Family Photos: Childhood Christmases

Last week, I posted two photos of my parents in honor of their engagement so many years ago. It was that second photo that triggered an avalanche of memories for me. Coincidentally, holiday memories, actually. It seems like everyone has this crystal-clear picture in their minds of what their childhood Christmases were like. Almost like a movie, you find old photos tucked away in drawers or albums, and before you know it, the scenes are jumping off the photo and coming to life.

Christmas was always such a magical time when I was growing up. It was one of the only times I could put my disability aside and just be a kid. Every year, we’d pile in the car a few days before Christmas and begin the 1,000-mile journey to the Deep South. Eventually, probably somewhere just passed Indianapolis, my mother would burst into song; she was fond of Dixie — go figure — and her mini concert got my sister and me so excited about getting to Alabama and spending the holidays with my grandparents. I’ve always thought of Fairhope, Alabama (the town where they retired; have you ever been there?) as my second home…

We’d take long walks to the bay, which was a few miles from their house (did I mention their house and neighborhood was straight out of The Golden Girls?)…

We’d stay up late playing raucous games that left our sides aching from laughter. Our favorite was always Pit, a fiercely competitive stock-trading game…

We made sure to soak up lots of that Southern sun — the temps were usually in the 50s…

We always enjoyed family meals together. My grandmother would put us in charge of setting table, and then at the end of the week, she’d give us our “paycheck” — it was such a fun and creative way to make sure we were involved. My grandmother would also tell the best family stories during dinner, which made us all want to linger at the table for hours…

And of course, there was Christmas morning…

By the time the week was over, I never wanted to go home. What were your childhood Christmases like, friends? Did you travel far for the holidays or stay pretty close to home? I’d love for you to share your story in the comments! xoxo