I wanted to share with you some moments from my childhood christmases that had that extra special touch and what I remember more than the 'regular' moments, I think it's those moments that stand out the most and I will be sharing them with Abbie through the years as a family tradition! I totally wish we had tons and tons of photos from Christmases growing up but camera's really weren't the be all and end all, plus I was never really interested in Photography back them either! But I have the opportunity to give Abbie just that, the special moments which stay in her head forever and the ones she'll probably forget, they'll be in photo form forever too, excuse the cheese ;)
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Santa FootprintsOne of my favorite things my Dad & Mum both did for me was creating 'Santa's footprints' in our hallway! I woke up on Christmas morning and climbed down my bed and as I walked past the front door I saw snowy footprints along the floor, this is where I made up the very unconvincing lie that I actually saw Santa last night and spoke to him...oh to have a kids imagination again! I never thought to question how there was 'snow' in the hallway when it hadn't even snowed outside, but the fact Santa even visited my house and we were now considered 'besties' was far more important to me! Just incase you were wondering how they did it and want to try it with your little ones, they used one of my Dad's motorbike boots (which were monster big!) and sprinkled carpet powder around them to make it look like snow, very convincing and looked amazing! You could also use cornflower or flour too!
Lucky Dip Game
Every year we would go to my Nan's on Boxing Day which became a whole family get together of all my Aunts, Uncles & cousins for a lot of food and games! My Nan was always the best at setting up the Christmas lucky dip, she would buy lots of cheap bits and bobs and wrap them up in envelopes with numbers written on them and chuck them in a huge wicker basket for after lunch! Us kids would get a few raffle tickets for the more child friendly presents and the adults would get about 3 tickets each to look for as well! Lots of silly, funny and random gifts that would no doubt start conversation and memory talking but also great for the kids, especially the whole element of surprise, who doesn't love that! It's cheap, fun and is a great unique way to pass some of the time too!
Christmas Tree Stumps
After our first Christmas together my Dad decided to cut off the bottom of the Christmas tree into 3 puck sized sections to keep till, well, forever, they then became an ornament piece on our bookcase every single year after it, even now they are still lined up at my Mum's house! He was always the type of person that wanted to go the extra mile to make something even more special and rememberable! So whether it's your first Christmas together as a family or you want something to keep as a special memory, have a go yourself and saw off the bottom of your tree and keep for years to come!
Make your own decorations/star
When it came to decorating the house, we did this as a family, sticking red and gold tinsel across the ceiling, throwing glitter strings over the tree and attaching baubles and fairy lights around too, but there was something we did every year, which we will be doing with Abbie from next year, we sat down together and made our own star to sit on the top of the tree, made from aluminum foil and stuffed with cotton wool! Such a simple idea but one that I remember doing to this day, he had to lift me up to place it on top of the tree up until I was 10! It was tradition and didn't matter I could reach it myself for the past 2 years, it was something only we did and is another memory I won't ever forget.
My Memories
One year I was bought a karaoke machine, amongst more presents than a 9 year old could ever need, and once again, he decided he wants to take over the one present I was most looking forward to using, so up he jumped, karaoke cd in (Abba of course, classic!) then proceeded to wrap my multicoloured feather boa around his neck and start dancing and shouting along to Dancing Queen!
My Dad was one of those people who would be more excited than the kids, I remember one year I finally got a Tamagotchi, the very thing that was at the top of my list to Santa, but did I get to play with it? Of course not! He found it far more entertaining than any of the manly presents he received! I remember sitting with him and showing him what you had to do and asking multiple times if I could have it back, but nope, it was his and no-one else's!
When it comes down to it, as much as everyone likes presents and gifts, as you get older, you only really remember the special moments, the times that made you laugh till you cried and the magical moments where 'Santa' visited etc..So don't ever feel like you need to buy tons and tons of presents or that everything needs to be perfect, it's usually the impromptu moments that really make Christmas memorable! I wish I could spend another Christmas with my Dad, in fact i'd give anything to have that, but instead I will take the memories I remember from my childhood and pass them onto Abbie, I'll stop worrying about getting her everything in the Argos catalogue, as a family we will treasure each moment we get together, visit family, play games, eat far too much food and stay up late!
It was a tradition we wore our Christmas hats at all times!
The annual game of lucky dip! And check out that buffet table!!
I actually baked this when I was in year 4 for the Christmas bake off, I won 1st place and bought my own cake!! Ha ha
Feeling old now looking at this decor!
What are you favorite memories of Christmas?
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