These are a few of my favourite things. Maybe some of them are yours
also! A few of the things which catch my eye, inspire me, pluck at my
heart
strings, make me smile, or that I just enjoy. I hope that they will do the
same for you.
Getting surprises in the post. Lovely hand painted card with the sweetest tree ornament. Its a candy apple red Kitchen Aid Mixer and look what's in it! A picture of my book. So sweet! Monique thinks I am a star baker. I am grateful for her thoughtfulness and her confidence in me!
Ribbon Candy. Do they still make it? Mom used to get a whole mix of candy each Christmas. We only ever got Candy at Halloween (and we had to beg door to door for that), Christmas and Easter!
There would be a plastic tub of these! So colourful! Some of them tasted spicy like cloves or cinnamon. I loved the ones that were like slices with a picture in the middle. There would be a candy dish of these on the coffee table. We would still have to ask if we could have one.
We would get one or two of these on Christmas Day. Sometimes on a stick, but more often not. You could not bite them. It was impossible to crunch them up. They had to be sucked and savoured.
Christmas Corsages. Mom always had one. I used to wish I could have one too! So sparkly and festive!
Christmas Specials on the television. Most shows had them. There would be hour-long specials on the Dean Martin Show, and Red Skelton, Bing Crosby and others. So entertaining. You can still watch some of them on YouTube.
It was the one time of the year when the house was decorated gaudy and brite. Very colourful!
Watching dad put the Lights on the Christmas Tree. No matter how carefully they had been put away the year previous they would be all a-tangle. We would sit on the sofa watching in silence, lest we irritate him. Would he swear? Perhaps a bit, but it was always in French so we didn't understand, lol.
Silver icicles on the tree. Almost impossible to find now.
The Christmas catalogues. Sears always sent the Wish book. It would arrive in mid September probably . . .
Eatons had theirs also. We would spend hours looking through them while we compiled our lists for Santa Claus. The pages would be worn out by the time Christmas rolled around. In the new year we could play with them, cutting things out etc. Such a fun time! Our expectations were very low.
Rupert Annuals. My sister got one one year from one of my mother's relatives. I remember it had magic paint with water pages. I coveted it.
I still watch it every year. It would not be Christmas without seeing this.
This was a favourite also, with Burl Ives singing . . .
Christmas morning always included one of these and a brand new box of crayons. I still love the smell of new crayons. These kept us busy for hours.
Seeing mom all dressed up and ready to go out to a Christmas Party/dance and New Years with my dad. (THIS IS NOT A PICTURE OF HER) She always smelled so lovely . . . MaGriffe Perfume . . . and she looked so pretty. She swished . . . or at least her dress did. Dad always looked so handsome in his suit. She would get the babysitter to take a photo of them together. My dad would also take a photo of just her. I wish I had some of those photos now . . .
The "Before Christmas Morning" photo that Santa Claus always took It mysteriously appeared every year. Again this is not one of ours. We never got presents so grand as this. Our Christmas's were much more modest, but just as exciting.
The excitement of a school Christmas Concert. So much fun!
The annual Nativity play . . .
The annual visit to Santa at his grotto. A chance to get in one last request.
Letters from Santa . . .
Going to church on Christmas Eve with my dad . . . .
The smell of roasting turkey combined with the smell of the Christmas Tree and that Christmas candy. Ambrosia . . .
I guess you could just say Christmas is one of my favourite things!
A thought to carry with you . . .
Christmas magic is silent.
You don't hear it, you feel it,
You know it, you believe it.
Hi Marie, we had ribbon candy and the hard candy in a dish on our coffee table. It had a lid and we became expert at lifting the lid, stealing a candy and putting the lid back without making a sound. We also had a plastic gumdrop tree. It usuallt fell to me to stick the gumdrops on. My mom always wore a Christmas corsage on Christmas day. So many similar favourites. We still have a set of those plastic candles in our window and we watch Charlie Brown many times over the holiday season. Have a good day. Take gentle care. Hugs, Elaine
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised that we have many of the same memories Elaine! We grew up in a similar time and in Canada! Were we not the lucky ones. We used to think mom had eyes in the back of her head as we could not get away with anything! Love and hugs, xoxo
DeleteImagine that! Many of the same FAVES:)
ReplyDeleteI do love all the memories associated with Christmas..the toy catalogues:) The toys..the wishin' and hopin'..We had that candy too and I did see it in Fl..my teeth don't need candy and I can resist it so left it there.
That could be our TV and set up except for some reason we had a white plastic tree for a while:)
We watched The Kranks with Oli yesterday..still so funny and cute:)
Didn't we have lovely childhoods Monique? I think so. My teeth don't need candy either, nor do my blood sugars, but when I was a child it was such a fun part of Christmas! We always had a real tree for many years, but then my mother got tired of the needles falling and a bit afraid of fire I think! I have never watched the Kranks. I am putting it on my list for this year! How fun you get to build these special memories with your grandsons! xoxo
DeleteCharlie Brown and Frosty have become family traditions here. I'm blessed and have been to two of my granchildresns Christmas concerts here this year. I do love them. they do put ua in the swing of Christmas for sure. It' much too cold to rain here if we get anything it would be snow, yesterday was even colder. I'm going to try to get out and finish up my shopping today. I want to find some Christmas crackers, the are always fun and my family loves them.
ReplyDeleteOh how wonderful Pam! I wish I could go to my grandson's concerts! They must be so much fun and the buttons of pride must be popping! It is polling day here, and raining buckets. We went out to vote and came home drenched! Christmas Crackers are a LOT of fun for sure! xoxo
Delete"Would he swear? Perhaps a bit, but it was always in French so we didn't understand, lol." Ha! I love it. :)
ReplyDeleteMe too Val! Merry Christmas! xoxo
DeleteOh, Marie, this brings back such sweet, special memories. The ribbon candy, the TV, much like the one you show, that we gathered around (- all six of us), the big colored lights, then tinsel, etc. My mom always saved the tinsel from year to year. We had to carefully hang it one strand at a time, then take each strand off and wrap it over the cardboard holder. She lived through the depression. We saved wrapping paper from year to year too. Careful to unwrap without tearing the paper, then carefully roll it on a tube to store again for another year. Funny how times have changed. We are such a disposable culture now. Thanks for this look back. I loved my simple childhood of the 50s. I smile at Monique's sweet watercolor. I treasure the painting she has sent me. What a beautiful friend!!!
ReplyDeleteMerry, Merry to you!
Merry Christmas Sarah! We always saved the paper also. I hate that we live in a throwaway society. It is to our detriment I believe! Monique is a real treasure and I am so pleased you also have one of her paintings! Love and hugs, oxox
DeleteChristmas is one of my very favorite times of the year. I love everything about it. I do have memories of Christmas's past but the ones with my children are the most vivid.
ReplyDeleteThis post brought back some smiles and memories. I too remember my Dad putting the lights on the tree and the cords were always a mess. He could throw out a few farm words too. I especially loved the tinsel and later when I was allowed to put it on; I loved it. I always loved the smell of a new doll and crayons too.
I love the old movies of Christmas. There have been some remakes but the old ones are still the best.
Thanks for the memories on this one and for a very fun post!
Sending big hugs your way!
Oh the smell of a new doll LeAnn! Such a wonderful smell. Thank you for reminding me of that! I love the old movies best of all myself. Love and hugs, xoxo
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