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Lesleigh Bennett
Every year since the kids were very little our family
has had matching Christmas pajamas. We pick a theme each year. As
the kids have grown and gotten significant others, they too get
matching Christmas pajamas. We have a family picture every year in
those pajamas in front of the Christmas tree as one big family, the
dogs included. Kacey is a nurse in Tennessee so she was on FaceTime
last year in her matching pajamas! I treasure that picture every
year!
Matt Boutcher
My favorite Christmas memory might be a little less Christmassy than
others. You see, my family begins celebrating Christmas the day
after Thanksgiving, Black Friday. Also, gift giving has always been
a big part of Christmas for my family. For us, it’s less about
getting the best gift and more about giving it.
Back when Black Friday deals used to be late on Thursday night or
early Friday morning, I would go Black Friday shopping with my dad
and anyone else who wanted to come. We would listen to Christmas
music and go to any and every store that had a deal we were looking
for.
One year, we were trying to get a Wii Fit for my sister. This is
something she really wanted, and Target was having a great sale on
it. We got to the store and had to fight through the crowds to get
to the electronics department. If you have ever been Black Friday
shopping, you will know that this is always the busiest section of
the store.
Having bought a lot of video games growing up, I knew exactly where
to look. My dad was trying to get down isles he thought may have had
the Wii Fit, and it was too loud and chaotic for me to tell him he
was going the wrong way. I ended up going off on my own a couple of
isles down.
As I approached, I could just barely see there was one left on the
shelf. I knew that if I did not get it quickly, someone else would
nab it and my sister was likely not to get that gift this year. I
tried my best to squeeze through everyone. My years of squeezing
through crowds at comic book conventions was coming in handy.
I managed to get to it in time and grabbed it off the shelf. Raising
it above my head, I looked around and saw my dad an aisle over and
yelled, “Dad, I got it!” My dad’s face lit up through the crowd as
he yelled back, “that’s my boy!”
Karen Castelein
Boy is this a hard assignment! There have been so many wonderful
memories that come to mind, They all revolve around faith, family,
and friends.
Don't get me wrong; I love shopping for loved ones, decorating the
house, caroling, eating together, etc. But the thing that makes me
smile is remembering the true reason for the season(Jesus) and
sharing all the cherished times with family and friends. I love
Christmas and it's an everyday kind of love affair. It isn't just a
"time of year"; He lives with me everyday. We celebrate in
meaningful ways at Christmas time to rededicate, proclaim,celebrate
and remind ourselves how much we are loved by our Father God and how
much we love each other.
But since this assignment is to be a favorite Christmas memory I
have to admit there is one but I have to first tell you that my
"Christmas family" is one of the dearest gifts my son, Scott, and I
have ever received.
They adopted us by way of my 30 year friendship with
Kaye Paris. Kaye has passed but her family continues to include us.
My fond memory is from 8-10 years ago and it was a race between two
younger dads and their young kids. This was a timed race where each
set of kids were to wrap their dad in toilet paper so we could not
see any part of him.
I can still hear the laughter and giggles from all of us but
especially from the kids. I remember the dads trying to encourage
and cheer them on as they tried to stay completely still to make it
easier for them to cover them quickly and not have to go back to
recover spots because they moved. Those dads became mummies and I
kept thinking how hard it would be to have your hands and face
covered. Hence the freeing of their dads went alot faster than the
wrapping had taken.
The race was close and of course we determined there
was no clear winning team. It struck me then and continues to
impress me that my "Christmas family's" deep love and respect of
their kids and even between the kids and moms and dads playing with
kids brings real joy to our lives. A gift of joy that keeps on
giving!
Devyn Fry
Ever since I was little, my mom and I had always made ornaments for
the tree. We used anything we could find: scrap craft materials,
paint and recyclable materials like old computer parts. It was
always something so special because we spent the time creating them
together out of whatever we already had at home. Seeing our final
project go up on the Christmas Tree held a similar yet greater
importance than a drawing being put on the fridge. There is
something really exceptional about memories made when there is no
worrying about money.
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Now that I have moved out, it is a tradition my
fiancé Gabe and I have kept going. Being older I have gained some
more artistic skills and have obtained more materials than I did as
a child, so some crafts are more complicated. I love what the
tradition has morphed into, though I do miss making the ornaments
with my mom while we listened to Christmas movies. Last year Gabe
and I crafted our ornaments, however we got more ambitious and also
made a tree topper out of paper mache!
JA Hodgdon-Ruppel
My parents always made sure each one of us felt special, each of us
were equals and was always shown love, regardless of the time of
year or occasion. But one of the most sacred memories I have was of
our very own “Christmas Shopping Day.” You might be saying, “so
what?,” this is the season where everyone goes shopping!
I come from a family of five, my parents and a sister
five years older and a sister four years younger. After
Thanksgiving, we would spend the whole day getting all the boxes out
of the basement, carrying them upstairs to ooh and aah over old
ceramic Christmas trees and ornaments from the past. Keep in mind,
this was an all-day project, filled with laughter, leftovers, and
love.
After all the boxes were empty and all the decorations were out, we
shut off the house lights and admired our work. It was now time for
the last piece of the puzzle which was to add the Angel to the top
of the decorated Christmas tree . Every year we would rotate between
the three of us in putting the angel on top of the tree and then the
discussion would turn to our “Christmas Shopping Day.”
