When I was a kid, I remember listening to Elvis Presley’s Blue Christmas Album and Alvin and the Chipmunks. Didn’t most kids in the 1980′s listen to the Chipmunks at Christmas? I shudder to think of how many times I listened to that cassette tape.

I know that we caroled once or twice as a kid.  I can’t seem to recall what for though – maybe with Girl Scouts or youth group?  I do remember caroling with my German and French classes in high school.  They went together – and I just happened to be in both of them.  I always loved languages. We sang “Stille Nacht”, “O Tannenbaum” and “Ode an die Freude”, amongst others.

I posted some of my favorite Christmas songs on my Blog Caroling post, last week.

Here are a few more from Enya, which I think are absolutely enchanting.   They aren’t what I listened to as a kid, but maybe I will start a new tradition.

Here I am with by brother and our dog Nosey.  It looks like someone was trying to hide from the picture-taking.  It has to be my sister.   I’m sure that by brother is thrilled that I’m posting a picture of him in his underwear.

And here is my sister, decorating the tree.  Is is just me, or is that the widest Christmas tree you’ve ever seen?  I think that it’s wider than it is tall!  It looks like it’s taking up half the living room!

And here I am in front of a very little tree. I don’t remember this either. I wonder if it was on a table because my sister was probably at the age where she would pull everything down off of it.

I must have been quite the nerd as a kid.  I know it.  I suppose I still am.

One of the gifts that I remember as being amongst my favorite was a full-sized globe that had a light in it.  I seriously thought that was the coolest thing on earth.  Come to think of it, I wish I still had it.  I’d plug it in right now and stare at all of the places I want to travel.

As I got a bit older, I always did the shopping with my mom and most of the surprise gifts were gone.  I was usually there when she bought my present.  No anticipation for Christmas Day, huh?  I guess that’s what happens when you’re the oldest.  You get recruited into shopping and present wrapping and envelope addressing duty.

Look at all of the tinsel on the tree!!

I have enough aunts and uncles and cousins to fill a small town.  At Christmastime, we all would have a series of parties for each set of family members.  It made for quite the month.

Christmas Eve was always celebrated at my mom’s cousin Marilyn’s house.  We would eat and exchange presents and visit with everyone.  This was definitely the most formal of our Christmas events.  We always wore something nice.

Wow, we’re having too much fun!  Not sure what year this is, but I’m guessing that I’m about nine or so – maybe 1985?  Judging by our clothes, that might fit, give our take a couple of years.

I’m on the right, sticking my tongue out and pointing at something.  My cousin is next to me.  What on earth did they dress us in?  The late 70′s style must have been super short dresses. Poor Steph appears to be wearing a furry bib which is attached to her dress.  Oh my!

One of the weekend’s before Christmas, we would get together with my dad’s side of the family- usually at our house or at one of my uncle’s.  Completely different kind of party.  Piles of food, including my Aunt Colleen’s fudge – yum!  Alcohol.  Rowdiness.  We would do a gift exchange (we drew names at Thanksgiving).  There were way too many people to buy for, so this made it easy.

Christmas morning was always just our immediate family.  We’d wake up bright and early and tear open our presents.

From about the time I was 13 and on, we would head to my maternal grandpa’s house in the afternoon.  My mom’s parents were divorced and I actually didn’t meet him until I was almost in high school.  He only lived an hour from us my entire childhood and I really barely knew of his existence.  It makes me sad to think of all the years I didn’t get a chance to know him.

Anyway, we would head to his house for yet another Christmas party with that side of the family.  I was so happy to have tons of added cousins around my age.

All of these parties were of course in addition to the school functions and sometimes a friend’s party also.  It made for a very festive month.  By the time Christmas season was over, we were exhausted!

I don’t ever remember going to see the “Mall Santa”. Probably because that cost money. Our elementary school had a Christmas party, complete with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. I don’t know if they’re allowed to do that anymore, are they?

