Day 14 – Earliest Christmas Memory
A magical past
“All I Want Christmas To Be” is all about remembering how Christmas felt like to us as children. Simple but magical times when everything was possible.
In the video for it we used a lot of home footage – even from times that were too long ago for us to remember first hand. However, we still have a some vivid memories from some of our earliest Christmasses that will stay with us forever.
We’d love to talk about this in more detail during tomorrow’s livestream and we’d love to hear from you about this too. Please let us know …
What is your earliest Christmas memory?
How old were you? What does it feel like? Who does it involve? etc.
We’d love to hear from you and will read out comments on air tomorrow!
Mona & Lisa
Here’s a few screenshots of Xmas Albums we did have in our house that I grew up with as a kid in the 70s ….played at Xmas time …. later on in my teens, I had a few 45s of some Xmas hits and the Vand Aid 1974 ” Do They Know It’s Christmas ” album and the extended 12 inch mix of that album… the 45 of ” Grandma Got Run Over By A Reibdeer “, Annie Lennox version of ” Winter Wonderland ” song , The cassette tape of an Irish Rovers Xmas album where their faces are on Xmas Balls on Xmas Tree for cover photo for album
Another memory not exclusive to Christmas but it always did happen around Christmas too. My 3 brothers Denny, Rod and Tom playing guitars in the living room, probably my sister Nita singing and teaching us younger ones to play spoons on our thighs. Even my Dad would play along on the harmonica if he was sober, or even half sober. Great times that I miss dearly.
I have 2 memories. First one was when I was 9 or 10 and my family was out looking for a Christmas tree. It was snowy as we wandered around the lot. My dad told my sister to “be careful, don’t fall” and she replied, “don’t worry, I won’t sliiiiip” and down she went! The other memory was opening presents on Christmas day. My sister handed our little brother a present and said, “open your skates, Steven!” Kinda ruined the surprise,
I remember Christmas better after we moved to Yorkshire when I was 7 as we always went back to our original home city of Derby to visit family on both my mum and dads side.
Before that it is all a bit bleary. I remember I used to get presents on Christmas day in a white sack which I still have and used for my daughters presents and now my grandsons.
For some strange reason I also remember the headmistress at my old infant school when i was about 5. She mentioned in assembly that santa was visiting that afternoon and she seemed quite human when normally she was a right battleaxe. I dont remember anything about santa visiting. Wierd.
I can also remember at around the same time waiting with my brother and dad at our fireplace. In those days it was coal fires with chimneys and dad told us that when santa was visiting our house he would throw some sweets down the chimney into the fireplace. Some sweets did land in the fireplace but it took me a few years to work out that dad threw them in there when we were not looking.
The crafty old goat is 90 now so I doubt he will remember any of this. To this day I still spend christmas day with my parents and brother.
We celebrated Christmas the german way on Christmas eve night with the whole family. There’s no tree up til that night Then dad put it up with live candles on it and chocolate decorations. I was taken to the bedroom and then brought out when it was done. Then we sang carols, then opened presents. My most memorable gift was a set of cross-country skis.
The earliest memory I have related to Christmas is going to see Santa at a “mall” in Buenos Aires. I must have been about 4 years old and I ask for a dog. I remember that my mum asked me what I had asked Santa and I told her “a dog”, she sent me back to ask for something else. I didn’t understand why I had to ask for something else if Santa was sitting right there and had said “OK”. Three times she sent me back and three times I asked for a dog. There’s a picture of that somewhere, I had no interest in sitting on Santa’s lap. In the picture I’m holding the chair with outstretched arms keeping my distance. Come Christmas, I got a puppy. It made me very happy.
Another nice Christmas memory was when I had just turned 30. I was in Guilford, England and went to the midnight mass at an old small stone church that is listed in the Domesday book. The choir and candles in such a setting made it absolutely magical.
Found the picture!
PRECIOUS, TOMAS!
Ditto Jeffery’s comment
Boy, its really difficult to think that far back. One of the first memories I have for Christmas is going to church with my mom and dad and two older brothers. Church service on Christmas Eve was basically a musical event with the large church choir and big organ. The whole congregation sang along to all the traditional Christmas songs. I used to love it because even at the age of about 6 I learned most of the songs and I could actually sing along. It was what started a life long love of music for me.
