For me it would have to be the Christmas after my died, she died in October and for Xmas, my dad took us to Florida. First day we went to the beach- no sunblock. My brother ended up in the hospital with a severe burn, I cannot remember which degree! I blistered so bad the I could barely move!
Good:
I am hoping that this one will be my best one yet! I am sooo looking forward to seeing little E's face on Sunday morning!
Christmas 1988. I got engaged to a gentleman who later on cheated on me, stomped on my heart and made me feel like it was my fault. He & I came to terms many years later but I've never felt the same way about Christmas since.
Worst Christmas was the first one after my mom had just died the Septemeber before.
I was taking it pretty well until my dad handed out boxes of jelly that mom had canned the year before.
Best was when I was probably about 10. The farming economy was not great in the 80's and money was tight. I wanted a "Girder and Panel Construction Set". They had a bridge and a skyscraper set. I told my parents thats what I wanted but I knew I had to pick one or the other. I couldn't decide which one I wanted so I told them if thats what I could have, they could pick which one.
I got both! I couldn't believe it. I was so excited! They are still at my dad's house up in my old closet waiting for my son to get a little older.
Bad: My parent's toilet is just plain made wrong. It gets stopped up all the time, doesn't flush right, etc. But when I was little, the problem was not the toilet, I was always told the problem was me. Either I didn't flush right, I used too much toilet paper, I didn't jiggle the handle, etc. There have been countless Christmas and Thanksgiving days where I have been all dressed up and hair done to go to grandmas, and the toilet would get stopped up. Since it was always my fault one way or another, I would have to plunge the toilet, get my hair all messy, end up changing, and usually end up in tears. This is just a brief glimpse on why I hated my stepdad (who at the time I wouldn't even acknowledge as my stepdad, instead he was just my mom's husband), and probably why I don't like Christmas.
Good: The best Christmas I had would have to be 2 years ago when we couldn't travel back home due to jobs and bad weather. So we stayed home, slept in, did our own little Christmas with just the two of us and the cats, then went and saw a movie (I think it was James Bond). I just got to relax and enjoy spending time with my husband. It was great!
My second worst Christmas was when I was about 15. I was in that age between the excitement of getting all the fun toys and understanding what it was really about. I just remember after Christmas feeling really down. Christmas just wasn't the same any more.
I guess I don't remember having a bad christmas; I'm fortunate that way. My family has the same routine down for the most part for as long as I can remember, so there's not too much that could go wrong.
A couple of good memories:
Playing catch with my dad on christmas day in our t-shirts in 1982. It must have been 60 degrees out, and really sunny. Odd, odd weather for Wisconsin, but perfect because I got the baseball glove I wanted.
I must have been 4 and my brother 2, and we got up at 3:00 in the morning to see what Santa bought us. There was a Big Wheel and a Little Wheel set up under the Christmas tree, so we started riding these around. Didn't notice that the folks were sleeping on the couch and "caught us". I remember them not being mad, perhaps even expecting this, but we had to take the bigwheels downstairs and ride around in the basement around and around the furnace, 3 a.m. Christmas morning.
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"And like Web, I enjoy throwing JR under the bus. Problem is, it's usually under the special bus that I ride every day". Ghostdancer 12-18-09
I guess for me it was when my Grandma died on my birthday five days before Christmas. It kind of sent my mom over the deep end for a while and my Dad had just gotten layed off right before too.
Other than that we always had good Christmas memories. Except the spoilded little rich neighbor kid that was supposed to be our friend always got what we got except better. Ex. We got 10 speeds, he got a 12 speed. We got an atari, he got an atari and 50 games. We got battery powered remote control cars, his was gas.
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Sometimes, when i'm lonely... i crawl into a laundry basket and tickle my ears. But, Some times I don't...
Best Christmases were when my grandparents would come from Missouri 3-4 days before Christmas and stay till about mid January. The would stay with us for about a week and spend the rest of the time at my aunts. She wasn't married so she had more room. But they were always around our house. That was from 1970 through 1980. It was a gift itself having them around. They were great. My grandpa tried to be a gruff guy but it was all an act. He would always tell us this would be the last big Christmas then the next year it was just as grand. My grandma told us he was the one always looking to buy a bit more for us kids. He enjoyed it more than he ever let on. I think that's were I get it from. I really love this time of year and really enjoy shopping for the family.
The worst was in 1987 when my grandma pasted away on December 3rd. Christmas wasn't the same that year. She was the last link to my Christmases as a kid....I still felt like a kid until that year. But I've since tried to capture their spirit and do as they did. Just make it a good time for everyone.