Why Christmas is So Special to Me & Childhood Memories

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I had a good weekend visiting family and going to a march with my friend. Today I enjoyed having some time to relax today and get a few things done. I was planning on decorating for Christmas, but I think I will be doing that tomorrow. This time of year is always so special and I find myself listening to music way earlier than I need to and most people do (October) and get excited sometimes even earlier in the year. This year I did Christmas in July posts and felt excited even then. I decorated my desk a bit around that time too with my elf and some other Christmas decorations. I am pretty Christmas obsessed and around this time of year I listen to Christmas music everyday, eat chocolates from the advent calendar, and decorate as much as I can.

I was thinking one day that I love Christmas especially because of how much effort my parents always put into making it special for my sister and I. They would put a lot of Christmas decorations up and we would all decorate the tree with Christmas music filling the room.  Growing up, we always had the same traditions every year too which made Christmas so special to my family and I. We would go to church on Christmas Eve, then go to my grandparent's house and open lots of gifts. When we were there, we would always have After Eight chocolates so even today I think of those special moments at my grandparents house when I have those chocolates.

This weekend when I was visiting my parents, they got out many boxes of old photos from years past. They had retrieved them because I asked to take some old Christmas photos for this blog post. Of course, my dad, mom, and I ended up looking through the photos for a couple of hours reflecting, laughing at funny expressions my sister and I had, and looking for some Christmas photos for this special post.

Me on Christmas Eve at my Grandparents '94 (Age 6)

Excited to open gifts

Already playing with my gifts. I remember loving to play with this barn

I have always loved the night before Christmas just as much as Christmas day. When I was a child, the anticipation of Santa coming was exciting and I was so excited to see what presents I would receive. When my sister and I were growing up, my parents used to leave some gifts unwrapped that were from Santa. When my sister and I would go to the tree to open our presents, we'd be so excited to see what Santa had brought us.

Throwing it way back to when I was around two

I love the retro television in the back

'93 (Age 5)

I remember going to the Christmas bazaar held in the gym at my elementary school and being given some money to go shopping for gifts for my parents and my sister. There would be tables set up with items we could buy and I enjoyed looking through to find the perfect gifts for my family. This was always a special memory my sister and I have of being able to go around and shop without our parents at that age and being so excited to bring home the gifts for our parents and then wrapping them.

Around 9 here, loved my denim dresses

Christmas is so special because of all of the family time we have at this time of year and traditions old and new. Every year there are new memories and traditions made and I keep the old ones like visiting my grandparents in my heart and memories. I still love to spend Christmas day with my family, opening gifts for hours, having a big breakfast, and then lounging around all day looking at our gifts.

My dad, me, my sister, my mom, and our first cat Pookie '93

I have memories of bundling up and going outside to the backyard and spending hours building snow forts and having snowball fights with my sister. We would sometimes come back inside from being out in the cold and have hot chocolate. I also remember all of the times my dad took my sister and I sledding and skating. I also went skiing with him a few times. I loved all of these outings and always had so much fun.

My dad's aunt knitted these cute sweaters for my sister(left) and I(right) 

There is so much joy that I feel around this time of year spending it will my loved ones. My boyfriend and I are also making new memories together such as seeing A Christmas Carol the play last year, decorating our tree, going to the Christmas market, and visiting his family. This year I will be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my parents and sister like old times which will be so nice. We still go to church on Christmas Eve, open our one gift of pajamas, open Christmas crackers and have some treats. Of course we end the night with watching the classic It's A Wonderful Life every year. Christmas day morning is busy and fun, looking in our stockings and opening lots of gifts. These traditions make Christmas special to all of us in our family, and I always look forward to the time we spend together.

Thank you for joining me in remembering some of my special childhood Christmas memories and traditions. What are some special holiday traditions you share with your family and loved ones around this time of the year?

Thank you for visiting my blog! If you would like to keep updated to see entries when I post, please follow me on Bloglovin', Google Followers, and subscribe by email at the top right corner.

Have a great day!