I also remember a church with a big organ that played loud and true. It was beautiful – a piece of art in itself. Unfortunately that’s all I remember – I must have been pretty young.
Hi What I remember the most when we were kids is my dad taking the old 8mm movies but to get a good picture you had to use this bar of (4) 150 watt flood lights that connected to the camera. These lights were so bright they would blind you if you had to look right at the camera. So when we would watch the movie it was funny to see everybody was squinting to try and open their presents. My parents gave me all the old movies and it is always fun to go back and watch them.
I think much of my memory of early Christmases is a mix of a few of them. We always had a live tree with pretty but fragile painted glass ornaments, foil tinsel (that got crushed into the carpet a lot) and those big old-school colored lights. We would go to midnight Mass then off to bed waiting for Santa to arrive. The earliest present I remember clearly is a Marx Krazy Kar. It was a round car where you sat between the two large wheels that had handles you turned to go forward and backwards, or best of all, spin in circles. I remember my little brother and I have a great time with that car.
Well here it is Day 14 and I’m finally catching up…sorry about not getting to view the live stream at 3:00 my time….I’m a truck driver and I usually don’t get home that early…your ALL I WANT CHRISTMAS TO BE song and video is great and the whole Christmas album is great as well and I LOVE THE COVER PHOTO…it’s hilarious….OKAY on to todays question about earliest Christmas…I remember where we were living at the time so that means I was probably 4 years old and what I remember is that on Christmas morning when I first got to the tree there was a train going around and around the tree…Santa (Dad) had set up an American Flyer railroad track and train set and I was just crazy about it…it was wonderful…my little brother and I would spent hours playing with it as we grew older.
The two Christmas’s I really (kind of) remember, were when I was 3 & my Uncle Ray gave me an electric train set for Christmas! He had set up on a big plywood board on legs, & it dominated my bedroom until I was 12. He was great guy, & like my 2nd father!
The next was when I made my first recording at age 6. My parents had taken me to see Santa Claus, & at that location, they were recording kids singing a song, & then you got to keep the record! So I sang a solo version of “Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer,” quickly followed by “Teddy Bear’s Christmas.” I think I still have it, but it’s worn out.
That was pretty special too!
The main thing I remember about all our Holidays when I was young, was the loving home that my parents created for me, & how much they cared about making Christmas & all Holidays so special! I’m an only child, but for Christmas, Thanksgiving & birthdays we always gathered with our extended family of aunts, uncles, grandparents & cousins.
These were fun times for everyone, with lots of food, presents & decorations!
Later on, I really enjoyed playing Music for Christmas parties & events with my Brass Quartet, & in church services with Brass, Strings & Voices. Then as a Music teacher I’ve conducted many Holiday concerts with my students.
TODAY, I showed several Mona & Lisa videos in my elementary classes, such as “Walking in the Air,” “All I Want Christmas to Be,” I’ll Be Back,” & “Once Upon a Time.”
And we worked on Xylophones. Before my laryngitis appeared this week, I led Christmas Carol Songs in class! It seems that ALL the kids want to sing “Feliz Navidad” & “Jingle Bells” the most!
But when I taught Middle & High School Band, Strings & Jazz Band, I found lots of cool arrangements such as “A Merry Mozart Christmas!” Those Were the Days, My Friends!
When live gets hard, it’s nice to have MUSIC and the HOLIDAYS to cheer us all up! —
Bud J.
At the end of my last comment, I meant to say, “When LIFE gets hard!” (I write better than I type!) — Bud
Another Christmas I’ll never forget is when my Aunt Corinne & Uncle Ray gave me a full size 4–octave Marimba for a present when I was 15! I still practice it when I can, & it’s been in a bunch of my school performances, with either me, or my students playing it, 3 of them together! I think that was the best gift I ever got, & I’ve had some very good ones!
Happy Holidays & Cheers to Everyone! — Bud
Really great you tell your students about the talented twins!!
