Daugs Family Christmas

For my family....the one I grew up with:

Dad, Mom, Kimerly, Judy, Shari, Rachel, Amy, Ammon, Nathan, and Naomi.

The ones who made my wonderful childhood memories.

Here are a few photos and facts to stir up Christmas memories with my Dad and siblings. Growing up, Christmas was so simple compared to what it is now. At least it feels that way. Maybe that's because when I was a kid--I wasn't Santa!! My parents always had money, never had debt. But they certainly did not spoil us or produce the North Pole Christmas morning. (Although I am a fan of the North Pole-way of doing things as well.) We never opened any gifts Christmas Eve. There were never any unwrapped presents sitting out from Santa. Every single thing was wrapped, even the stocking gifts. Stocking gifts were favorite treats, (V-8 and olives for me), socks, make-up, cassette tapes, perfume, etc. And if you had batteries in your stocking, you knew you had a gift coming that required them. The gifts in our stockings had no names on, and all other presents were written, "From: Mom and Dad". So we never had anything officially from Santa. Seems like I knew from a very young age that Mom filled our stockings. I believed in Santa Claus, I just thought he was more for families who needed him. Families who didn't have any money. I was always too excited to sleep Christmas Eve. I knew Santa was out there flying around making sure everyone had a Christmas. He just wasn't stopping at our house. It never bothered me a bit the way we did things. I LOVED IT!!!! I wish I did things more similar with my kids now. Besides our stockings, we usually got three gifts from mom and dad. And then gifts from other family members, grandparents, friends, etc. We opened gifts one at a time, which took HOURS!!! One person was the "present passer" each year. Christmas morning breakfast was always Apple coffee cake and homemade hot cocoa. Which, by the way, we ate before opening presents.

Christmas Eve we always had oyster stew for dinner. Is that a German thing?? My older siblings all learned "Silent Night" in German. I never quite caught on, being in the younger generation of the fam. We just grew up with a simple Christmas. A simply perfect, peaceful, cozy Christmas.

Here are a few of the signature Christmas items in our home. The family nativity of course. The three little tree ornaments--the fat Santa, the triangle nativity,and the little green elf-man. Mom gave these to me about ten years ago. She did it "under the table"--but it's not like you haven't ever seen them on my tree. Sorry sibs--she just knew I loved Christmas the best!! The candy jar. The "real" one is still at Dad's. I found this at an antique store in Montpelier. The candy jar always had those little red raspberry hard candies in it. The Christmas card "boot". This was pretty hammered and left in storage for years. A few years ago I fixed it up. And the advent calendar we all have and love. Nate and Christy have the best one of all--the one we used all our growing up years. But I think mine is the next best, because mom made mine herself. That's one of the benefits of being "domestically-challenged"--I didn't have to sew my own!!Remember how we used to try to switch the best ornaments to the numbers we knew we'd be hanging up? The best ones to me were the snowman, the gingerbread man, the candle, the stockings, and the wreath. And the two candy canes were second best. Bummer if you got all regular onrnaments and birds!!! I forgot to get a picture of my stocking on here. I left it in storage this year. LOVE it though!!!! One of my favorite sights was all those stockings lined up all month long. I like mine, because it's mine. But I was always jealous of the one that had the train on it. Whose was that? Rachel's?? Remember the three "sister" elves that hung from the lights? Haven't seen those for years. Do the "big girls" have them? If so, take a picture of them for me. And what about the Mr. and Mrs. Claus that used to sit on the piano. CLASSIC!!! And gotta love that wax snowman that used to hang on the downstairs bedroom door. I think Naomi has that thing. Oh yes, and I LOVE LOVE LOVED that tree made of cardboard circles with the little ball ornaments in each spot. Didn't that come from Grandma Daugs? Where is that thing? Someone get me a picture of it--I want to make one. Hhhhmmm...what else am I forgetting?

Ah the memories. One of my favorite thoughts in the world is the memory of having only the Christmas lights on, and me laying on the floor next to the heat vent with my blanket, "Old Yeller", and the old fashioned Christmas records playing. No clue what they even were. Someone tell me what we listened to. I want to get them and see what recollections they bring back. Music does that for me.

I won't be seeing any of you until New Years this year. Makes me sad, although I am so blessed to be starting my own traditions with my own kids. I'm trying to carry some of ours on. And I 've mourned and embraced the fact that nobody can grow up with perfect Christmases like I did. Not even my own kids. But I'm sure they will be just as magical and memorable--they already are!! I love you all!!! "Hold your gonch", Christmas is only a week away!!!