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175 Comments

• I just turned 3 and “Santa” came to my house on Christmas Eve! I was so excited to visit with Santa and while sitting on his lap, I noticed his watch and told him “Santa!! My Uncle Mark has THE SAME WATCH!!”

  —By MilesMusclesMom on December 1, 2011 at 3:42 am

• I can remember putting out cookies for santa and carrots for the reindeer. I remember not being able to sleep on christmas eve. I remember waking up at 4AM and trying to hard to stay in bed until it was “acceptable” to wake up mom and dad. If I’m remembering right I must’ve been around 4-5 years old…

  —By katie on December 1, 2011 at 4:05 am

• When Santa visited in full red-suit, bearded attire, in 1947, was thrilled to find he was “Pickles” (my favorite Uncle’s associate whom I loved) under that white beard! Needless to say, I was not disappointed!

  —By Dorothy Fartek on December 1, 2011 at 4:21 am

• My first holiday memory is when my sister stuck her tongue to a metal pole outside in Utah (super cold). My dad had to rip it off. ouch!

  —By alhardman on December 1, 2011 at 5:02 am

• Blinding lights. Literally. Dad would have us kids line up down the hallway, in age order, then march into the living room to open presents. We had one of those old-school 8mm recorders with a humongo light bulb that blinded us for about five minutes after shutting it off. Good times.

  —By Jennifer Davis on December 1, 2011 at 5:05 am

• The year I turned 9 I wanted my own record player sooooo bad. I woke up Christmas morning to hear Elvis singing White Christmas….from my new record player!! Unfortunately my parents chose to give my little brother a drum set the same year so I had to sit in my closet with my record player just so I could hear it.

  —By Tracy on December 1, 2011 at 5:50 am

• Earliest memory would be when I was around 3, and I would spend hours and hours playing with all the little figurines in the Manger. I loved putting my barbies in there with all the animals and baby Jesus.

  —By Nadine on December 1, 2011 at 5:53 am

• My earliest Christmas was getting in trouble for sorting all of the presents into piles under the tree. I had learned to read and put everyone’s presents in their own piles, mom was NOT happy

  —By christa on December 1, 2011 at 6:03 am

• I remember being at my grandparent’s home in Northern California and seeing the tree and opening presents with my brother and sister . I was about 4or 5

  —By Maureen on December 1, 2011 at 6:19 am

• My first holiday memory is my families Silver Cristmas tree with the color wheel reflecting on the tree.

  —By Nancy Frenzo on December 1, 2011 at 6:24 am

• My first Christmas memory was waking up to find my very first bicycle that had a Rainbow Brite basket which held Rainbow Brite. I was so excited about that bike!!

  —By Shannon on December 1, 2011 at 6:24 am

• My family spent Christmas in Austria when I was maybe 5 years old, and we were so excited to enjoy the respite from our very hot weather at home. My little brother and a family friend shared many hours playing together, but the most memorable thing was when hotel security called my parents to tell them to come retrieve him. He and the friend had escaped their hotel rooms, and pushed each other into the pool.

  —By Betsy on December 1, 2011 at 7:02 am

• I remember being about 3 years old and receiving a plush pony that I could actually sit on and little cowgirl boots and hat….I wish I could find those photos! That started my life long love of horses. Maybe someday I’ll own a real one Thanks!

  —By lilybiscuit7 on December 1, 2011 at 7:03 am

• The earliest I can recall is going to cut down our tree and drinking hot chocolate while my dad put it on our van.

  —By Drewman on December 1, 2011 at 7:16 am

• We had a homemade advent calendar that my grandma made and I remember taking turns with my sister every day, opening up the little tissue-wrapped bundles that held a toy to hang on the calendar’s hooks. We leapt out of bed every morning, excited to do it, and wondering which treasure we’d unwrap that day (the same ornaments were wrapped back up and used every year). My favorite was the little metal harmonica that you could actually play!

  —By janeoneal on December 1, 2011 at 7:18 am

• My first holiday memory is hiking up Mauna Kea in Hawaii in 1959 when my parents were missionaries to the then territory of Hawaii. I was too young (6) to climb and had to stay in the old lodge with my Mom while my brothers climbed up with my Dad. My brother was the youngest person to climb up at the time and we all celebrated when they brought back a small amount of snow to the lodge.

  —By Beth Giocomo on December 1, 2011 at 7:34 am

• my first holiday memory is my grandmother giving me a hand crocheted shawl in pink. it was super fun to wear & very warm.

  —By amy on December 1, 2011 at 8:02 am

• I was 10 and my family just moved to Iceland from the Philippines. I remember the first time I saw Santa Claus (my stepdad) and snow. I also received a lot of presents something I’m not used.