This is a picture of me (on the floor), my sister Andrea and brother David.   Love the shag carpet and just noticed that Santa is in black tennis shoes and plastic “boot” leggings.   This must have been taken in December of 1982, making me 6 years old.

Last Christmas, we took the kids to see the REAL Santa Claus at the Santa Claus house in North Pole, AK.  They unfortunately weren’t in the best of moods, but oh well.

I wish that I had some of the Christmas lists I sent to Santa.  I’m sure there was some really cool stuff on there!  I have made sure that I’ve saved the lists that my kids have made, because I’m sure that they will enjoying reading them 50 years from now.

We didn’t do much outdoor decorating at Christmas when I was a kid. My guess is that it was because we lived up a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.  No one was going to be passing by our house to enjoy the display.

I lived in North Pole, Alaska for three years before moving to Savannah this year. That’s a town where the Christmas lights stay up year round. Not necessarily because they’re being festive though. It’s just too darn cold to go outside and string them in the winter, so you might as well leave them up all year!

The streets of North Pole are always decorated.  At Christmas, they have a large ice art festival.  It’s a great place for Christmas decorations.  Since I don’t have any vintage pictures to share, I will leave you with some images of North Pole instead.

I remember there being some old cards amongst my Grandma Eleanore’s things. I think that my mom still has them. I will have to ask. I sure wish that I lived close to “home” so that it was easier to visit!

My Grandma Eleanore (or Grammy Eleanore as we called her) was a card person. I remember going to her house when I was a kid. She only lived about 20 minutes away from us, so we saw her often. She’d always have drawers and closets full of cards and wrapping paper. She loved the “Current” catalog and was constantly ordering things from it.

My mom usually sent cards out every year. I know that once I was old enough, I was recruited in Christmas card duty and would sit and write addressed out for her.

Even though things have changed dramatically in the past 30 years, I can’t bring myself to send nothing but an emailed Christmas card. I like them and they’re free, but there is something special about getting a REAL card in the REAL mail.

I mean really, who gets REAL mail anymore?

I have always tried to get cards out. Sometimes I procrastinate. Okay, I usually procrastinate. I send them though and I think that they make it before Christmas.

This year, I decided to make a photo card with our family on it. I took the picture myself. Gotta love digital cameras. I had it clicking ever 3 seconds and somehow managed to get everyone to look the same direction at least once!

Here is what is gracing the front of this year’s card:

When I was growing up, I don’t believe that we had any ornaments that were “heirlooms”.  But I consider those same ornaments (which my mom gifted to me a few years ago) heirlooms now.

We bought a lot of the collectible ornaments from Hallmark on the day after Christmas.  I like them, but the ones I cherish are the homemade ones.

We never strung popcorn or cranberries, but that sounds very quaint.  Like it belongs in a Land’s End or Pottery Barn catalog.  Do people still do that?  Don’t the cranberries get old?  I think that my kids would eat the popcorn.

The ornament I love the most is this pair of mittens that was always hanging on our tree.  Yes, 1981 wasn’t THAT long ago, but I was only 5 then, so it seems like ages.   I honestly don’t know who made these.  They are knitted though, so it must have been my Great Aunt Elvy.  Aren’t they pretty??

My mom (and her mom) went through this needlepointing phase in the 1980′s.  Was it a fad or something?  I’m not sure.  Anyway, I have a few gallon ziploc bags full of needlepointed ornaments which I consider heirlooms.  I have enough to pass down to all 5 of my kids!

Along with the handmade heirlooms, our current tree is covered in ornaments from the various places we have lived and traveled.  I have been buying ornaments as my souvenir when we visit a new place.

Here are some from when we lived in North Pole, Alaska:

Monterey, California:

I picked this one up earlier this year when we were in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.  It matches the quilt I bought for my bed!

