Christmas time has always been one of my favorite times of the year. Putting up the tree, unboxing ornaments, and thinking back to Christmas’s past. Wrapping presents with mom and my brother, music blaring to hide any suspicious noises, getting ready for the candlelight Christmas eve service at my church. Christmas movies snuggled up with blankets and candy canes. And baking – so much baking.
For as long as I can remember, we’ve baked Christmas cookies. I still remember mixing the icing with food coloring each year – always trying to get that perfect Christmas red – and spending a cocoa filled afternoon elbow-deep in sprinkles and frosting. And of course, there was the much-anticipated homemade Cinnabon’s on Christmas morning.
There’s nothing like Christmas when you’re a kid.
There’s something about seeing friends on Christmas day that hits different, the day bright and clear, sun shining on the snow and making everything feel crisp and fresh. I remember meeting up with the neighborhood kids, bundled with hats and gloves, swapping gifts and oohing and awing over one another’s presents. There’s no such thing as envy on Christmas when you have a warm house to go back to, and all feels right with the world.
I don’t have dreary memories of Christmas on small budgets and scarcity. They were there, yes, but when I look back, all I see is love and the rosy glow of childhood.
My mom always found a way to make it special. Whether that meant an eBay Christmas or a savings tactic disguised as a new tradition, it didn’t make a difference – I always felt like the wealthiest kid alive that time of year.
This Christmas won’t look like other years for a lot of people, for a lot of reasons.
When I think of those past years now, I feel not only nostalgia but a sharper jab, a spike that reminds me that the time is truly lost. There’s no way to recreate what was, and it’s farther away than ever before.
In the end, we really only have the Christmas that’s in the present, anyway, right when it’s happening.
Still, these memories are precious, and I’m so grateful for the time we had together – Me, my family, and our memories.
What’s one of your favorite Christmas memories or traditions? I would love to know.
Thank you for reading.
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