  —By frugalfrida on December 1, 2011 at 8:08 am

• Openning an envelope from my Grandma and finding 2 very crisp one dollar bills.

  —By Debby on December 1, 2011 at 8:10 am

• My earliest memory of the holidays is watching our kitten batting her paw at one of the ornaments on a low branch of the 10 foot tree until the whole thing came falling down!

  —By tina on December 1, 2011 at 8:10 am

• When I was kid we celebrated Hannukah but we also had a Christmas tree also,I reme,ber all the ball ornamments we had for the tree.

  —By lemonlaurie on December 1, 2011 at 8:12 am

• My fondest memory is when I was about six years old and I so desparately wanted the board game Candy Land and I woke up and my Grandma’s house and that was the first thing I saw and it still makes my heart flutter just a little bit when you get the one thing you wanted most of all!

  —By Deana Kneen on December 1, 2011 at 8:13 am

• My first holiday memory had to be when I was about 4 years old, I remember going to the Maryland Air National Guard Hanger where my dad worked waiting for Santa and being so excited when he arrived in his helicopter and handed out toys and candy to all the children. It was an annual event that my family (i have three sisters) looked forward to for many years.

  —By barbara ormord on December 1, 2011 at 8:17 am

• It’s all about comfort now that I am 50! although I do remember wearing Earthshoes! My kids have no idea what i am talking about. Just like when I call their flip flops “thongs”…They get sooo peeked out and embarrassed.

  —By Bigmom50 on December 1, 2011 at 8:17 am

• I remember getting an awesome aluminum kitchen set when I was about 5. It had a fridge, a sink, a stove and a dishwasher that had these blue ribbon things that spun around when you turned the knob to simulate water. It was the most awesome Christmas gift I have ever gotten and my earliest holiday memory.

  —By Melinda G on December 1, 2011 at 8:19 am

• I remember waking up sooo, sooooo early. I would wake up my little brothers and we would just sit and stare at the Christmas tree. We couldn’t go near it or the unwrapped Santa gifts until my parents came out and for some reason they didn’t want to get up at 4am on Christmas morning.

  —By Laurie on December 1, 2011 at 8:26 am

• I remember my parents putting up the Christmas tree. It was one of those silver foil numbers, with the “branches” in cardboard sleeves that you stuck into the pole. On the floow was a wheel with different colored lights that would alternately turn the tree blue, then pink, etc. The Cunningham family on Happy Days had the same tree.

  —By Lori on December 1, 2011 at 8:32 am

• Christmas dinner at my aunts house. She would have a very formal dinner, with fine china and homemade pies!

  —By rain on December 1, 2011 at 8:34 am

• My favorite song from the album was “When You Wish Upon A Star.” And do you know…I still sing that song all the time, because I sit outside at night, and look watch the stars with patience. I know if I wait, there will be a shooting star, and I believe that it is a special gift just for me. LOL.

  —By Marisa Bennett on December 1, 2011 at 8:36 am

• Christmas morning when we were about 3 and 5 years old, my sister and I got matching Holly Hobbie dolls. And Santa had written our initials on the back of each doll’s neck, under her bonnet to keep them straight. Smart Santa!

  —By Margot Saharic on December 1, 2011 at 8:37 am

• My most distinct early childhood holiday memory is a Christmas Day , playing in the snow outside on a new (to me) bicycle. Slipping on the ice and crashing every three minutes but still loving every minute of it.

  —By mrcapncaveman on December 1, 2011 at 8:39 am

• Christmas was always a free for all at my home. When I was a kid, my rents would put everyone’s gift into one huge, wrapped box, and on Christmas that we would all tear it apart and scramble to get our gifts.

  —By gmathew85 on December 1, 2011 at 8:44 am

• I remember my baby brother’s first Christmas because he was so excited and adorable opening his gifts. He was 10 months old; I was five. My mom made him a quilt and he excitedly laid down on it as soon as he saw it. So cute!

  —By Beth on December 1, 2011 at 8:47 am

• I was around five years old and we had to go to bed early on Christmas Eve. I slept in the same room as my brother. I woke up around midnight and told my brother that my jaws hurt. I had gotten the mumps from my brother who had just gotten over them. That year I got a baby buggy for Christmas and I had to watch my brother hot rod it all over the house while I layed on the couch.

  —By Charlotte Leslie on December 1, 2011 at 8:51 am

• My first Christmas memory is of being in the Christmas pageant at my church. I was one of the shepherds and we dressed in old striped pieces of cloth and tied it around our heads. I was so scared to be up in front of everyone, so I was happy to drape myself nearly entirely to avoid being seen. We went out, “tended our flocks,” cowered in front of an angel, and were pretty much done. It wasn’t as terrifying as I thought, but I was glad it was over. I guess it made an impression!

