Christmas Past

It was a chilly but beautiful this morning for our walk.  The thin coat of ice caught the light so beautifully...and as the sun rose we were surrounded by color.

I don't remember very many specific Christmas gifts growing up...but I do remember getting fuzzy slippers and flannel nightgowns quite often. Mostly it didn't really matter what we got...Christmas was festive and fun in a big family and I loved our rituals.  I wrote about one of my favoite rituals here.

But there is one gift I remember as clear as day....a Barbie Kitchen! I loved playing with Barbie with my sisters. We'd set up our houses behind the chairs in the corners of the living room using encyclopedias as beds...doilies as linens...and anything else we could find for furniture and accessories. (My early version of "shopping the house"...which, to this day, is one of my favorite things to do when I decorate.) Then we'd visit each other....and play house.  I think our creative homemaking with whatever we could find was the best part....but it was magical to get an actual kitchen. 

I don't have any Barbies from my childhood...they all got passed onto the next generation.  But I've always wondered if any of them and the beautiful gowns my grandmother made are still floating around.  

Paul remembers a getting a bicycle...a down sleeping bag for winter Boy Scout camping.......

and several board games including Hey Pa There's a Goat on the Roof. I'm not kidding....it's a real game....and it's in one of our closets.

But one clear Christmas memory was a gift for his whole family...and he can't remember not playing with it during the Christmas season when he was young.

Paul's dad purchased the sturdy plastic Nativity playset and meticulously hand painted each character and animal. Dave was very good at those kinds of tedious tasks.  

Since we've been living in the condo....Paul sets it up every year in the bay window of his study.  So this treasure from the past is my Christmas Moment #23.

Paul has a chair right by the window....so has a great view of the backyard...the woods and the birds.  Seems like a good spot for this very special Christmas Moment.

There was a bit of a sibling squabble as to who would get this precious playset when Margie downsized and moved to Maine....but luckily the minister was the winner. 

I think the camel is my favorite!

Some of that morning color I mentioned....

Mother Nature was shouting for joy!