Christmas memories....

-snow days
-school plays
-trekking off to the woods of Wisconsin to chop down our tree
-late nights watching Christmas movies
-bringing up the xmas boxes from the basement
-the scary Elf ornaments with demonic expressions on their hard plastic faces
-closing the drapes in the living room to block out the sunlight while we put lights on the tree
-the Honeymooner's xmas special
-and of course Rudolph!!!
-shopping on Michigan Ave. with my best friend, having lunch at a fancy decorated hotel
-my old record player playing scratched up Bing and Anne Murray albums
-so many cocktail parties and late night singing parties around the piano
-sipping Manhattans out of my parent's friends drinks
-a mini tree with colored lights in my bedroom
-finding my presents in my parent's closet, playing with them for weeks before xmas
-putting a green dress back on my Wedding Day Barbie
-making Holly candies with my mom
-falling asleep to the choir at midnight mass
-opening just "ONE" present on xmas eve night before we go to bed
-waking up at 5am on xmas day
-the crackle of the fire on xmas morning as we open our stockings
-opening stockings then eating eggs and bacon before we dash to open the "big" presents
-the smell of plastic Barbies and my Barbie airplane on xmas morning
-laughing at our dog tearing into her presents, shaking her head like a maniac, growling
-playing with my presents until it was time to get cleaned up for xmas dinner
-stuffing my belly full of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, rolls, pie
-back to playing with my toys before and during bed time
-feeling sad on the morning of December 26th
-at breakfast, my mom telling me there was one more gift Santa forgot to deliver
-opening the best gift of all (like a bike or a doll carriage) the day after xmas!