  —By Laura on December 1, 2011 at 8:53 am

• My first real holiday memory is when Shell gas station was giving away a Disney album of its very best songs, with a fill-up of gas. My parents NEVER went to Shell because their gas was more expensive, and we were very poor, But I was a little songbird. I begged and begged for that album mercilessly. That was all I wanted for Christmas.

  One Sunday (I’m sure it was at my Mother’s insistence), on the way home from church, my father pretended he was running out of gas, and pulled into a Shell gas station.

  I had no idea, but when I woke on Christmas morning, I received the Disney album as my very last present. I wanted to cry. I know I played it at least 1,000 times.

  I still have most of the songs memorized even though I am now 53! This was the very best present I ever received as a child:) I just wish I still had the album but I wore it to pieces.

  Oh yes: my very favorite song was and still is “When You Wish Upon A Star.”

  —By Marisa Bennett on December 1, 2011 at 8:58 am

• My first Christmas memory is being terrified of the mall Santa.

  —By Sheri on December 1, 2011 at 9:04 am

• I remember Santa coming to my house when I was probably 3 years old. To this day, my parents will not tell me who it was and insist it was the “real” Santa!

  —By Erika on December 1, 2011 at 9:12 am

• One of my earliest holiday memories is my brother, sister and I carefully making out schedules for who would light which menorah (we had 3) for each night of Chanukah. We were so young, but we took this responsibility very seriously!

  —By Beckyaw on December 1, 2011 at 9:13 am

• my first holiday memory was lying in bed with my sister and we heard noises on the roof and she told me it was santa.. and the next morning i had all these presents under the tree. it was so exciting back then!

  —By jules l. on December 1, 2011 at 9:15 am

• I remember my sister and me getting up early on Christmas morning while my parents were still asleep and going to the living room to see the presents under the Christmas tree.

  —By Eugenie on December 1, 2011 at 9:25 am

• I remember sitting on my grandmother’s couch all dressed up in my Christmas Eve best, waiting to open presents and licking a giant peppermint stick. Next thing I know, I wake up (yes, I fell asleep!) and had sticky candy cane residue all in my hair and pretty dress!

  —By Kristin on December 1, 2011 at 9:29 am

• Funny… I was just thinking about that! I remember when I was about 5 or 6 thinking I was seeing a blinking red light and I just knew Rudolph was guiding that sleigh!!! I’m sure it drove me parents crazy to hear me laughing instead of sleeping on Christmas Eve! It still makes me smile!

  —By Jfr7160 on December 1, 2011 at 9:30 am

• I remember dancing around the xmas tree with my sister singing carols at the top of our lungs. We had a small bell that played digital renditions of carols and we thought it was perfect to sing along with. Of course, being the firstborn, I always got to hold the bell.

  —By wahlquil on December 1, 2011 at 9:31 am

• My first holiday memory is sitting around my Baba & Jedo’s table and sharing a Slovak Christmas Eve Holy Supper. It was a yearly tradition for all of us.

  —By Melanie on December 1, 2011 at 9:38 am

• Mine would be when someone adopted our family…there were so many gifts under the tree, my child brain almost couldn’t take it all in!

  —By youniquemom on December 1, 2011 at 9:38 am

• My first holiday memory was of my older brother convincing me to take presents into our basement, we could open them, re-close them and know what they were before our mom woke up… it so totally ruined christmas morning for me

  —By Brenda C on December 1, 2011 at 9:49 am

• I know it sounds crazy to be my ‘favorite’, but it was when I threw up the morning of Christmas in the middle of opening presents. It was not fun as a little kid at the time. But looking back, I love thinking about it because the reason I got sick was from eating all the sweets that my grandma’s made. They have both passed now and I’d give ANYTHING for those cookies, brownies and pies all over again!

  —By alawnyo on December 1, 2011 at 9:52 am

• I remember my parents going out one day before Christmas and leaving me with all the presents under the tree. Well I couldn’t wait for Christmas Day so I carefully, so I thought, opened all my presents to see what they were. The tape was ruined and all I could find was black electrical tape. Needless to say, I got caught. LOL!!

  —By PunkChic on December 1, 2011 at 9:58 am

• I remember putting out cookies for Santa and getting up the next morning and they were still there.

  —By vth2oboy on December 1, 2011 at 10:00 am

• I remember most of our family gatherings to open gifts but nothing stands out more than the great family gathering at my grandparents house with all my relatives getting together. There was food, drinks, gifts–more than enough for everyone–and, most of all, there was love and laughter!

