never eat my green beans, and instead I would put them in my pockets when no one was looking, and I'd throw them away after dinner.

My brother finally admitted that he would always steal the gum I would buy with my allowance. I always knew, but it was good to hear him actually say it.

And my mom and aunt started fessing up to things that they had done 20-30 years ago.

The best part was when my aunt turned to one of my cousins (one of her two sons) and said, "I'm sorry hunny, but I can't lie to you anymore.. your brother was always my favorite." She was obviously joking, and we all couldn't stop laughing.

The whole thing was hilarious, we all got to hear stories from everyone else's lives that we had never heard before, and I think it helped everyone bond just a little bit more.

[ZTAMich]

I remember the Christmas I got spin art & a puffy pink coat! Awesome!
I remember the Christmas my sisters and I announced to my grandparents over the phone that my parents were expecting another baby. It turned out it the pregnancy not meant to be but that moment is always a happy memory for me because we were SO excited.
Even as 'grown-ups' the three of us girls have a great time during the holidays. We still throw out reindeer food on the lawn in our barefeet!! after we come home from the Moravian Christmas Eve service.
My husband has not had that great of holidays in the last few years so I'm really looking forward for Christmas #2 as a married couple together!!

[epchick]

Originally Posted by honeychile

We woke up Christmas Eve, and we had been snowed in - as in HUGE blizzard!

OMG that sounds like the Christmas of '94 (or '95) when it snowed heavily here. It was almost 6 inches, more than I've ever seen (we are in the desert). Anyways, my cousins and I decided to go out and have a snowball fight, well these effing kids down the street (cousins of a friend of mine) started in on the fight. We just tried to avoid them, and then they started throwing ice at us. Huge icicles and chunks of ice that have formed around the neighborhood.

I remember walking down to my friends house (i didn't know these kids were her cousins) and trying to enlist her help. Well as I walked up the street back to my house, one of the guys lifted like a 3/4 pound chunk of ice and tried to break it on my head. I swore I thought I died, it hurt so bad.

If I had known they were her cousins I would have ratted them out so bad.

[cheerfulgreek]

My childhood holidays have always been the best and traditional. I lost my dad two years ago, and the holidays haven't been the same since. I still go back to see my mom for the holidays though. It's hard because being the only child, I've always been close to both of my parents. One of the funniest thankgiving holidays that I remember was my senior year in highschool. My mom and dad had friends (his friend and his wife) over that day, but they ended up staying over until 2am. I was laughing so hard, because my dad was so mad. After they left, the next morning he just kept complaining about how they don't know how to go home. He said if they try to come over for Christmas, they're not getting in.

[SWTXBelle]

Gypsyboots (my eldest) was born December 9th. That was the best Christmas ever. I can't tell you what presents I got, or what I ate, but I had Gypsyboots. Best. Christmas. Ever.

[icelandelf]

My happiest Christmas memories are from childhood. My dad would give piggyback rides to my brother and I to our beds and then thump on the ceiling (we never saw him do it) and say, "Well, I think I hear reindeer on the roof!" We couldn't get under the blankets fast enough.

The next morning, Christmas was a sea of tinsel and bubble lights, gifts of all sizes, and my parents snapping tons of pictures of us with the cameras that used to have the flash cubes. I still don't know how my brother and I managed to open our gifts and not pitch headfirst into the tree from all the spots that danced in front of our eyes with those bulbs!

[LucyKKG]

Lying on the floor after eating a ton is always awesome. One year, my 90-something year old grandma bent over to talk to me and she drooled on my face. Ahhhh! Hahah such a classic. She was pretty oblivious.

Have you ever noticed that the best stories are the ones that you can't get through without laughing?

[aephi alum]

I am a Thanksgiving baby. I was born on the day after Thanksgiving, and my 10th, 16th, and 21st birthdays all fell out on Turkey Day (so much for the traditional 21st birthday bar visit ) My birthday always got tied up with Thanksgiving, and dessert was always ice cream cake.

I have fond memories of receiving Lego kits as birthday and Christmas presents. I'd hole up in the den and build and build.

My parents and I used to have an Advent wreath. On Christmas Eve we changed the purple and pink candles for white. We also had a Nativity scene, and placed Baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas morning. (I grew up Catholic.)

When I was little, I was always given one gift to unwrap on Christmas Eve. This was my Christmas nightgown, usually some red/green/white print. My father built a fire on Christmas Eve (they had a wood-burning fireplace at the time) and I would warm my new nightgown by the fire and then go change into it once it was toasty warm. A mug of hot chocolate, and then off to bed... In the morning I unwrapped the rest of my gifts, including the ones from Santa, whose handwriting was suspiciously like my mother's.

[epchick]

Originally Posted by aephi alum

I am a Thanksgiving baby. I was born on the day after Thanksgiving, and my 10th, 16th, and 21st birthdays all fell out on Turkey Day (so much for the traditional 21st birthday bar visit ) My birthday always got tied up with Thanksgiving, and dessert was always ice cream cake.

Did it ever bother you?

My birthday (June 19th) has fallen on Father's Day several times in my existance and I HATE it every single time. It used to piss me off (honestly still does lol) when we'd do something for Father's day, and no one (except my mom & dad) would say Happy Birthday, or ask me what I would like to do. I understand that Father's Day falls once a year, but so does my birthday.

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by epchick

Did it ever bother you?

My birthday (June 19th) has fallen on Father's Day several times in my existance and I HATE it every single time. It used to piss me off (honestly still does lol) when we'd do something for Father's day, and no one (except my mom & dad) would say Happy Birthday, or ask me what I would like to do. I understand that Father's Day falls once a year, but so does my birthday.

Ohhhhh yes. My parents always acknowledged my birthday, but it sometimes felt like my birthday fell on the fourth Thursday of November whether it was my actual birthday or not. Still, at least I didn't get the "this gift is for your birthday AND Christmas" nonsense.

DH is a holiday-season baby too - his birthday is five days after mine. He and I make a point of celebrating each occasion separately - Thanksgiving, then my birthday, then his birthday, then Hanukkah, then Christmas.