Hey everyone!!! To everyone reading this how ya doing?? It looks like its going to be a white Christmas for us. Not sure about everyone else but for us it sure is. 

For anyone who reads this what is or was your All time favorite memory of Christmas??

Well, growing up mine was on Christmas eve, my parents and I would drive to my grandma's house. After dinner we had this whole ordeal we would go through. My dad has his chair he would sit in every year and at a certain time he would tell us kids to go upstairs to look for Santa and his reindeer and then all of a sudden he would yell and we would come running down the stairs because he would say that he thought he saw him on the front lawn. Sure enough that's where he was. lol.. Then there was a special chair in the same spot every year and Santa would come in and say the same exact thing year after year. 

For years I believed in the big guy, until I was like 12 or 13, lol and thats how I kept it for my daughter and up until last year my daughter still somewhat believed in him too!! It was awesome. But, back to the story!!

He would come in and sit down and we would go up to him all excited and take turns handing out presents from his big red bag. When all the presents were done, we would take turns getting our pictures taken and out the door he would go. Right away, us kids would go running up the stairs to see if we could see him and the reindeer take off from the roof of the house or somewhere close to there. Year after year we looked but never did see anything.

Shortly after we opened the rest of the presents under Grandma's Christmas tree, we would pack up the car and head back home to set out cookies and milk for Santa, carrots for Rudolph and the other reindeer and the infamous letter to Santa. With hopes he would stop at my house and write me back each and every year. I did that same tradition with J each and every year until last year and she believed it to the T, It was awesome. 

Then on Christmas Day, mom would wake us up with her home cooked breakfast and after several times of bugging her to open presents before we ate, and getting yelled at for it, I finally gave up and just ate breakfast...lol.. Then we opened presents and spent a bit of time together and then it was mom and me to do whatever, usually grocery shopping and dad would visit his friend up the street for the afternoon. Mom and I would also take a trip around to several houses with mom's baked goods, another tradition we had. 

Then when I was old enough to realize Santa was really whoever played him that year at Grandmas, I also learned of the "ins and outs", and the behind the scenes of the making of Santa, I would be the one soon after to get Santa ready. You know the make-up, the fluffing of the pillow, messing of his hair just right. To see the looks on the kids faces as he walked in made it all worth wild. To know that it was all made possible by me!!

Then, came along the time that my daughter started getting old enough to understand Santa and be the one to run up to him and hand out the presents and the look on her face as he came through the door. When he would say her name, it was all just priceless!! To hear her say on Christmas Day, "Momma, can we open presents now?" Again Priceless!!! Now I have D who sat on Santa's lap perfectly, it was AWESOME!! We got the best picture of the two girls, with the exception of J wearing gym shoes...lol..I can't wait til she gets old enough to understand what Santa is all about and what presents are, then it will be interesting!!!

Then times come to an abrupt stop, and people change, people cause others who they thought were family cause that all to end for whatever reason, family tradition for over 50 years because of whatever reason, reasons better left unmentioned.

Now, things have changed of course, people pass on, family gets smaller but little did I know a couple years just how small my family really would get. En though it broke my heart the time was due, J needed to know the truth. She needed to know the truth about Santa, while she was going around school defending his honor...lol...While we broke down and confirmed her otherwise stern innocence to the fact that she was on the fence as well that he was real but also she had curiosities that he wasn't too!! Figuring that it really was time to tell her the truth before more people at school made fun of her, the truth came out...SANTA ISN'T REAL!!! I know, how many hearts did I break!!!

Funny thing was, when she found out her uncle was Santa a couple years in a row, she was upset that he played Santa. Didn't understand why she was upset but she is the age she is and I guess Ill never understand it!! I also informed her that now she is a big girl, she has keep the secret from her sister. After we said that to her, it was a whole different story and it was funny how her mood changed and then she was okay with the fact that Santa wasn't real anymore.

Now, I have started our own family tradition, due to the fact that my Aunt has  completely changed since my grandma passed away or rather after the Christmas of 2010. We all went down for Christmas at Lisa and Chaz's December of 2010 but then after that is when it was like she completely flipped sh*t!! So now, its small but its real family getting together and its nice!!! Its like my Aunts personality completely changed for some reason and no one knows why, I mean I have my suspisions but I will leave them to my own thoughts, but she just is not a very nice person anymore, for lack of better words and we will leave it at that...lol...For some reason she feels the need to look down on to me for several reasons as well as support me with all the things Ive gone through health wise, or the fact that she isnt the least bit happy that Ive come as far as I have and that I was awarded Disability. In fact, she has even said to several people that she feels I don't deserve it. This is a woman, growing up that I looked up to. I guess people do change over time and with age.

In fact, we have changed all of our holidays and its only my father and brother, my girls and myself. Nice and cosey. Just like at Thanksgiving...I made the main part of dinner and my brother and dad brought up the fixins. So for Christmas, Cookies are done...Check!...Shopping is done...Check!!..Now the only thing is my brother has to work that morning which isn't a big problem so they are going to leave as soon as he gets home. We will eat dinner at normal dinner time, open presents and still have time to relax before it gets too late for them to drive home, considering its a 2 hour drive for them...

Now, since I have rambled on...What is your Favorite Childhood Christmas Memory...Please do tell...We would love to hear, Even if its little or big...

Later Taterz~~

Me~~