I grew up an only child in a small town in California. Church was a big thing and Christmas at church even bigger. Santa would visit and give every child a stocking filled with an orange, an apple, candy canes and nuts. It was always special!
At home, we generally put our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving....Used lots of the silver tinsel....took forever to put it on the tree. I did this even when my own kids were growing up. They always wanted to "throw" it on and I insisted it be done strand by strand like I had done....took days, but sure made for a pretty tree. Then as the days went by, gifts would appear under the tree. We always opened the gifts Christmas Eve and Santa would come and leave "me" a special gift that night that I would find on Christmas morning. People, were mostly, happy with much less than they are today. The Holidays were much simpler and IMHO, much more enjoyable. We sent cards and visited. Cookies, fruitcake and brandy cake were special treats then. I miss those days....

My mom and dad put up the Christmas tree on Christmas eve while we were asleep before going to midnight mass....we put out cookies and milk for Santa and when we came back from mass our gifts were underneath the tree....on Christmas day we went to my grandparents house where we would get a special treat....a small gift and a bottle of pop....the last time I went to my grandparents we were 50 grandkids.....we got our stocking on New year`s day....an orange, candies and a few little gifts....that was the tradition on my mom`s side of the family...

I went to med school at the age of 40;we sold our home,quit our jobs,moved 2 teenage girls and an unemployed DH across country where we lived in a low income housing project...many changes! My parents got us train tickets to go to their home in Montana for the holidays. We had a wonderful time,my mother baked each kid their favorite cookie,and my dad( who previously had told me I was nuts to go to school at my age) told me he would help us out!

My best memory of Christmas is the whole family gathered around at Mom & Dad's house. Before we opened presents Mom would start reading "T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the house - then we all joined in and recited the entire story, every year. 23 people laughing and crying and never missing a line.

we always went to church on Christmas eve and then came home and opened gifts. There was my mom and dad and me. Mom always filled a huge stocking for Dad and for me. She put lots of candy and little presents she had picked up all year into it with nuts and oranges and fun little surprises. then we opened gifts and no matter how many she wrapped and gave she would always remember one or two she had stuck into a closet and forgot about. LOL

My dad would always wait til the last day to remember he had to buy mom something for Christmas. then he would have me pick out something and go get it. One year we got her a set of crystal goblet that the top half were cranberry color and they were so beautiful. she used them to set her table for dinners for years and years.

At church they always had a 20 foot tree that rose up into the rafters in our little church. There was a program and afterwards they passed out sacks to all the kids with candy nuts and an orange and candy canes. I remember helping to fill those sacks and hand them out. Such fun!

Our tradition when I was young was to go next door to "visit" Marko and Louise after dinner on Christmas Eve. My sister and brother and I would bring them a small gift and they would give us a box of cookies and candy for the family. Lo and behold when we got back home Santa would have made his appearance and we would open presents. How did Santa know just when to make his appearance? We fell for that one for a long time and as the oldest I never did let on to my siblings that there was no Santa. Mom and Dad half killed themselves to get dolls and buggies and bikes out of hiding places before we came bursting in the door. Later on my parents stories of their frantic scramble and poor Louise's ploy to keep us at their house for as long as possible made for some hysterical family tales. Feasting on Louise's delicious cookies and candies that evening is a special memory too. She made toffee, divinity, fudge as well as every Christmas known to mankind.

We always went to my grandmother's house on Christmas night. All my aunts, uncles and cousins were there. The adults ate in the dining room, we kids ate at card tables in the living room and parlor, where the tree was. One year, Grandma gave all the granddaughters matching nightgowns. We ran upstairs to put them on, then modeled them for everyone. We all kept them on the rest of the night.

Also, my grandmother and my great aunt, who lived together, were of German descent. Every year they made springerle, a German cookie that is rolled out with a special rolling pin. I loved looking at those cookies, but I didn't like the taste!

When I was little my parents would decorate the tree after I went to bed on Christmas Eve. I still remember the thrill of coming downstairs on Christmas morning to find the decorated tree and the presents under it. A tradition we had was that I put a stocking on my bedroom door that my grandmother had made for me. Santa would put a present in it that was a game or something that I could play with and I was allowed to get up Christmas morning and get that stocking, but not go downstairs. When my son was a couple years old I took that stocking that had my first initial in sequins and changed it to be the first initial of my son's name. Starting that year he put the stocking on his door on Christmas Eve and Santa would put a present in there for him to get in the morning before everyone else was up. My son is now 19 and home from college, so it's hard for "Santa" to find a fun gift for in there. Just may be lottery tickets this year!

While I have many wonderful memories of Christmases past, some were memorable for different reasons. When I was 8 my Grandmother died on 12/21. Christmas of 68 had my brother home on leave from the Air Force. Christmas of 74 we got engaged. Christmas of 83 my son (3 YO) had been sick and had a terrible reaction to medication he'd been given and was hospitalized. DH's Grandmother died 12/24/89. Many Christmases evoke warm, happy memories of family and friends gathering. Each event pulls us together, makes us stronger and realize how much we have to be thankful for, and allows us to truly appreciate Christmas.