Love the mental picture I get of your first recording! AWESOME that you share MLT music/vids with your students! 🎼🎶 Teach Your Children Well 🎶
I remember one Christmas when I was about 5, and that year Oklahoma City experienced a heavier snowstorm than usual. Our family tradition was to go over to my maternal grandmother’s house, and go to Midnight Mass from her house since it was close to the little church that to a five year old seemed to be way over yonder. But in reality was only about 2 blocks away. I remember it being very cold, but Mom bundled us (5 kids and one on the way) like Eskimos. By the time Mas ended, my two younger brothers were asleep. They stayed that way for the rest of the night. We went back to Grandma’s house, and she, my Mom and aunt warmed up the tamales, and Mexican chocolate. My Uncles Chas, and Jess served the eggnog with rum for the adults. We kids just got eggnog. After eating, the kids got to open one gift apiece. The rest were to be opened on Christmas day when all the cousins would be over. After what seemed like hours, we got bundled up. My Dad fired up the 51 Buick, and we headed home for some sleep. Next morning we got ready to head back to Grandma’s. When I think back I think man how lucky can a knuckle-headed five year old get.
The epilogue is that while we no longer attend Midnight Mass together, my siblings and I still host all the cousins,and their families for Christmas dinner. Everyone pitches in, and we have a blast. La Paz este con ustedes. Peace be with y’all.
Y contigo tambien Joe
For anyone who’s forgotten it, or has never seen the video, the original live BBC version of “Catch the Wind” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RrLkztaKLA ) has more Twins Christmas home footage. I also like to watch the “Two of Us” video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRZTW2iMkD0 ) with lots of footage of the Twins growing up.
I adore the scene with little Mona and Lisa surrounding PapaRudi while he appears to read them something in the ‘Catch the Wind ‘ vid!
I hadn’t seen the “Two Of Us” video. Wow!
When I first got to this page, I did what I’ve done a lot in the last couple months. Start “All I Want Christmas To Be”, and click the Loop button. Such a wonderful song, and of course it reminds me of my youth, eons ago. It swings.
.
Right about the time I turned 6, my family moved to a new home. I have Christmas memories from the first home though, so I would have been 5 or less. We always started with dinner on Christmas Eve – maybe that’s from my German ancestors too like Brian said. That was when we exchanged gifts. Although I wasn’t out buying gifts at age 5 – I was doing the recipient thing. My mother always made New England clam chowder. Clams, onions, potatoes, cream and bacon. We still make it that way.
I remember toys on Christmas morning. Toys from Santa!
Like my playmobile. It was like a car dashboard with a steering wheel attached. You turn the key and it sounds like an engine running. That training came up later when one day the car popped out of Park and started rolling down the driveway. Mom was out cleaning the windscreen and managed to get out of the way, and that’s when I found out that turning the key off doesn’t stop the car. But two hands on the brake does.
It’s not true what my sisters say, that I’m the one that knocked the car out of Park.
One of the most charming things about what you do is to be invited in to see some of the Wagner family traditions, and the love among you. Those movies, with those two little precious snotty nosed kids, are so very special. Thanks.
I have had that same homemade New England clam chowder. It is so good! It is almost impossible to find good clam chowder here in the southwest US desert.
And … those two snotty nosed kids are special indeed!
From experience, I can concur that sisters (twin sisters excluded) can be a pain, and I only have one! Of course, mine is nine years older than me, so it probably wasn’t easy putting up with me, either!
I have 4 sisters, so you can’t scare me with sisters. They all love me though, and only one of them (as I mentioned to her as recently as yesterday) ever yells at me.
Now my brother, on the other hand…
My earliest Christmas memory is from the December I turned 3 (1965). I don’t remember having asked for anything, but I remember well spotting a large, colorfully wrapped parcel under the tree. When it was handed to me, I didn’t know what to do with it – it was so pretty, I didn’t want to do anything but look at it! With some coaxing, I unwrapped the parcel and found two big eyes looking at me. It was a doll – the first doll I had ever been given. I still have the doll – now very bedraggled from years of being loved by my daughter, Meriel. In fact, the doll starred as baby Jesus in our church Christmas pageant this past Sunday.