  —By mpato47 on December 1, 2011 at 10:07 am

• One of my first memories of Christmas was road-tripping with my family to Arizona from Idaho to spend it my Italian Grandparents! So much good food and little candy dishes filled with those old school hard candies that look like different colored ribbons and gems. We would stay up late to watch the evening news tell us where Santa was on the sky-watch and then we’d hurry off to bed in great excitement to await the early morning hour of surprises and fun! Love those memories and love my family!

  —By theresa howell on December 1, 2011 at 10:09 am

• Watching out my upstairs window looking for Santa, I tried so hard to stay awake all night with my older sisters to get a glimpse of Santa, fell asleep, kept trying year after year

  —By donna on December 1, 2011 at 10:15 am

• My first holiday memory is lining up at the top of the stairs with my two older sisters while we waited for my dad to “check” and make sure that Santa came. Then we’d file down the stairs in age order (youngest to oldest, so I was first!) and rush into the living room, where I found about a dozen G.I. Joe figures waiting for me on a plastic sled.

  —By Bill K on December 1, 2011 at 10:18 am

• My first christmas memory is being woken up by santa in my room when I was about 4! I could not believe it was him and I remember I did not want him to leave and I wanted to meet the reindeer!

  —By Cheyanne h on December 1, 2011 at 10:37 am

• My 1st holiday memory is from age 3 when my cousins and I all received matching Orange and yellow plastic shopping carts filled with pretend food.

  —By melissa on December 1, 2011 at 10:41 am

• My first Christmas memory was when I was 5 and on Christmas Eve my dad took me and my 2 brothers and 2 sisters out to look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood! It was odd but my mom didn’t come – -she said she didn’t feel good! It was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the early 70′s so of course it was snowing and cold and so exciting! The BEST part was when we got home and lo and behold SANTA had come to the house while we were gone!! He ate the milk and cookies and left presents and stockings full of goodies … we were so, so thrilled and excited that Santa had come, but a little sad that we had missed him??

  —By janekley on December 1, 2011 at 10:41 am

• I was three years old, and it was the first Christmas I can remember. My family has a tradition of filling the stockings with fruits, candies, and money (always in the same order…OCD, anyone?), and I have a distinct memory of disappointedly pulling oranges and apples out, when I thought it would be full of toys. I’m sure I received many presents, but the piece de resistence that year was my tricycle, which I was very excited about. I also remember my four-year-old cousin, Chris, receiving a Power Wheels Jeep, which I was even more excited about!

  —By lindsay P on December 1, 2011 at 10:48 am

• my earliest christmas memory is decorating our tree with tinsel with my big sister. She’s ten years older than me and I really didn’t know what I was doing.It turns out throwing big handfulls on the tree is not how to get the best look. She was pretty patient with me and over the years I have to admit I mastered her 1 tinsil at a time application process thanks to her guidance. you know I’m right you’re really does look pretty

  —By sheila I on December 1, 2011 at 10:49 am

• When I was 3 I got an awesome pair of pink fuzzy slippers for Chritmas. That is first Christmas I can remember anything about and it is pretty much the only thing I can remember.

  —By thela on December 1, 2011 at 10:56 am

• Off the top of my head, my first memory is my sister and I sleeping in the same room and giggling half the night. We would make a deal to tell each other one thing that we knew the other got for Christmas. In the morning we would have a gift bag with our stuffed animal gift in it by our beds. We had to wait to go downstairs until my dad rang the Christmas bell.

  —By Erin on December 1, 2011 at 10:57 am

• My first holiday memory is being at my Grandmother’s house on Christmas eve when our family would gather for presents. First I would hear Santa’s jiggle bells as his reindeer landed on the roof. After that we would enter “the room” where the Christmas tree was decorated, every year it was amazing. The tree, the presents piled high and all family together and happy.

  —By moviechic68 on December 1, 2011 at 11:06 am

• I remember the first year I was allowed to put bulbs on the Christmas tree–I was maybe three, and it was only the satin ones (as opposed to the glass ones). I think my parents had to go back and re-distribute them properly after I fell asleep.

  —By Stephanie Z. on December 1, 2011 at 11:21 am

• Some of my first holiday memories are of cutting down our tree, hanging ornaments, and driving around the neighborhood to check out Christmas Lights. But some of my favorite memories include the year that we stayed home all Christmas Day, just our immediate family, and put together a 500-piece puzzle of a farmhouse and “millions” of cows, the year each and every one of my siblings and cousins received a Cabbage Patch Kid, the stuffed animal that was always sticking out of our stocking Christmas morning (or large and seated front of the tree!), and the couple years that my sister, brother and I “performed” Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve! (I was always the narrator, my sister was always “the jolly ol’ elf,” and my brother was always a reindeer!) *One of my most frustrating memories is of the year that Santa skipped present-wrapping and tucked each of our gifts inside a duffle bag each! I was dismayed to unzip the bag and find all of my gifts. The surprise and suspense was too short lived for this little girl that year!

