Holiday Joy: Reliving Great Memories

As it is Christmas Eve, I thought I’d lighten the mood with some holiday joy. Hopefully, we all have holiday memories that bring us joy. For me, there are a few really distinct Christmases that really stick out in my mind. There are plenty of memories that bring me joy and happiness.

A Child’s Christmas Surprise

One of my biggest childhood surprises was the Christmas that I got my Nintendo. There were a couple of things about that Christmas. Looking back, it was when I outgrew Santa Claus. And although I know that material things shouldn’t be a sign of love, I was only about 9 at the time. I’d actually gotten a Nintendo from my father, but I had to leave it at his house. Even though it was mine, it didn’t really feel like it was since I could only use it when I saw him on weekends. I knew they were hard to get a hold of, so even though I really wanted one that was really my own at home, my expectations weren’t high.

Growing up, my stepdad’s family always did Christmas on Christmas Eve. When he married my mom, a tradition that we started was opening one gift at home on Christmas Eve. That Christmas Eve, when we returned from Christmas with his family, they picked out which present I’d open that night. When I opened it, it was a Nintendo. It was such a thrill for me. When I found out that my stepdad managed to get it for me, it meant so much to me. He and mom had been married for a few years already, and he really didn’t have the struggle that a lot of stepparents have in winning over their new kids. But that gift meant so much to me then, that it just really cemented for me how much he cared because I knew it couldn’t have been an easy gift to get that Christmas.

First Christmas In a Relationship

Jump forward to my senior year of high school. I’d started dating, and being a couple of broke high school kids, we really didn’t have a lot to give each other. That was really the first Christmas for me that was about who I spent it with and not what I got. Her birthday was really close to Christmas, so often she didn’t get a lot in way of a birthday celebration. So really, for me Christmas that year was just as much about making sure she enjoyed her birthday as her having a great Christmas.

First Christmas With My Future Wife

I guess you could say it was my first Christmas in a grown-up relationship. We were twenty-four and had been dating for about six months. Her family welcomed me in as one of their own. Spending that first Christmas with my future in-laws introduced new traditions and would be the first of many Christmases creating fond memories with my wife’s family.

The First Christmas That Was Ours

We’d had four Christmases together, but it was the first Christmas that we were living together, so it was a time of starting our own traditions. One of those was our tradition of opening our gifts to each other several days before Christmas, as our work schedules and the schedules of all of our family Christmases made it impossible to enjoy our gifts to each other anytime near Christmas. That tradition would even get pushed earlier in later years, especially once I started a job where I always had two weeks off at Christmas.

A White Christmas

This one didn’t feel like it was that long ago, but it was actually in 2010. I don’t even really remember all of the details. What I do remember, is that everyone in my mom’s family was there, everyone was healthy, and it was a white Christmas, which we don’t see a lot of in northwest Georgia.

I hope that my reminiscing has helped you remember your own moments of holiday joy. I hope that it also inspires you to create your own special moments this year.

Teaser: Next time will be a time of reflecting as we close out the old year to bring in the new.