My best Christmas memories come from a few years later. Being part of the Christmas pageant was a definite highlight – the candles, the carols, the beauty of the story. I was too shy to have a solo part so even though I secretly wanted to be Mary, I was always in the chorus! Singing carols around the neighbourhood with friends was magical, especially in the evening when the Christmas lights were on and snow was falling. Sometimes we would be invited into a home for some hot chocolate or cookies. There seemed to be so much more snow in those days! My brothers and I spent much of our Christmas holiday outdoors, sledding, skating, building snow forts, etc. The cold air was delicious and made the indoor warmth that much more cozy.
Mona and Lisa’s Christmas song is musically lovely and when paired with the lyrics and the video, it is tremendously evocative of simple, happy times – Christmas just the way I remember it!
It’s precious that your first doll got to portray baby Jesus! Your caroling story made me recall a special memory from probably 40 years ago, caroling as a small church choir through downtown Freeport, Illinois while snow lightly wafted down. My sister, Mom and I are the only ones left from that group, and you helped me warmly remember my friends. THANK YOU!
That is the beauty of sharing memories – it stimulates many more!
Found a picture from that Christmas!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PaPRnhSgICK_yNsjra1Fp-BQk5mZkFA0/view?usp=drive_web
PRECIOUS! 💕
There is something that undeniably , Unequivocally Transpires, transcends about this song so universally, globally , Uniquely that resonates, Eminates Heart of Christmas Spirit in a Loving, Embracing Enchanting way , Captivating the past and present intertwining, poetically…. It Truly captures , I Thankyou Mona, Lisa, Rudi and Michaela , for having created such a beautifully conjured Christmas song that All ages and Generations can enjoy and I believe can even ignite a tiny spark of light in darkness in someone, in a location, situation, even if only temporarily or short term or for the opposite and deliver Positivity-fied Blessings that Reach out and Touch , yes it Conveys much emotion … Kudos 💜☮️🤘🏻🕊❤️💚🎄☃️❄️⛄️
Howdy, funny thing – prior to logging in here and seeing the “All I Want Christmas To Be” video on day 14 – I was watching/listening to the same song on MLT Facebook page. After playing it about 3 times, I decided to forward the video to several people to allow them to enjoy it.
As far as Christmas memories- I can remember back to age 5 or 6 – we always had a big Christmas tree and decorated it really nice.
My parents worked very hard to save up enough money to buy us some great toys, games & clothes. I remember my mom taking me to a department store (probably Macy’s) to see Santa Claus. There was usually a long line, just to sit on his lap & tell him want we wanted for Christmas. Some of the Santas actually looked scary lol.
Best Wishes To All,
Bobby S.
Great idea to forward that vid as a Christmas greeting!
My earliest Christmas memory would probably have been when I was around 7 years of age. The family ‘tradition’ (if that is the correct term), which stemmed no doubt from the financial hardships of the post-war years, was to :
1. Use the same Santa sacks each year 🤨 – mine was a Yogi Bear one – Yogi was at least dressed as Santa
2. Use wrapping paper sparingly 🙄
3. Any large present was unlikely to wrapped
This particular year stands out for 2 reasons; firstly I must have woken at some very early hour and decided to get a sneak preview of my presents (Santa had been by this time) and secondly it was freezing
So there I was shivering in the dark, unable to unwrap anything because the rustle of paper would wake the whole house. Next to my Yogi Bear sack was an unwrapped and very strange-looking fort with a flat roof so I began to play with it.
I obviously got carried away and started to play a bit too loudly (or maybe it was my chattering teeth? 🥶 )
Needless to say, I was sent back to bed immediately and probably lay awake until it was light enough to get permission to get up !
The fort, incidentally, turned out to be a 2-tier model with the top tier stored upside down within the lower tier (hence the flat roof) and came with a set of cowboys and indians
I was reminded of this early Christmas start for years to come! 😳
All I Want Christmas To Be perfectly captures the magic and joy that I felt as a child. I couldn’t wrap my head around “how does Santa fit toys for the entire world on his sleigh?”
My siblings and I would do several practice runs of waiting in the hallway until permission was granted to enter the fairyland of a living room. I remember getting the bicycle of my dreams. Does it get any better?
My earliest Christmas memory is of my young cousin who was 4 or 5 at the time – she was given a large teddy bear the exact same height she was. She was beside herself with joy!
I remember one of my sisters getting an equally big bear, what a cool present for a little kid.
