Some Christmas Memories

As my husband will attest to, Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Now that I am grown, have started a family of my own, and live away from my parents, I look still look forward to going to my mom and dad's during the Christmas season. There's just something special about the way everything feels. I can't describe it. I look forward to her decorations and all the memories they hold for me. I thought I'd share a few!

As kids we loved to count down the days to Christmas! (yes, there is only one day until Christmas, but I took this picture 5 days ago!) haha. My childhood stocking which my mom still hangs up every year.

Here are some ornaments that adorn my parents tree every year. Most of them are very cheesy, but most of them were also made by us as kids. I find myself looking for them on the tree every year.

Yes, guady beaded ornament, but we loved making these as kids. We thought they were so cool. Haha.

My brother and I made these snowmen with our faces on them when we were around 4 or 5. Sorry for the fuzziness!

Classic. Both my brother and I have these. The famous paper plate picture wreath. Notice how the once lovely green wrapping paper has turned brown. Haha.

At one point in time as kids, we loved to cross stitch (I know, dorky), but we thought it was cool. We made a lot of these that year!

And you can't have a Christmas tree without candy canes! I remember as kids this was the highlight of the tree because we could eat them! I remember always asking my mom, "Can we have a candy cane!!!"

Every year, there are two desserts most requested. My mom's Christmas sugar cookies (with the best frosting ever) and her apple pie! This year I forgot to take a picture and when I remembered, there were only three left (and of course, the ones no one wanted b/c the frosting wasn't as "nice" haha). The cookie shapes are always an angel, a bell, a Christmas tree, a train, and a reindeer and the frosting is always pink, green, and blue.

These plates are always up at Christmas. My sister and brother made them in kindergarten. This year my sister's little girl ate her dinner off of it and she thought that was so cool.

Here's the nativity set I played with all the time as a child. I spent hours arranging and re-arranging the people in the scene. Now it is at our house on our bookshelf. I'm surprised they never got broken! I remember the time I realized the three wise men were not at the stable like all the commercialized Christmas shows and stories say. They did not arrive to see Jesus until he was about 2 years old in Nazareth! Not even Bethlehem. Upon hearing that, I proudly displayed my new knowledge by putting the wise men outside the stable. (But here they are in the stable to fit into the picture. haha).

And now... as I start a family of my own, we carry on traditions from our families growing up, and begin adding some of our own. Here's a taste of what has begun in the Oren family.

Mekonen's first nativity set. The Little People Nativity. (He'd totally smash the other one).

Mekonen's "Baby's First Christmas 2009" Ornament.

Two very special ornaments for our tree. We got these from Dire Dawa, Ethiopia where Mekonen was born. They aren't really ornaments, but we made them into ornaments.

So that's just a few things I love about Christmas by way of decorations and memories. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!!