Your Favorite Christmas Memory

[InHisSpirit]

Merry Christmas to everyone! This contest will be a short essay about your favorite Christmas. It must have at least 500 words but can be as long as you wish. I just want to know your favorite Christmas memory. The dates are from now until Thursday December 13th. That's one week to submit your memories. 1st prize - 10,000 blessings 2nd prize - 5,000 blessings 3rd prize - 2,500 blessings I will also like 2 judges who I will give them each 1,000 blessings. Please PM if you would like to be a judge. I am looking forward to your entries. Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

[InHisSpirit]

bump

 

[StrawberryShortcake2]

Every year, around mid-December, my 2 sisters, brother and me would go to our Grandparents and bake

Christmas cookies. My Grandma prepared the icing and divided them into several bowls so we would have

different colors to "paint" our cookie cut-outs. We rolled out the dough that our Grandma had prepared and

use the large selection of Christmas cookie cutters to cut out the dough. Then, we'd place them on the baking

pan and our Grandma placed them in the oven until they were ready to come out. After the cookies were

cooled off, we'd iced them and put them in a Christmas themed cookie tin.

My family always went to Church on Christmas morning to celebrate Jesus birthday. As my siblings & I got


older, occassionally, we'd go to midnight mass. Now, that I'm an adult, I go to Church on


Christmas Eve. Attending Church on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning has always been one of my

favorite worship services.

Every Christmas Eve, I never slept very well and I'd always be the first one awake on Christmas morning. I

couldn't wait until Christmas, even as an adult. I was too busy thinking about celebrating Jesus birthday,

opening gifts, and eating a nice dinner. My siblings and I also had a Christmas stocking that would be filled

with small gifts and candy. Every Christmas morning, I'd look out the window to see how much snow was

on the ground. Usually, there would be at least an inch or more of snow on the ground ever year.

Now, that I'm an adult, I do still love celebrating Christmas very much. I have 2 dogs that I treat like they're

my children. I have a Shih Tzu, Sparky who is 4 years old and a Golden Retriever, Kaci who is 3 years old.

Christmas Eve, I fill my dogs' stockings with toys and treats. They love Christmas too and recieving new toys

to play with.

Every year, a few weeks before Christmas, I put up a Christmas tree in the family room. The Christmas tree

is placed in front of the large window so when the tree is lit, it can be see from the outside. I love putting the

lights and ornaments on the tree. I've shopped at an online website, Bronner's which claims to be the world

largest Christmas store. Bronner's has a huge selction of Christmas ornaments to choose from. My favorite

ornaments are the dolphins, Angels and pets.

Every Christmas season, I'd watch Christmas movies and television specials. My favorite Christmas movie is

Home Alone. It's a cute Christmas movie where a young boy, Kevin gets left behind while his parents and

siblings go on vacation. Then, Kevin keeps outsmarting a pair of would-be thieves who keeps going back to

his family's home. At the end, Kevin's family arrives home and he realizes how much he misses them. I also

enjoy watching Christmas music videos by different bands and music artists that are on at this time of the

year.

 

[jimdbrow]

My Favorite Christmas Memory

Every Christmas that I can remember has been just wonderful. I can remember one Christmas when I was about ten years old I got a train set and a toy helicopter that I could take apart and a dump truck. My dad was in the Army and had some friends from his unit spend Christmas with us. They were like brothers to me.

I remember another Christmas when I got a ten speed bike. My sisters got one too. We had a neighbor who we got to know real well. His name was Randy. He had terminal cancer and he didn't have much in the way of money coming in. He bought some Christmas presents for my sisters and I and they weren't anything expensive or anything. They were a big Sugar Daddy and a deck of cards. He didn't always have a lot of strength so for him to go and buy these things made them really special.

He was a talented artist and whenever I needed someone to talk to he was there. I was only about twelve or thirteen and he was about twenty four but he still took the time to listen whenever I had a problem. As the year progressed he started to go down hill. His mother was a Registered Nurse and whenever he was in pain she would give him syringes full of morphine. He would be bed ridden for several days and then he would be able to get around.

In September he started to get really bad and his parents said it wouldn't be much longer. Several times he would be in bed and his mother would give him the shot of morphine and we would go over to visit him. My mother was holding his hand and even though he couldn't move or talk because of the pain and morphine he was able to squeeze my mother's hand. My mother told us that and a few days later when we went to visit with Randy and he was able to talk, he told us that he remembers that we were there and that he squeezed my mother's hand.

About the beginning of December Randy was bed ridden all the time. He was out of it more than he was aware of anything going on around him. His brother Scott was in the Navy and ws trying to get home for Christmas and also because Randy was doing so terribly. Randy's mothere was worried that Scott would not make it home in time and that Randy would die before Scott got home. Randy told his mother, "Don't worry mom, I'll be here when Scotty gets here.

Randy told his family that when he passed away, he wanted his body donated to the University so they could try to find a cure for cancer. His brother, Scott arrived home around the eighteenth of December and went in to talk to Randy. His parents said that when Randy slept you could hear him breath very loudly. The heaters in the house were very noisy, too. They knew that the way Randy was breathing that it was a matter of hours. About two o'clock in the morning they could hear Randy breathing very loudly, Then the heaters kicked on, and they couldn't hear Randy breath because the heaters were too loud. About ten minutes later the heater shut off and they couldn't hear Randy breath anymore and knew he passed on. They weren't hit really hard by this because theuy knew that he could go at any time for about twenty years. We were prepared for it also because Randy talked to us about the possibility that he could die at any time.