Hello,well I was lucky to be born in Liverpool and grew up with the sound of the Beatles all around me.My earliest Christmas memory is being able to stay up and watch the magical mystery tour film in black and white on the tele in the 60’s.It was Boxing Day…,67 I think,and I loved it even tho my parents were not impressed I remember.The songs stuck with me and I was amazed when I finally saw it in colour.Lots of love xxx
After reading through the comments it’s interesting to note, the majority of comments are not about what presents were received, it’s about time spent with family and friends. Sadly the real reason for Christmas seems to get more and more lost every year!
My Dad always had at least two horses trained to pull. Around Christmas we would go for a nice long sleigh ride, complete with bells, something that I will remember the rest of my life. That ended in the late sixties as more country roads were paved and cleared of snow. What a life!!!
I’d love to be able to share sleighride memories! I’ve had several friends with horses, but have never been on an actual sleigh.
I was fortunate to grow up in a house with both sets of grandparents. My maternal grandparents on the first floor, my brother, my parents and I on the second floor and paternal grandparents on the third floor, so we never had to travel for the holidays. We were one of the few families that followed the German tradition of celebrating on Christmas Eve, so our house was always filled with family and friends who celebrated on Christmas Day. My parents had no siblings, but we had plenty of “Aunts” and “Uncles” that celebrated with us. There was always a big meal, followed by my brother and I going to our rooms until we heard the bells ringing. Then we would rush into the living room to see what Santa had left us. I truly miss those days and always get a bit sentimental when I see this video.
My earliest Christmas memory is when I was about 6 years old. We had just moved to Japan (My Dad was a pilot in the Air Force) and we were living in a small 2 bedroom house on the base. What I remember is the desk that I got which I immediately fell in love with (believe it or not). I was quite studious until about the age of 13. I was also enamored with the pen box I got with pencils and a fountain pen. I learned to write cursive at school in the first grade with a fountain pen and have always had a few up until this day. I am sure I got other presents as well but the desk sticks in my mind.
My parents were very cruel (not really) and made us eat a full breakfast before we could even look into the living room. I definitetly remember how excited we 3 brothers would get and the pictures that we taken as soon as we entered the living room. 2 then a few years later 3 wide eyed boys wanting very much to rip the wrapping paper off each immediately. But alas…we had to open presents in a rotation one at a time!!! Those memories are special.
I don’t have a specific first early Christmas memory, but I remember our parents lamenting about how fast we kids broke the toys we got for Christmas. We continued our destructive lives until we grew up and started paying for stuff ourselves, at which point I quickly learned to start taking much better care of things.
My parents countered this with presents that were pretty much indestructible. I remember getting a full sized 26″ (66cm) adult sized bike. It was heavy and sturdy. It was way too big for me, but I somehow managed to learn to ride it and have fun. I still rode it in high school sometimes.
Another year a couple of us got adjustable, clamp-on steel roller skates for Christmas. After getting tired of skating, I eventually made a skateboard out of the skates and a piece of 2×4 lumber (5x10cm). Those homemade skateboards had no brakes, which sometimes made for a rather rough, scraped up, sliding or rolling stop.
My first memory of christmas is not one of presents, in the Netherlands children get presents on the 5th or 6t of december from Sint Nicolaas.
Yet i have great memories of christmas long ago. On christmas eve (24th) we would go to church and could stay up late. Never minded the church tough, cause afterwards we would eat ” worstebroodjes” a sort of bread with minced meat in it. My father used to bake them himself in great numbers. That was necesary because we would eat them alltrough christmas ( xmas in the Netherlands is 24th (xmas eve) 25th ( first xmas day) and 26th (second xmas day) I loved them so much i even ate them half frozen when i ” stole” them out of the freezer wich stood next to my bedroom. I wish everyone a christmas filled with ” worstebroodjes”
I have never heard of worstebroodjes (like many other foods people enjoy from around the world). I checked a recipe online and they look good. Is this recipe like your fathers? https://apinchofsaffron.nl/brabantse-worstenbroodjes-sausage-rolls/
lol. That’s the first thing I did too — look up the recipe. No such thing as too many awesome recipes.
