When I was a little girl, we spent Christmas Eve with my grandma and aunt. They lived in a four family flat in the city, the scene of some of my favorite memories. We went in the back door and hung out in the kitchen – the door to the living room was locked up tight! After supper, my sister and I would stand with our ears pressed to that door, waiting for Santa to turn on the music and let us know he was leaving. Strangely enough, we always ran out of bread and my aunt would head out the back door and hike to the little shop on the corner. It never failed – a minute after she had gone, the music began to play … but of course we must wait those agonizing moments until she returned.
The small living room had been transformed with a silver tree in the middle of a miniature train’s continuous journey around the oval track. Packages were stacked everywhere and I knew that one or two, sometimes three, had my name on the tag. Though these gifts were almost never what I had asked for, they always turned out to be something I liked better than what I thought I wanted. One year, I got a Roy Rogers play set. Another year, a beautiful ballerina who could actually rise up on her toes. The rest of the evening we played with our new toys while the adults laughed and acted silly. There were cookies galore on pretty trays and nobody ever said you’d had enough. Those two ladies had such a knack for making a unique and memorable holiday experience, especially for children.
My family went to church only on rare occasion and the closest they came to a conversation about God was ‘Bless you’ if you sneezed. When my own kids were growing up, church was the focus of our Christmas eve. Who doesn’t love to enter a sanctuary decorated for Christmas, sing familiar hymns, and watch children act out the Nativity? Nothing says love like the Creator of love sleeping in a manger, come to save us all.
They say it’s hard for people to believe in God’s love if they’ve never experienced the love of their fellow man. Thanks to Grandma Flossie and Auntie Lil on those long ago Christmas Eves, I got a head start. What a gift it is to know that God loves me! He loves you too, whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you’ve done or failed to do. Christmas Eve is when He proves it, by sending His son to live amongst us. May you have a very Merry Christmas!
Diane Lil Adams started writing when she was ten, and it's still her favorite pastime. When her husband became a believer after reading Christian fiction, she settled happily into that genre. After spending the better part of her life trying to figure out how to earn God's love and forgiveness, Diane learned the meaning of grace, and loves to share it with her readers. Besides her bestselling, A Series of Chances, she has six standalone romances and one free children's book, all available on Amazon. There are multiple authors named Diane Adams though, so be sure and look for the Lil!
What a great picture of your grandma and aunt! It’s so much fun to remember childhood Christmases. Thanks for sharing yous.
Thanks for sharing your Christmas memories, Dianne. Grandma Flossie and Auntie Lil are so cute! Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Merry Christmas, Diane! Are you named after your Aunt Lil? I’m enjoying everyone’s walks down memory lane this week. :)
I love precious memories! Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas !! :-)
The adults in my family loved to cut up and act silly. It’s good for kids to grow up amidst laughter and fun, whenever possible. Merry Christmas!
I am! She was my godmother too. Likewise, I have loved reading about everyone’s memories and it has made it clear to me that grandparents are responsible for a portion of our sentiments about your childhoods. Gonna make sure I supply my grands with good memories whenever I can. Merry Christmas!
I’m so glad I had a blog scheduled, which caused me to look back and remember those happy moments. Wish someone would give me a Roy Rogers playset this year! Merry Christmas!
And just think, we are about to make memories that someone will be talking about many years down the road. I’m going to do my best to not be naughty even after Santa comes! Merry Christmas!
How fun!! Merry Christmas!
What fun memories, Diane!! I do miss the family fun we used to have growing up, but I do hang on to the memories & look back at them It’s like re-living it :-)
Praying everyone here has a very blessed Christmas day! May the love of Christ shine in your hearts all year ’round.
I enjoyed reading your holiday post! Merry Christmas to you and your family!!
What precious memories! I enjoy reading the precious memories of others. My precious memory is hearing my mother tell the same Christmas Stories to my grandchildren that I listened to when her mother told them. After hearing those stories, my father reads Luke 2:1-20. I love listening to the nativity story.