By Staff
Considering this is my last column before Christmas, I was given the idea to write about some of my favorite Christmas memories.
And considering this is a last minute column, I was a little nervous, especially since I'm not sure I can recall some of my best memories in only half an hour. But I will do my best.
Growing up, and even now, I have been very fortunate. I have family who has always stayed by my side, even during some of my worst days. I would have to say one of my favorite holiday memories, still to this day, is spending time with all of my family. I look forward to the great food, talking with family members I haven't seen in a while and my Aunt Fay's baked goods! Her nut and fruit rolls are to die for.
Growing up, I always got excited when it was time to put up the outdoor Christmas lights. We lived in a small house in Oak Manor, right down the street from the Bailey's. Some of you may remember how well decorated that house was. It was located on Lewis Drive and every inch of his front yard was lit up. It definitely drew a lot of traffic. This also allowed people to drive by our house, where my dad would always put lights on a 25-30 foot pine tree, which stood right next to our house. You could see the top of the tree from the Eastgate Parking lot. My dad also put lights on and around out house and I can remember the lighted Santa with his reindeer on our roof.
Everyone will always remember the excitement of waking up on Christmas morning to find the gifts that Santa left. I will say I was never a peaker. I stayed in my room until the wee hours of the morning. The way I could tell if Santa came was by checking his cookie plate in the middle of the night. I would wake up, go look and sure enough, cookies would be gone and the carrots were half eaten. For me, it was a great reassurance about Santa.
I'm sure a lot of people will agree when I say that taking a trip to Mishawaka to visit the Windingbrook neighborhood is a sight to remember for years.
Spending Christmas Eve at my great grandparents' house also brings back fond memories. Santa would always pay us a visit and we had a chance to talk with him briefly. That was always something I looked forward to, except the year that my Uncle Cliff "played the part" if you get my drift. Let's just say I kind of understood the whole Santa thing after that.
Now, these weren't some of my favorite Christmas memories, but it's definitely something I will never forget around the holidays. When I was younger, I would always get sick for our school's holiday parties and was unable to attend. As I said, not a favorite memory, but something I will never forget. Thankfully, I had wonderful teachers who made sure I got my goodies. Darn flu bugs!
Believe it or not Christmas shopping is something I really enjoy doing. The lines at stores and the traffic can be a headache, but something about the sales, the Christmas music and the lights and decorations puts me in a great mood.
There are so many more memories I have about Chirstmas, but those are the few that come to mind.
This Christmas I know will be another one of great memories and great times with family and friends.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas! (I would say Happy new Year as well, but I have another column before then, so we'll save that for next week!)