I looked up the recipe too. Funny thing, I have made something similar to munch on during football games on Sunday. I just used Little Smokies sausages and wrapped them with strips of Pillsbury dough sheets. Might have to try it with some good sausage links and bread dough.
Hey Tim, we don’t use smokey sausages but maybe thats a good idea. We make the sausages from minced meat, egg,some breadcrumbs, pepper, salt and, very important; nutmeg. The dough is’nt made of dough sheets but from fine flower, milk , egg, butter ,salt and yeast.
Yes it is! Dennis. They are so beloved in this part of the Netherlands there are competitions who baked the best worstebrood
If worstebroodjes are that delicious, just imagine how bestebroodjes taste!
I never heared of bestebroodjes David, but i”ll google them and might try to make some, thnx
That was just one of my stupid puns, Eric. “Worst” vs. “best”.
Great wordplaying!!! David you fooled me i’ ve been searching my but off on google haha
My memory is when I was about 3 or 4 years old. I had seen in a department store window a robot driving a tractor. I really wanted that robot. Didn’t think I would get it but mom surprised me with it. Always remember that Christmas. I really miss her.
My earliest memory of Christmas is I was 5 or 6 my grand parents had come to.stay it felt magical to me and i got closer to my grand parents they told me I was their favorite grand daughter they would always spoil me
I think it’s a grandparent’s job to spoil grandchildren, and Judy and I do our part.
Well, I think I can recall back to being around 3/4 years old, and was always tge first one up before crack of dawn, on Xmas Day to go out into living room, to see what Santa left, see what all was in stocking as no gifts were allowed to be open, until everyone was up… ( leave it to my older brothers to sleep in ..,arrrggghhh, I still think they did this intentionally to aggravate my impatience…lol ), and when all was up, saw that sugar had been taken for the reindeer, milk n cookies eaten/drank…lol, well, I tore into opening gifts….
The family tradition that went on for years, was …Xmas Day spent out at my Aunt/Uncles farm, a real Country kinda Xmasbut on New Year’s Day , it was our turn to host Aunt/Uncle cousins from farm at our place, they’d bring wine, treats, potluck stuff while offered the main turkey , potatoes, veggies, cranberry sauce, stuffing…. and then tge following year it was reversed, we’d host on Xmas Day, then go out to farm on New Year’s Day, fun times had… after my Aunt/Uncle sold farm, that tradition still continued, until Aunt/Uncle divorced, , a cousin took over tradition only and we just went to both Xmas/New Year Day at whomever was hosting both, ( by then Mom was in hospital, Dad had major stroke a few months after Mom passed ) and lastly in the house that was my Grandparents, next door to our house, when my Aunt moved in after my cousin and her family moved out, Aunt resumed the Xmas Day tradition until house was sold, and I started going out to a cousin’s farm out in the country , across the road from my aunt/uncle ‘s former farm but also my oldest brother and his family started up tradition of inviting my 2nd brother, Dad, I out to their place while I’d go to another cousin’s place or Aunt’s apt for New Year’s….
Now I only go to my oldest brother’s place with my 2 nd older brother , and if they can’t have us come, and my cousin from the country invites me to come out to farm, I go , and just now enjoy a quiet New Year’s Eve/Day as the New Year’s Eve tradition of a free family event that a former area counselor hosted nearby my place, no longer occurs….
The food, fun, laughter, love of a family gathering, to/for me is the best gift of all, but I will say Dad’s last Xmas with us was bittersweet, on oxygen, he came out to oldest brother’s place, not well, but did somewhat enjoy best he could, and I thankfully now in hindsight, took a photo of him surrounded by his grandchildren, not knowing, come that January, on my birthday, he would pass on in hospital…..
I think I was maybe 4 (1961)when the excitement really kicked in. I remember my Dad and oldest brother coming back from the farm with a large (to me anyway) spruce tree. We spent two days decorating it. Dad held me up to put the star on top. I remember some Christmas mornings and having trouble getting to sleep Christmas Eves. And there was always something under the tree for each one of us.