  —By Jenny T on December 1, 2011 at 11:25 am

• I remember opening all of our gifts and my sister got a new bike. I was so jealous, I took it from her and went for a spin around the house before she even got a chance to ride it. The look on her face was priceless!

  —By sheepmom on December 1, 2011 at 11:30 am

• My first memory of Christmas was when I was very little and went back to England to spend the holidays with my grandmother. She put up all of these pretty decorations, we wore traditional crowns and there were holiday crackers. It set the tone for all Christmases to come!

  —By Cupboard Love on December 1, 2011 at 11:34 am

• I remember going to the Bahamas for Christmas and one of my sisters and I saw Santa coming in early in the morning on the beach on a helicopter! It was then that we knew that he was not real but it was fun to see him none the less, landing on the beach with a gift sack!

  —By carilyn on December 1, 2011 at 11:39 am

• I remember waking up in the morning and running to the living room where our tree was filled with tons of gifts. But dispite the gifts I only wanted to see if the cookies & milk was still there when I checked I got a lucky surprise of the cookies not being there & instead finding a thank you candy cane then I ran to the tree to open my many gifts.

  —By Yarizell on December 1, 2011 at 11:41 am

• You know what I got for Christmas? Oh, it was a banner year at the old Bender family. I got a carton of cigarettes. The old man grabbed me and said, “Hey, smoke up Johnny.” Alright?

  —By John Bender, of The Breakfast Club on December 1, 2011 at 11:43 am

• My first Christmas memory is of announcing that I knew that there isn’t really a Santa. I was five and had already figured my Mom and Dad were pretending to be Santa while I was little. I later enjoyed playing Santa for my younger brother! FUN!

  —By Susan on December 1, 2011 at 11:45 am

• My first holiday memory was when I received the 1988 happy holiday’s barbie!! I loved that doll!

  —By TonyaE on December 1, 2011 at 11:56 am

• I remember opening a present out of a gigantic stocking my dad had put up because we had just immigrated to Canada and couldn’t afford a Christmas tree. I unwrapped a stuffed bunny with beautiful brown eyes, and I remember crying “This isn’t a real rabbit, his eyes aren’t the right colour!” and tossing it away. In China, all the rabbits are white with red eyes. My dad gently explained to me about Canadian rabbits and that it was a special gift from my uncle. I got even more confused, because I though all the gifts were from Santa Claus. All in all, it was a very strange Christmas. But what mattered was that I kept my stuffed rabbit.

  —By Hanna on December 1, 2011 at 11:58 am

• I can’t remember a specific “first” holiday memory, but my earliest memories are of spending Christmas Eve at my grandparents house!

  I would totally choose the ladies boots, AMAZING!

  —By Christine Jensen on December 1, 2011 at 12:01 pm

• I remember being forced to sit with Santa. He always knew my name and asked me if I had been good.

  —By Sadie on December 1, 2011 at 12:11 pm

• I can remember when I was little I wanted a pink barbie case. I’ll never forget when I opened one of my presents and it was there! Happy little I was!

  —By saraminda on December 1, 2011 at 12:15 pm

• My first holiday memory is the dress my Grandpa made me out of red and green taffeta, for my second Christmas. He had to drive almost 100 miles to purchase the special fabric to make this dress for me. I still have the dress in storage.

  —By Jewelz1965 on December 1, 2011 at 12:20 pm

• I remember getting a scooter i wanted really bad! I opened all my presents and it wasn’t there. I was so bummed then my parents said they found a present in the storage room, and there was my bright, shiny pink scooter! I remember there was snow outside but i was so excited i rode it anyway!

  —By ladyboarder9669 on December 1, 2011 at 12:23 pm

• my first holiday memory would be waking up christmas morning and eating leftover cold spaghetti.

  —By pintworks on December 1, 2011 at 12:27 pm

• Christmas at my great-grandmothers- she was too old to put up decorations, and we couldn’t find the ones in the attic. So my uncle cut a tree from the yard, and we made ornaments out of ribbon, popcorn, tin foil, and anythings else festive and shiny we could find. It was lovely.

  —By Kimberly on December 1, 2011 at 12:34 pm

• Wearing matching dresses that my grandmother made for me and my two sisters.

  —By Empower Teachers on December 1, 2011 at 12:41 pm

• My first holiday memory is at my grandparent’s house, where I still spend every Christmas. It’s vague, but I just remember hanging out with my Aunts and making cookies.

