Christmas Past

                            

No wonder my mom got all stressed out at Christmas...it's a lot of work.  Every year I try to make it smaller and smaller as my mom did when she got older.  
I don't remember too many Christmases in the old house for some reason.  I remember the time we got a cardboard store with a cash register and play food to put on the shelves.  That was so much fun to play with.  
I believe I have mentioned before my dad reading to me "The Girl in the Yellow Dress" that came in the paper on Christmas Eve. He was a great dramatic reader and could use different accents and voices that made any story quite funny.  
I remember the Christmas we moved into our current house; December 20th.  The house was not done, but we moved anyway because the people were moving into our old house.  Also my mom wanted us to go to our new schools after New Years.  We had bare floors and a lot missing, but we had Christmas anyway, because my mom loved Christmas.  
She had a ritual for Christmas Eve.  She wrapped presents during the day in her bedroom with the door closed.  We got Chinese food for dinner and then we had to wait while she took her bath and we got ready for bed.  Then we all got to open one present which almost always was a pair of slippers.  But we were excited anyway.  Then we had Christmas cookies that she had made and eggnog.  Then we went to bed after putting out cookies and milk for Santa.  This tradition started when I was little and then continued with the little ones after me.  I am almost sure that I heard the reindeer on the roof one time when I was little.  
My most memorable gift was a fluffy white "can can" slip that was oh, so in fashion.  I thought I was the cat's meow!  I do remember getting "Little Women" and "Little Men" by Louisa May Alcott.  The very first books I remember were "The Bobbsey Twins" and the first gift I remember was my Tiny Tears Doll.
Later Don and I were start our own traditions with our children.

What is one of your favorite memories or gift?