Remembering Christmases Past

At this Advent Season, I am reminded of

so many Christmas memories -

It sure seems like Christmas used

to be less hectic and certainly

less commercialized!

On Christmas Eve, when I was little, I can remember

going upstairs, looking out the bedroom windows,

trying to spot the "star of the east."

I would imagine that the brightest one was the

very one that the wisemen followed.

We used to go to Grandma's house for supper

 (called "dinner" if you were from the big city!)

All the Dahlager relatives were there and we enjoyed

a big meal of chicken & mashed potatoes & gravy.

After the dishes were done and the kitchen cleaned up,

the grownups visited and the children played.

There were gifts for us from grandma.

When we returned home, we opened our gifts...

 In our family, the meaning of Christmas was not forgotten.

We sometimes put on a mini Christmas program, but

usually, we would recite our recitations from the

Sunday School program.

Christmas is definitely not about gifts, but

I am going to tell you about 4 gifts that I remember  well

My favorite doll.

I got a new doll almost every year.

My favorite one was a larger doll with

a soft torso, but with a composite head,

arms & legs.

I named her Joni Suziebelle.

One day, Joni Suziebelle fell on the cement

and her head cracked open.

Mom stuffed the hole, taped it up, and

Joni wore a hat the rest of her doll life.

Her arms and legs also broke, but

mom made cloth ones to replace them.

Poor Joni Suziebelle must have looked

a sight, but I still loved her and played with her,

even though she had had numerous surgeries!

The picture above is not Joni Suziebelle,

but she looks like she could be related!

The Blue Ring

One Christmas my brother Si had gotten

a "beautiful" ring with a HUGE blue stone in it.

I think it came from a gum ball machine downtown.

I asked if I could have it, but Si said, "no!"

Imagine my delight when I found that

very beautiful ring in my long white

stocking that Christmas!!

If I still had that ring, it might be worth a little!!

The Purse from Egypt

My oldest brother (Ernie) was in the navy,

and he would send gifts to us from overseas.

It was always very exciting to see what

was in the boxes that were sent.

One year, he sent me a little purse.

This purse is made out of camel skin.

If it  was big enough, I would still be using it!

The picture on the purse is almost

as vivid as it was when I got it - a long time ago!

The Transistor Radio

When I was about 12 or 13, I got a

transistor radio from my folks..

This radio was really small, and I

really couldn't get much reception from it.

But I remember this gift because my

Dad had gotten it (Mom did 99% of the gift-buying).

I think he ordered it, or perhaps it was a free

gift from an order at the lumber yard,

but never-the-less, it meant a lot to me

knowing that this came from Dad.

What are your Christmas memories??