  —By Amber on December 1, 2011 at 12:43 pm

• My first holiday memory is of my older sister running in to wake me up yelling that Santa har been here and grabbing me out of bed to go see what he brought for us.

  —By Christina on December 1, 2011 at 12:48 pm

• My first real memory, not jogged by a photo, is me sitting on my grandpop’s lap telling him I want a doll in a suitcase. He must have spoke to Santa cause I happily found a doll in a suitcase under my Christmas tree.

  —By phyllisnaomi on December 1, 2011 at 12:49 pm

• I remember being in the car with my parents and screaming “look at the lights! look at the lights!” every time we passed a house with Christmas lights.

  —By Jacy on December 1, 2011 at 1:03 pm

• When I was a little girl I always slept upstairs with my brothers on Christmas Eve. What I remember most is that Santa always came to the foot of the stairs and yelled HO HO HO. I am almost 60 and my “Santa” is gone now but I still have those memories of camping out with my brothers and hearing Santa every Christmas Eve.

  —By Kathy Davis on December 1, 2011 at 1:13 pm

• I remember being 5 and HOPING that new doll i’d been wishing for was under the tree. And it was and was I thrilled! I treated it as if it were real and took it everywhere. I think my Mom still has it tucked away somewhere! )

  —By dragginfly on December 1, 2011 at 1:34 pm

• I remember decorating my Grandma’s Christmas tree with her.

  —By Mary O on December 1, 2011 at 1:46 pm

• I remember putting on my footy jammies, while my father had a fire going and my mother made me hot chocolate with a peppermint stick. Christmas music would be playing, and we would make all kinds of Christmas cookies. Some were for our family and friends, and others for the homeless shelter. I still carry on that tradition with my 4 children!

  —By Charleygirl1215 on December 1, 2011 at 1:49 pm

• Opening that box of rings! I was six and suddenly aware of shiny things! Fashion and all it’s accoutrements became my passion!

  —By katbron on December 1, 2011 at 1:51 pm

• I remember waking up in the middle of the night and opening the presents and then wrapping them back up and going back to bed.

  —By koale52 on December 1, 2011 at 1:53 pm

• My family would start decorating for Christmas on Dec. 1st and we’d listen to the Muppets Christmas album on vinyl. Singing along to the songs with my Mom, Dad and two little sisters was the best thing. I miss that!

  —By RunZoeRun on December 1, 2011 at 1:55 pm

• My first Holiday Memory has to be when I was about 6 years old. I had written my letter to Santa with my Christmas list. But there was really one thing on that list that I wanted so BAD. It was an Easy Bake Oven. I was always cooking with my Grandmother – she said I would ask her, “When are we going to make a recipe?” My grandfather had built me a wooden stool so that I could sit high enough up to the center island. Where me and my grandmother would stir cake mixes and make fresh orange juice every morning.

  So if I had my own Easy Bake Oven then I could Cook my OWN RECIPE’S.
  Christmas Eve I went to sleep dreaming of me cooking and baking away. Christmas morning I ran to the tree trying to figure out which wrapped box was the Easy Bake Oven. I opened gift after gift and no oven. Boy was I so sad. Then when I thought it was all over my Dad said, “Oh goodness didn’t we have one more gift for Stacy?” “OH YES!”…….and out came my Red Easy Bake Oven all shiny and ready for baking. That was the BEST Christmas EVER!
  ~ Stacy H.

  —By Stacy H. on December 1, 2011 at 1:56 pm

• Receiving a plastic Barbie doll case from my grandma. It wasn’t anything fancy but I loved it!

  —By Kimberly @ Healthy Strides on December 1, 2011 at 2:28 pm

• My first holiday memory is Christmas with all of my relatives. My mom was one of 6 kids so we had a big Christmas. My Aunt Jo never married or had kids so she bought for all of her nieces and nephews. At Christmas we would gather around with a big trash bag full of presents for each kid and everyone would open their bag one at a time starting with the youngest. By the time the parents were opening their bags the kids were already off and playing with their new stuff.

  —By Tiffany on December 1, 2011 at 2:35 pm

• My first memory is opening up a very special Cabbage Patch Kid that I had wanted and getting so excited I ran around screaming.

  —By bellasmom36 on December 1, 2011 at 2:36 pm

• I am an only child so every Christmas was special. I remember my mom making tons of cookies and the smell of the pine tree.

  —By dopey1947 on December 1, 2011 at 2:54 pm

• My earliest memory is opening presents with my cousins on Christmas morning. It’s a tradition we enjoyed for many years. Now that I have my own little one, I’m hoping we can create some wonderful memories of family for her too.