At Christmas Randy's parents invited us over to spend time with them and their family. They shared with us that Randy wanted them to share with us not to grieve for him. Months before Christmas Randy did some Christmas shopping and bought my sisters and I another deck of cards and there was also another giant Sugar Daddy which his parents picked up because they knew Randy would have wanted them to. I will never forget Randy because he took the time to listen to a kid that most people his age would have not even bothered wasting their time on. He helped shape part of the the person I am today. I work with Youth at Church and am able to work with them because of what I learned from him.

Another Christmas that I really loved was Christmas of 2006. My Nephew, Matthew who is in the Army and was stationed in Baghdad, Iraq was able to come for Christmas, but my favorite Christmas of all is not one in the past but it will be the Christmas of 2007 because my nephew Matthew is rotating back Stateside and will be home for Christmas and I am praying that he won't have to go back to Iraq.

 

[Breezy3]

My Favorite Christmas Memory

Surprisingly this not about my immediate family although I have many, many happy memories with them. This story took place three years ago and will always stand out in my memory. And this did not happen Christmas day, but it is definitely a Christmas memory.

8 years ago, just like this year, we put on a Christmas program program. Betsy who is one of my students and known for being shy and keeping to herself was encouraged to be a part of our Christmas program because we wanted her singing voice which was nice when you could hear her or when you would be fortunate to hear it! lol

Betsy was not sure it was something she could do, but was willing to give it a try. This in itself was huge. So Betsy became a part of our Christmas performance team.
And she practiced and practiced and not only listened to what was being taught to her, but was sure to follow through on everything! When the day of our performance came, Betsy not only sang with the Christmas choir, but also acted. We had lots of people attend the performance.

Betsy's Mom had recently moved to Southern California and was coming up to see Betsy perform. She knew how big this was for her daughter and her daughter had personally invited her.

After the performance was over, I noticed that Betsy's mother was in tears. I walked over to talk to her and thank her for coming out, etc. and she asked if she could hug me.... she knew me well enough to know I teach Boundaries classes... lol and I said yes. She gave me a big hug and went on and on about how she could not believe how much her daughter is changing! She said it was joy to come and see such a spectacular performance and to know that her daughter did a great job way beyond where she thought Betsy could go! And Betsy herself was crying with joy at her mother's words and I cried with both of them. It was indeed nothing short of miraculous.

Even today, this story reminds me that no matter how scary it may seem to stretch ourselves and get out of our comfort zones, if we just keep going forward in determination and trust in HIM with a willing heart, we will be amazed at the results. Thank you Jesus for all the miracles of Christmas... especially the miracle of YOU!

 

[warrrior4him007]

my child hood christmass were all always filled with love in the 1980s me and my family my parents and my older sister and I wed all be together going from my
aunts and uncles house here to michigan to okalhoma and there were a couple of times wed visit my aunt and uncle in texas after the death of my cousin before my family and i traveled out of state wed open our christmas presents a couple hours be for wed leave for the trips wed make my fathers family lived all of the usa and sometimes my aunt would be in oklahoma visiting my grand parents the drive was 18 hours to oklahoma and twenty four hours to texas while visting texas my cousin got a bike for christmas and while he was naping the other kids were rideing i rode his blue bike a man in a car asked me if id like to race i said no.
our drives to oklahoma were cramed our parents had a brown mark 7 and i cant imagine of if we had my younger sister in that car escpoicaly in the back seat and thank heavens the seat belt rule was not issued back then cuz i would of been buckkled up during our trips to oklahoma wed drive 18 hours and me and my mom would mostly sleep on the way down south i rember drivening threw cinncati and listen to cincita ohio sang by i for got or listening to delta dawn i loved traveling cuz every time we stoped when it was meal time wed stop at nickolson farms its simalar to cracker berrel oka it was the year after my grand father lost his leg due to gay green every one was up my unclewith his 5 kids my cousins my aunt with her son and my other aunt and uncle from arkansas it was fun and yes it was crouded my grand mother only had a 3 bdroom house in bixby oklahoma and one of my uncles lived with her so me and my oldersister slept on a feather bed with our pillows from our bed at home in michigan welp with my aunt she would have lotions and stuff shed put on at night iliked it alot i LOved the attention we all hardly ever got to oklahoma at my granparets but i enjoyed my time with all of them my other 2 aunts and uncles stayed with other familiy. speaking of family i have a teacher for a aunt and very tall uncle he dont need a latter to change a light on a fan in a old standard house irember him haveing to dunk to walk across the living room of my grand mothers house and my mom would give us our stockings at christmas and wed give our gifts to grandma and grampa we had a big dinner with my dads family he has 7 brothers and sisters wed have my grandmas homade biscutts home made apple ppie and corn bread stuffing it was fun and the n we all had to say good bye my one aunt uncle and cousin went back to califorina and my other uncle went back to ark
my other uncle with his wife and five kidsd rove and us my parents and my sistercame back to mich about 5 years later we lost my grand father

 

[Tweetie]

My favorite was the only year that TX had snow on the ground for Christmas Day....

 

[InHisSpirit]

Thanks guys! These are great!

i still need 2 judges, please pm me if interested.

 

[WhiteWillow]

When I was 6 my father and me went to get a tree and he didn't have alot of money and found -I think 30 dollars? in the snow. it was a God send.

 

[SparkyMaddie]

Seeing Santa in my living room,I had an accident and screamed I was so excited and I was like 5.

 

[InHisSpirit]

Guys sorry, we had a bit of a family emergency. i will award all blessings by tomorrow evening.

 

[InHisSpirit]

1st - jimdbrow
2nd- Breezy3
3rd- StrawberryShortcake2

Honorable mention - Warrior4Him007

 

[warrrior4him007]

ty for the blessings

 

[jimdbrow]

Thank you for the blessing. Merry Christmas and God bless.