When we lived in San Antonio, Texas:

And from Washington State:

The mixture of souvenirs, handmade heirlooms, and paper ornaments made by my kiddos makes for a very eclectic mixture on the tree.  No, it’s not picture-perfect gorgeous.  Nothing “matches”.  And I let my kids hang the ornaments themselves, so they aren’t always places perfectly.  I think that’s what makes it special though.   It’s a mixture of memories past and memories that we’re making now.

I wish that I had some heirloom ornaments from beyond my parents’ generation.

They contacted our family and friends and collected up recipes into a binder and gave us a family cookbook to start our years of marital bliss with. What a wonderful idea, right?  If only they could have given me some cooking skills also….

Among those recipes is one that I would like to share today.  It is for Scandinavian Kringler.

My great-grandparents were from Sweden, so I like to think that maybe they made this before.  It was probably just something that my mom got from a cookbook somewhere though.  I suppose that I should ask her!  Anyway, she would make it sometimes for the holidays and it’s delicious.  I’ve made it a couple of times for Christmas and I have to say that it’s much easier than it looks.  The instructions make it seem difficult, but it’s really pretty simple .  Trust me, if I can make it, then anyone can!!

I hesitate to show this picture at all. It’s awful.  It was taken a couple of years ago in our Alaskan cave – well that’s what our home felt like in the middle of winter!  The lighting was bad and it doesn’t look all that appetizing, but it really tastes good – (if you like almond flavor).  You can tell, because half of it has already been devoured!

And here is the recipe:

Ok, this is embarrassing.  I can’t find the recipe – presumably since I pulled it out of the plastic cover to make the above batch of Kringler.

I am posting a version of it instead which I found on Food.com. I will have to dig through my cabinet to see if my copy of it fell out or else get the recipe from my mom again before Christmas rolls around, because I plan on making it this year!

So, here is the Food.com version of the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. butter, chilled
2 tablespoons icewater

Puff Topping:
1 c. water
1/2 c. butter
1 c. flour
3 eggs
1/2 tsp almond extract

Frosting:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 Tbs butter, softened
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2-3 Tbs milk
sliced almonds, if desired

Directions:
1. Measure 1 cup of flour into mixing bowl
2. Using a pastry blender, cut 1/2 cup butter into flour until particles are size of small peas.
3. Sprinkle with water. 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing lightly with a fork until the flour mixture is moistened and soft dough forms.
4. Divide dough in half.
5. On ungreased cookie sheet, press each half into a 12X3 inch strip.
6. In medium saucepan, heat water and 1/2 cup water to boiling.
7. Remove from heat; immediately stir in 1 cup flour until smooth.
8. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.
9. Stir in 1/2 tsp. almond extract
10. Spoon over crust, spreading to 3/4 inch from edges.
11. Bake 50-60 minutes until golden brown and puffy. Cool.
12. Blend powdered sugar, butter, almond extract, and milk until smooth.
13. Frost, sprinkle with nuts.
14. Slice and serve.

The bridge to the island I grew up on

So, after having said that, do you think that we used a fake tree?  I would have felt a traitor.

We always had a real tree.  Always.  Sure, they can be a little messy with the needles falling off and such, but nothing beats the smell of a real tree.  It fills the house.

In my entire life, I have only done a fake tree one year – while Andy was deployed in Iraq.  The thought of getting the tree home and into a stand when it was negative 20 degrees out (with 5 little kids in tow) didn’t appeal to me.  I cheated and bought a cheap tree-in-a-box.  I regretted it.  It just didn’t feel very Christmasy without it – or without him. It was a fake Christmas.

When I was growing up, sometimes we would just go out back and get a tree and other times we’d go to a Christmas Tree farm down the road.  We normally didn’t get our tree until about 2 weeks before Christmas – usually just after my sister’s birthday.

I broke from tradition this year though.  We put our tree up this past weekend.  Here is my youngest daughter, who got the honors of putting the star on this year.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any stories of my ancestors’ Christmas Tree traditions.  I wish that I did!