  —By TamIWas on December 1, 2011 at 2:56 pm

• When I was young we traveled every year to my grandparents farm in Wisconsin, (about 1 1/2 hours away) early in the day on Christmas eve. Then late in the evening we’d drive back home so we could be home Christmas morning for Santa. I have vivid memories of my sisters and I exhausted from the days activities, but fighting to stay awake on those rides home, our faces plastered to the car windows staring, searching, for any sign of a red light flying in the sky. Every now and then we’d see something red, but it usually turned out to be a tower of some sort.

  —By Carrie on December 1, 2011 at 3:00 pm

• I love Christmas trees and I think it’s because my first memory of Christmas was all my family at my grandparents’ house was putting gifts for the whole family under the great tree full of lights and spheres:) I love Christmas

  —By Geraldyne on December 1, 2011 at 3:00 pm

• when I was 6yrs old and I had two sisters, and we got a really deep snow in TN and on christmas eve night dad kept telling us to be quite & get to bed and we were worried the deep snow would keep Santa from making it by, and as we were trying to get to sleep we heard jingle bells. The next morning we told daddy that we heard bells, he said it was Santa landing on the rooftop, and he showed us out the window hoofprints in our driveway, we just knew it was his reindeer. Later on we found out daddy had made the jingle noises and he made the prints in the driveaway snow with a forked tree limb.
  sewitupjulie at gmail dot com

  —By Julie Cutshaw on December 1, 2011 at 3:01 pm

• I was four.
  I was playing with my older brother and cousin. We were waiting for our parents to finish cooking our holiday meal. My mother set out a cherry pie and we began to drool. So one by one we ran by and grabbed a cherry. We did this over and over and over again until…there were no more cherries. My mother was quite upset, but we were happily full. I miss those days.

  —By Runningforthree on December 1, 2011 at 3:04 pm

• I remember a Christmas when I was around 10 years old, being absolutely tormented by having to wait all night to open presents. After remaining awake all night, I was so excited when it was finally 6 a.m. – that seemed late enough to me, so I ran through the house and woke everyone up. By the time everyone else had staggered out of bed, grabbed their coffee, and stumbled into the living room, I had fallen fast asleep on the couch. Presents did not get opened that year until almost 10 a.m.!

  —By ailurophilia on December 1, 2011 at 3:09 pm

• One of my earliest holiday memories (I was <5 years old) was popping a Certs mint right before Santa arrived at our house then breathing "Hi Santa" in his face so he could smell my minty fresh breath.

  —By Marcia on December 1, 2011 at 3:10 pm

• my first Holiday memory is of sneaking into the refridgerator and eating the center out of a pumpkin pie that my mom had made, I must have been about 3 or 4 lol.

  —By brnmanis on December 1, 2011 at 3:15 pm

• Christmas stockings knitted by my Grandma full of candy!!!

  —By jmondale on December 1, 2011 at 3:19 pm

• I remember getting up and having my Mother excitedly tell me that Santy Claus had been to our house! He never wrapped any presents, so I knew exactly what he brought me at a glance!

  —By jhbear1 on December 1, 2011 at 3:20 pm

• I remember when I was about 6yrs old my brother and my cousin built a igloo and told me to go in and see if it was warm so I did and they both smashed me in it..ahh memories;)

  —By trurosita on December 1, 2011 at 3:21 pm

• Goin to our Grandfathers house Christmas Eve, I got my first set of play dishes.Today I still have a few pieces 50 years later.

  —By Barbara on December 1, 2011 at 3:23 pm

• My first clear Christmas memory is of my brother and I trying to slyly open the edges of each present under the tree… of course it was obvious what we had done and our parents were furious – but our sisters begged to know what they got. So much fun.

  —By Twozdai on December 1, 2011 at 3:34 pm

• I remember being 3 or 4 and watching my family play some sort of White Elephant christmas exchange, and being totally bewildered.

  —By Jordan on December 1, 2011 at 3:35 pm

• My first holiday memory is being 4 years old and celebrating Christmas with my family in Paris. The streets were lit up, and it was so beautiful.

  —By Linda on December 1, 2011 at 3:38 pm

• I was 5 years old.
  I got a pair of superman under roos from santa. We had alot of family over, and they made me model my NEW UNDER ROOS. Funny now that I look back, but not so funny then.I was super(man)embarrassed! I still have a picture of me in those underwear.LOL.Merry Christmas.

  —By howlazy31 on December 1, 2011 at 3:47 pm

• Going to see Santa and being terrified of his laugh!

  —By Gwynne on December 1, 2011 at 3:54 pm

• I remember coming down the stairs in my favorite flannel nightgown with my brothers and peeking over the bannister to see if Santa had come. We wouldn’t go downstairs, so we ran in to my parents room to let them know Santa came! I was about 5. Such fun! Now I get to do it with my 4 kids!