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My mom was the creative one and spearheaded this
effort, could have been with or without my father’s knowledge, but
he participated in a very willing manner, year after year, x3. What
this meant was that each one of us girls would pick a town we wanted
to go to and a place in that town to eat with mom. This was a
benefit of living in Lincoln, because we had so many towns
encircling us. What this meant for my dad was that he was on dinner
duty that night with the two other girls.
On my particular day, I remember the excitement
all day because I knew what the discussion would be with my mom. She
would start out by asking where we were going to eat and what
presents did I wanted to get for my two sisters and my dad. Of
course at the same time, that evening, my dad was spending time with
the other two girls by taking them out to get that special gift for
our mother and then heading home to wrap it, get it under the tree
all in secret because we were sure that our mom had no idea what we
were doing.
This was such a special time with each parent, secretly planning out
our gifts for our parents and siblings and learning the gift of
giving and appreciation. But in looking back now, it wasn’t about
the town I picked, or the restaurant that we ate it, or the gifts
that we bought……it was that special feeling of letting me
orchestrate the evening knowing all along, that my sisters were
going to experience the same feeling of gratitude for my parents and
the power of true love.
Angela Reiners
When it comes to Christmas, one of my favorite parts
is that we always have someone read the story of Jesus’ birth from
Luke 1 before we open gifts. My favorite Christmas memory is the
year when our family went to my aunt and uncle’s house in Northern
Wisconsin for the holiday. It was snowy there and I recall doing
some cross country skiing. My dad also cut down a big Christmas tree
for their living room. Between the fun activities and the time with
family, it was a very special Christmas.
Nila Smith
Like many others, I have a lot of Christmas memories, and I will
readily admit that some are better than others, but that is part of
the life we live. When I look at the best of the collection though,
a lot of them revolve around family whether it be the huge family
gatherings we had at grandma’s house when I was a kid, or the year
that my sister (we were adults by the way) toppled the Christmas
tree over on top of me while our husbands and my mom rolled on the
floor cracking up over it, or the first Christmas I had with my
step-kids after Rich and I were married, they are all wonderfully
warm and sometimes funny.
That is why, one of my favorite memories involves my family, but it
also involves a very good friend, Kathie Williams, and it didn’t
happen on Christmas.
It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday, and
our kids and grandkids were all visiting us! This in itself was
quite a treat for Rich and me as the grandgirls are getting older
and it is getting all that much harder for them to all come visit
“grampa Rich and gramma” at the same time.
We had spent the day downtown in Lincoln, walked through the trees,
rode the carriage, visited almost every store and had been to Shop
One Stop at the knights.
We were nearing the end of our day, and I told the girls that we
just had to fit a trip to Small Town Creations in the works, and so
we walked to the store, arriving about 3:15 p.m. and Kathie was
already closed for the day.
I know Kathie, and I was pretty sure that she was still at the
store, so I knocked on the door. No answer. So, the whole bunch of
us were standing in front of her window talking about what our next
stop was going to be when the door swung open and there was Kathie.
She invited us in and let the kids shop around and they did end up
making some purchases while Kathie and I spent the whole time
talking.
When we got ready to leave, Kathie asked if we wanted a family
photo. We headed outside and she took a really great picture of the
whole gang.
Front from the left,
son-in-law Chad, granddaughters Chelsie, Caitlyn, Rylee, and Rachel.
In the back from the left my adorable husband Rich, me, daughter
Chasity, daughter-in-law Rebecca, and son Rick.
Now people who know me well know that I am always the
one on the other side of the lens. This is one of the only photos we
have that is all of us, and I am so happy that my good friend opened
that door, invited us in, then blessed us with her own special gift.
Chassidy White
Christmas is such a magical time for me and I love the traditions
that go along with it. Growing up there are many fond memories of
the many Christmas traditions my family would partake in; however,
one has always stood out to me.
Every child loves to see the wrapped presents starting to make their
appearance under the tree. Looking for their name and trying to
guess what is inside eagerly waiting for Christmas day to rip them
open. My family however had a different spin on this tradition. My
parents would bring out the wrapped presents, but on the name tags
were never names! I remember them being labeled with numbers,
colors, and other codes to keep us guessing who’s was who’s.
It wasn’t until Christmas day when mom would pull out her list to
decode each gift that we found out what belonged to who. I vividly
remember us four kids cheering when a larger gift was distributed
into our pile. It kept things exciting up until the very last
moment!
I love carrying on this tradition with my own children and hearing
the discussions of “Oh I think that one is mine!” just as my
brothers and I did growing up.
Jeff Wyles
My favorite Christmas memory is more like a still frame in my head.
On Christmas morning my brothers and I typically woke my parents up
well before 6 a.m. It never failed that we would get a call from the
grandparents before 7 a.m. Grandpa Awe was ready to see his boys.
We would quickly finish opening presents, climb in the car and head
to town. The minute we arrived at my grandparents’ house there would
be a Polaroid camera shoved in our faces and gifts shoved in our
laps.
What I remember most about those mornings was my grandpa cooking
Brown ‘N Serve sausage links. He would be at the stove, no shirt,
cigarette in his mouth and spatula in hand. That image has been
stuck in my head since I was very young.
My grandfather passed away in 1990 when I was 10 years old.
Christmas hasn’t been the same since, but when I need a happy
thought around the holidays, I make some sausage links.
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