Christmas Memories and Traditions
With the holiday season upon us, 280 Living recently took the opportunity to ask area residents to share one of their favorite Christmas memories or traditions.
“I think I like when we decorate the house all together and go pick out the tree to decorate together with the kids.”
Julie Owens,
Highland Lakes
“I’m from New York originally and spent many years having traditions with a family that was Italian-American. I’ve spent the last 24 years in Florida, Texas and Alabama, so traditions have changed … There’s still nothing as much fun as seeing the kids’ eyes on Christmas morning with stuff under the tree … I know Christmas has a much deeper meaning than toys and stuff, but it’s still a lot more fun with the kids.”
Pete Alfano,
Highland Lakes
Susan, Danielle, Drew and Dennis DuBose of the Greystone subdivision in Hoover celebrate Christmas in Mobile each year with extended family. “We started a tradition of staying at the Historic Battle House Hotel each year and have many fond memories of the huge two-story live Christmas tree in the lobby,” Susan DuBose said.
Photo courtesy of Susan DuBose.
“At my mother’s when there was a lot of snow on the ground back in Missouri. I’ve lived here 17 to 18 years. We go back to visit my mom every year, and there’s snow on the ground, and I love seeing snow at Christmas. The whole week we’re there, the kids go sled riding and make snowmen.”
Paul Nuckles, Chelsea
“When we were little, Mom and Dad would come in and wake us up. We weren’t allowed to go downstairs. We’d all have to wait in their bedroom and eat breakfast in the bed. Once everybody ate, we’d all walk downstairs, and Mom took pictures of us walking downstairs. We’d walk in the living room, and there would be all our stuff, and my dad would pass out what Santa gave us. It was that way every year until we grew out of it. It’s probably how I’m going to do my kids’ Christmas.”
Corey Jones, Applecross sector of Inverness
“Pulling out all the old ornaments — things they (my children) made in first grade, and now my grandkids get to put those same ornaments on the Christmas tree. And, of course, the traditional Christmas dinner — cooking all night, and all the toys are put out while I’m finishing cooking. We still do that tradition with the grandkids. Then we pass out after they see the toys because we’ve been up for almost 26 hours.”
Dr. Grace McWhorter,
Brook Highland
“We go hunting for mistletoe with our kids. We take them every year and find mistletoe. Sometimes we go to the lake area or out around my dad’s farm. And we usually get extra and give it to people, too.”
Ginny Thornton, Oak Mountain
“Me and my entire family go to my parents’ house and watch ‘A Christmas Story’ on Christmas Eve, and we watch it over and over and over on TBS. It’s a 24-hour-straight marathon.”
Nathan Holtzapfel, Inverness
“My mom and I ring the Salvation Army bell. We do that every year together. When my mom was going to school, she lived at the Salvation Army.”
Helena Doering, Highland Lakes
“I got my first new shotgun when I was 16 years old. It was a double-barrel shotgun. Christmas afternoon, my dad and I took it out to try to shoot it. We went out to a local cow pasture, set up a target and walked back, shot it twice, and while standing there reloading the gun, a deer runs in between the target and us. The shots scared the deer. That memory is forever in my mind. The very next day, I killed my first deer with that gun. For years, it was the biggest buck that was killed out there.”
Bob Jones, Edenton Condominiums
“Putting Christmas lights on our house and decorating for Christmas outside. It’s like a Griswold Christmas. That’s our street. It doesn’t have to make any sense. It just has to have a lot of something. And baking Christmas cookies.”
Julie and Janie Jasinski, Brook Highland
“My biggest memory would be my mom always would bake tons and tons of cookies from scratch, and she’d send my sister and I to give them to all the neighbors.”
Gerry Rotter, Indian Springs Village
“My favorite tradition is decorating the Christmas tree. We do it right after Thanksgiving, and we do it as a family. I guess it’s special to me because as a kid, my grandparents always put their tree up about that time. It brings back memories when I do it with my own children.”
April Chandler, Chelsea
“We all got to open one present on Christmas Eve, and then we saved a present to open New Year’s Day. My dad did it when he was growing up, so we did it, too.”
Miriam Moore, The Pointe Apartments
“I don’t have any (traditions) anymore. My grandkids are all over the place. I’ve got seven grandkids spread out. My mom passed away a year ago, so we don’t have that anymore. But life is good. I remember peeking out from behind the couch to find out if there was really a Santa. My two brothers and I hid in the back till we heard the Christmas presents rattling and until we heard the presents going under the tree.”
Ron Moreira, Heritage Oaks
“When I was a kid, it was going to my grandparents’ house. They lived out in the country. We’d eat my grandmother’s and granddad’s cooking and play with all my cousins.”
Larry Curvin,
Highland Lakes
“One Christmas, we opened all the presents, and my dad took all the wrappings and put them in a bag and asked me to go downstairs and put it in the trash can. I walked in the door to the garage, and there was a brand-new go-kart. I opened the door and had the bag in my hand, and I just dropped it. I was freaking out.”
Patrick Cox,
Old Virginia
“Open a present and then go to church on Christmas Eve. Usually Mom would have something special she’d want me to open, like a piece of jewelry or something nice she wanted to stand out and not get lost in the rush on Christmas morning.”
Veronique Taylor, Greystone Farms
“We get pajamas every year for Christmas on Christmas Eve. They’re usually matching, too. We all sit around in our pajamas and have coffee and open gifts on Christmas morning.”
Will Bueche,
Brook Highland
“My daughter makes cranberry sauce. I’ve been teaching her to cook since she was little. She’s 11 now, and she makes that by hand. It’s her thing. And we do stupid stuff. We do a tape ball. It’s like masking tape wrapped around, and there’s all kinds of candy and prizes in it, and we pass it around and unwind the tape and see what prizes are in it. … And midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.”
Andrea Thurber, Inverness
“Getting together with family and telling stories from when you were growing up as a kid. Now we’ve got grandkids coming up. It’s fun just telling those stories to the new kids and seeing them open their gifts.”
Malia Douglas, Highland Lakes
“We used to go to Miami at Christmas. The first time my dad tried to cook lobsters, they climbed out of the pot. They were jumping out of the pot, running on the ground, and we didn’t know what to do.”
Julie Thomason, Brook Highland