Love reading all your stories! Great thread. My sis & I were 15 months apart and we usually got the same thing every year. One year we "graduated" to 20 inch J.C. Higgins bicycles from Sears cira 1958 or 59. They were identical but we realized after a couple of days that the reason we could tell them apart is because my Dad, excuse me Santa had put the handle bars on Sis's bike upside down lol. Believe it or not, she wouldn't let him change them to the correct position. She liked being backwards LOL. Mother always put a lot of thought into our stockings, the best fruit and candies. Daddy always read from the same Night Before Christmas book when he tucked us in on Christmas Eve. It had this red velvet stuff on Santa's suit on the cover. My birthday is a week before Christmas and I believe that book had been a birthday gift. When you have a birthday that time of year, you get used to birthday gifts wrapped in Christmas wrap LOL. We always were involved with the Mary & Joseph manger scenes at the church, and with the Christmas program as my Dad was the church pianist. I was always Mary, apparently because I was chubby lol. My cousins were the other actors in the play each year. Nice to look back on that period, because I don't see any of them very often now. Mostly when a relative dies, or maybe a reunion once a year. And I remember the year we got Thumbelina dolls (they moved slowly when you cranked them up), my Barbie (it had 3 wigs!), and the year I got a Polaroid Swinger camera and GoGo boots, white of course, LOL. Still have that camera, and it always made terrible pics (black & white only), but my parents went to a lot of trouble to find that one, they were sold out because it was the trend that year. The way they found my camera was because my Dad worked part time that year at the Camera and Craft store, and he was the photographer for the Santa photos. I remember waiting on him at the mall while he worked. He had a full time job, and used that camera store job to buy equipment for his home darkroom. That was a fun experience too, developing film. Now it's mostly digital, but I enjoyed doing that at home when I was a kid. Ended up in printing profession myself and got more than plenty of darkroom work later in life. I enjoyed my kids each Christmas, now I'm making new memories with the 2 small grandsons. They're such a joy! Holidays hugs to you all ~tenderlee

Another memorable Christmas was 1975. I flew out to Seattle early on the morning of Christmas Eve to meet up with the British m/v PHEMIUS which was to be in Tacoma. Arrived at SeaTac in early afternoon to find that every shipping business had closed down at noon. Shuttle bus was taken to a Tacoma Holiday Inn nearest the port complex. Temporarily stored my luggage there and went looking for the ship. She wasn't there! Only official office open was the US Customs grain inspector at the end of the main jetty. After a lot of calls to pilot companies and the Coast Guard, we could only determine that the ship hadn't come down from Vancouver yet. That was followed by a long walk back to the Holiday Inn. At least I had a most beautiful view of Mt. Rainier bathed in gold from the sunset. Christmas Eve was spent sharing drinks and snacks with the only person on duty, the Holiday Inn desk clerk. We commandeered the bar and kitchen while watching Munster Family reruns! Christmas morning found me back at SeaTac looking for any flight to Vancouver. One little commuter airline was open for business and it wasn't long before I was in Vancouver and wondering what to do next. One thing that I did do was have my passport stamped just to show that I was there on Christmas Day. Next was to rent a car and figure out where to go and how to get there in the pouring rain. The city map, which came with the car, showed that I might be able to view the entire port from the zoo so off to visit their noted aquarium. While there, I got a general idea where the new VanTerm was from the huge new container gantry cranes. Plotted my course and back on the virtually empty streets to search for the PHEMIUS. No joy driving the street running parallel to the old port as all view was blocked by warehouse and only short little side streets. Finally figured that I had to get right to the water to have another look. Turned left into what was almost an alley and I was bow-on to the ship! Getting from the car to the ship, I was totally soaked. Then couldn't find a soul moving other than the Chinese crew having their feast and all "No speak English!" Then heard sounds in the Officers Salon and walked into the middle of the Christmas dinner, much to the surprise of the Captain who hadn't got the word yet that I was coming! ChEng gave up his place at the head table so I'd have a place beside the Captain. The whole thing had been such a trying experience that I have no memory of what went on after that until waking up the next morning in the pilot's cabin! Eventually ended up full circle by spending New Year's Day in Tacoma, where I officially arrived illegally since the PHEMIUS was not USCG certified for passengers. In the case that Customs were going to be "sticky", a second crew list had been prepared with me listed as "leading bandsman"! The next Christmas, same ship, different coast, and not quite as equally memorable but with plans which went awry right from the start. Martin

Mabel, for the carrots, I reduce 1/2 cup of spiced rum and 1/2 cup of water to about 1/4 cup and add it to taste to 1/2 cup of browned butter and drizzle over previously cooked carrots with a sprinkle of lime zest. They reheat great in the microwave. DURGIN-PARK BAKED HAM 1 (5 to 6 pound) smoked ham 3/4 cup fresh orange juice 1/2 cup dry sherry 1 cup honey Whole cloves 1 cup packed dark brown sugar 2 Tbs. dry mustard Trim the skin from the ham, leaving a thin, even layer of fat. With a skewer, poke the ham all over at 2-inch intervals. Place the ham in a large resealable plastic bag, and place in a large shallow pan. Combine the orange juice, sherry, and honey; pour over the ham and seal the bag securely. Marinate in the refrigerator for three days, turning the ham every 12 hours. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Remove the ham from the bag, reserving the marinade. In a shallow roasting pan, with the ham fat side up, score the fat in a diamond design and stud with cloves. Insert a meat thermometer, making sure it does not touch bone. Pour all but a tablespoon of the marinade over the ham. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat thermometer registers 130 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and the tablespoon of the reserved marinade and brush the exposed portion of the ham. Cover with a tent of aluminum foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 140. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to stand for 10 minutes; then thinly slice and serve. 10 to 12 servings.

Christmas Eve was (and still is) magical to me. As a child we would go to my grandmother's and have a buffet of baked ham, deviled eggs, potato salad, home made baked beans and her famous chocolate cake. Then we got to open the gifts from my grandparents, aunt & uncle (they were teens when we were kids). My grandmother's house was filled with family heirlooms and was so warm and cozy when lit up for Christmas. She had a fireplace in both the kitchen and living room and they both were blazing. It seemed liked it always snowed on Christmas Eve in those days, and I can remember carolers coming to the door. Not to be a downer, but my Dad was an alcoholic and my parents fought a lot in the weeks before Christmas because of all the "festivities". I never knew if we were going to have a Christmas at all. Then, somehow, they always made up on Christmas Eve. I attributed it to the magic of my Grandmother's house. Grandma is now gone, but I have taken over the Christmas Eve tradition. I follow her exact menu (with a few additions). We go to a candlelit service at 5:30, and then all my siblings come over with their kids. We tortue the kids by eating first, and then they each get to open a gift (we do a gift exchange). My parents and even my 102 year old grandfather attend and get the biggest kick out of watching the kids. It is a lot of work, but worth every minute spent preparing.