Christmas Memories II

I did the same thing Becky did, started to just comment and it got too long so now I have to do my own post. I have the same memories as Becky, plus a few more. We would get the breakfast and dinner tables all set on Christmas Eve day so that everything was ready for Christmas the next day. We'd use the nice dishes and special table cloths and get the tables looking special. Then in the afternoon we'd go over to Grandma's to help her set up for her party, although she usually had it almost all done by the time we got there. I remember one Christmas Eve party when Von came in from outside and said he'd just seen a sleigh fly overhead. That got me so excited! And one year Grandma ate one of the little soaps she got, thinking they were mints. Those parties were the best. Mom's homemade dolls were always something to look forward to. We got one every year and I still have all mine. I remember a few of the gifts I got. The 8-track player and some 8-track tapes was a biggy, I loved that. The year I got a manicure set, I gave people manicures for months after. I loved seeing what game we'd each get, then sometimes we'd get together with Cynthia, Sandy and Jace and play them later that day. Our rooms always had to be sparkling clean before Christmas so we could then display everything we got for Christmas on our fresh-made beds in our clean rooms for any company who came over. Grandma always came over after we'd opened our gifts and eat Christmas dinner with us. Always ham, potatoes, yummy rolls, danish dessert, olives, and mmmmm pies. The one and only year that I know of that it actually snowed on Christmas day in Pima was of course the year I was in the Dominican Republic. But that was a white Christmas for me nonetheless because we baptized several people that day. The whole mission did, we had a goal to have a "white Christmas" in the Caribbean, and we did. Christmases may change, traditions and circumstances may change, but the reason for the season does not. And that's what makes it the most special of all.