We got together with the Aunts/Uncles/cousins for dinners and shared houses every other year, we only lived a couple blocks away. And I remember the deep cold weather with the frost on the front window and door frames, we lived on the shore of a large lake and the wind blew hard and often. We used to stuff towels in the gaps around the door to stop the drafts. Who knew about proper insulation back then? We didn’t have much, just necessities…5 of us in a small two bedroom house, but we never went hungry and had decent if well worn clothes. Most of all, I remember we were happy!
This song always brings tears of joy to my eyes, seeing Mona and Lisa (all children really) so tiny and their eyes so bright with happiness and wonder. That is Christmas to me…it’s love.
My earliest memories are of finding presents in my room after waking up in the morning, typically after finding it hard to go to sleep the night before! I was probably about 5 or so (just before I got some siblings!). One year I got a model railway set so that was really memorable as I could set it up in our first house which had a really long hallway. Later as a teen I would decorate the Christmas tree and arrange all the lighting on it. I always remember sitting on the heater (we had those really big storage heaters at the time, like a big chest – but hot!) next to the tree and playing with space men and rockets flying around the lights while listening to Wonderful Christmas time by Paul McCartney and those memories have stayed with me ever after. One new tradition is the playing of Christmas by Mona and Lisa and the lovely ‘All I Want Christmas To Be’ as it brings back many happy memories.
“All I Want Christmas to Be” has become my favorite non-religious Christmas song, and one of my favorite songs overall of all time. The melodies,arrangements, and of course harmonies are just fantastic. I must admit the beauty, sweetness, and family love that are so evident in the MLT video definitely influence me so much also.
My earliest Christmas memory is around age four and the amazement I felt seeing all these presents under the tree where the night before there were none. I remember vividly opening my first Lego set and being fascinated putting the blocks together
One of my earliest/fondest Christmas memories that stayed with me is dad and mom taking me and my little, sister to the annual Children’s Christmas party at my dad’s work. I must have been about 11. It was at a nice opera theater in the city. That particular year the show was “Annie”. A lot of Christmas songs sang in the play. In the main lobby after the show they setup booths with toys wrapped in beautiful paper for all the children to pick up on the way out. We got home and remember seeing the decked out Christmas tree with lots of gifts piling up under the tree. The big one was a train set I dreamt of and pestered my mom for all year long. My parents were in the kitchen cooking up something that smelled really nice. Sitting on the sofa seeing the lights all lit up, and Christmas music in the background, it felt magical, special, beautiful, and full of love all at once. What really felt special was everything I could see my mom and dad do to make things special and beautiful for us for Christmas, and it was. That was the best gift and magic of all.
“All I Want Christmas To Be”, brings me back to that time and beautiful things I felt in a child’s heart, full of wonder and awe of Christmas. Christmas is all about celebrating love with the people close to you. That is what stays you with, that warm feeling of being loved. At different times in my life Christmas was less festive and even spent alone, but the beautiful memories are what stays with you and is magical. I am grateful for all of them.
You are right Jung, the best part of Christmas I remember is just being with my family. A few of us kids wood go to the woods and cut a tree. Maybe go ice skating on the neighbor’s pond or sledding if we had snow. We always got two weeks off from school for Christmas break which was nice. Friends and neighbors stopping by with goodies, usually baked goods. Brothers, Sisters, nieces and nephews all sitting around the tree watching some Christmas program on TV. The Twins Christmas song always brings back those good memories.
Hi Tim
I guess that is the magic of Christmas, the effort we make to come together to see family and friends, and the forever fond memories Christmas leaves us with. These MLT Advents are that too, will never forget these wonderful livestreams, these wonderful bonds and friendship we made with Mona and Lisa and one another.
Amen, it feels very much like family get togethers.
The first Christmas that I remember was that of 1962 when I was 2. It was at my dad’s sister’s house in Southbourne Bournemouth. Her husband and my 2 cousins, Suzanne and Angela were also there as were my parents and my, then, 3 month old brother, Andrew.
I don’t specifically remember them being there as my only memory is pushing a big plastic steam locomotive around the kitchen and hall floors (i.e. the ones without carpet) for hours on end. No doubt it was a Christmas present. There is a photo of me that day in the family album that helped rekindle the memory when I found it 10 years ago or so.
On Boxing Day 1962 (26th December) a blizzard engulfed the UK and left the country covered in snow until 6th March when the thaw started. There were further falls of snow during January and February (there were gales at the same time this month) and it was the coldest winter since 1838 in places. I remember the snow being deeper than the height of the wall in our garden and then being level all the way across the road to our neighbour’s gardens. It was a minor, suburban cul-de-sac and the home owners had to dig out paths to go shopping etc. I’m aware that this is an annual event in many countries but there is rarely snow on the south coast of the UK so it was a very big event, especially for someone so young.
As an aside, I used to have problems saying Angela when I was young and used to refer to her as ‘other one Suzanne’.
Great story Phil. There are some houses not too far from me, in the snow belt near the big lakes, with doors on the second floor, in case you needed to go out mid winter. But I don’t think it’s the same kind of annual event now that it used to be.
I remember once when I was about 10 years old, my Mother had bought me a new belt for Christmas. We were quite poor and most presents were not toys but something we could use. Anyway, she asked my older brother Kelly to wrap the belt. He wrapped the leather piece and left the buckle exposed. He hooked the buckle and hung it on the tree. It’s funny but more than 50 years and probably hundreds of presents later and it is the one present I still remember.
I remember my two older siblings showing me wrapped presents in the basement and telling me how Santa’s helpers delivered some stuff early. They also told me not to tell our little sister to keep the mystery going. I was five. I told our little sister about it a couple of years later, when she was old enough.
JP
Hello Ladies! Growing up we moved quite a bit from when I was 3 to 16. But my earliest was when I was 5 my brother and I got cardboard fire stations with rubber fire trucks. Mine would not fit in my firehouse. Found my dad’s cigarettes inside. I said “look! Santa Smokes the same cigarettes as you!”
When I was 6 we drove from New Orleans to Nashville for Christmas. Got snowed in for 2 weeks. 6 kids under 10, 4 parents, 1 bathroom. Kids had a great time!
Best Ladies,
Thanks for the memories.
Rick Ross
I grew up in an 1895 three-storied Victorian house, with 10-foot ceilings on the first floor. I don’t recall how old I was, perhaps three or four, but what I remember is looking up at this giant tree that went to the ceiling, covered in those big colored incandescent lights that got really hot, and tons tinsel. This was before blinking light technology and the opinion that tinsel made more mess than it was worth, but it was stunning all the same to little me.
My earliest distinct Christmas memory is of my mom warning my brother and me when we were very young that if we misbehaved, Santa would leave switches in our stockings.
To her generation, switches were long wooden sticks that were used to spank children. But we had never heard of that, so we assumed she meant electrical light switches. Our basement had boxes full of odds and ends left over from the construction of the house, so a stocking stuffed with light switches wasn’t hard to imagine.
We agreed that that would be an extremely boring thing to wake up to on Christmas Day, so we were on our best behavior throughout December.
I’m regrettably going to miss tomorrow’s livestream. The big annual basketball tournament is on at the local junior college and I volunteer there. All-day games tomorrow and Saturday with 8 quality teams from all over the Midwest. The hospitality room there is where most of the cookies and banana bread I baked will go. My friend who is athletic director there is going to play the MLT Christmas CD between games, so you could potentially be heard by a few thousand people who may have never heard you before! I’ll also wear your “Orange” shirt and hat, and hopefully field questions asking who the Groovy Girls on my shirt are! As far as missing tomorrow’s stream goes….I’m a Melancholy Border Collie! 🐕
What a great idea to give the Twins music some exposure, and besides, it’s a wonderful set of Christmas songs.
“All I Want Christmas To Be” is a lyrical masterpiece! Beautifully performed, of course, but the imagery it creates, even if you ignore the awesome video, makes you feel like you kinda remember those moments as if you were there, or at least dreamed them.
My earliest Christmas memory would probably be setting out cookies and milk for Santa at about age 3 or so and Mom explaining why I couldn’t eat them myself. I’m pretty sure I tried to stay awake to catch a glimpse but failed. Of course Dad always left a small piece of uneaten 🍪 and a bit of 🥛 as evidence and I recall thinking even then how wasteful Santa was! The Santa illusion ended fairly early for me but I don’t remember exactly what gave him away. He may have survived kindergarten, but I distinctly remember pretending to believe when in heated first-grade debates, trying not to ruin it for other kids!