  —By Casey D on December 1, 2011 at 3:56 pm

• Trying to peek down through the floor register from the upstairs to the room below where the Christmas tree was. We were never successful, but never gave up trying!

  —By AV on December 1, 2011 at 4:02 pm

• Probably my brother and sister trying to get me up and out of bed christmas morning so they could open pressies!

  —By Sadie clifford on December 1, 2011 at 4:09 pm

• My earliest holiday memory is getting an AWESOME robot, age 2!

  —By Jen G on December 1, 2011 at 4:10 pm

• My first holiday memory that stands out to me was when my parents, my older sister and I went to visit my Grandma who lived in New Mexico at the time. The light shows in Albuquerque were spectacular! Still to this day, I have never seen another light show as beautiful!

  —By Amanda Owens on December 1, 2011 at 4:18 pm

• My earliest Christmas memory is of putting out cookies and milk for Santa!

  —By daniellez on December 1, 2011 at 4:18 pm

• My earliest memories are from when I was a little girl, I was snooping in my mother’s closet before Christmas looking for gifts… and she came home and caught me! Yikes!

  —By eeebailey on December 1, 2011 at 4:22 pm

• my fond memory of christmas was when I was 8 yrs old, i was living with my grandma. we had decorated xmas tree and outside her porch it was decorated with lighted Lanterns in Star shape in different colors. the night before christmas, my grandma would wake me up to go with her to attend a midnight service. after church, we ate our midnight dinner with hot noodle soup, homemade baked ham glazed with brown sugar, and different kinds of rice cake. my grandmas house felt like i am living in the north pole with all the goodies, beautiful lights and hot cocoa.

  —By cecy on December 1, 2011 at 4:27 pm

• I remember not being able to sleep and thinking I heard sleigh bells on the roof. I was probably three at that time.

  —By Debbie C on December 1, 2011 at 4:37 pm

• I was about 4 or 5 and remember getting a little pillow in the shape of a bear that my great aunt sewed herself she has sinced passed away and still got that bear 25 yrs later

  —By MJ99 on December 1, 2011 at 4:38 pm

• Having Santa fix my broken watch. I went to bed and my watch was broken, and when I got up the next morning, Santa had magically fixed it!

  —By Esther C on December 1, 2011 at 4:50 pm

• My first holiday memory is my brothers getting cowboy gear and me getting an ironing board. We were all very happy!!!

  —By Cappy on December 1, 2011 at 4:52 pm

• One Christmas Eve, my brother, sister, and I were TOO EXCITED to go to bed. That is, until my Grandmother looked out the window and saw Santa’s sleigh. We ran over to the window and *amazingly* saw it too! Since Santa would only visit after we went to sleep, we all hoped straight into our beds!

  —By Cristina on December 1, 2011 at 4:55 pm

• I remember when I was 3 getting my first cabbage patch doll for Christmas and taking him everywhere. He was my best friend and always smelled like baby powder.

  —By mhood on December 1, 2011 at 5:27 pm

• My first holiday memory was when i was roughly 5ish. The entire family was at my grandma’s house like every Christmas. We were sitting around the living room playing with toys when all of a sudden the neighbors dog comes busting through the door. … Needless to say it was an adventurous and memorable Christmas that year

  —By a_hershberger on December 1, 2011 at 5:37 pm

• My first holiday memory is driving around looking at lights in my parent’s 1978 yellow Ford wagon. I used to light and fantasied about living in those lighted houses.

  —By lbkaliher on December 1, 2011 at 5:38 pm

• I remember being feverish and suffering from a bad cold that winter night of 1980. I was barely 6 years old and convinced that Santa existed. As if through a dream, I saw my bedroom door open so that someone dressed in a red robe could enter and place something under my little Christmas tree. I was certainly very excited, but since I did not feel well I went back to sleep. The next morning I found a cute gift under the tree. Next to it there was my godmother’s well-known handkerchief, which she had accidentally lost during her previous evening’s Santa adventure.

  —By Catalina K on December 1, 2011 at 5:39 pm

• I remember me and my brother hanging our christmas socks so that Santa can fill them with goodies! We couldn’t sleep because we really wanted to see Santa in the middle of the night!

  —By iceserraon on December 1, 2011 at 5:47 pm

• Cutting hearts out of red construction paper for Valentines Day.

  —By Giff on December 1, 2011 at 6:08 pm

• My first holiday memory was opening a large gift from my aunt. It was a 3 foot tall doll she had sewed. Her 3 year old daughter had watched her sew it, and had assumed it was being made for her. When she saw me receive it as a gift she freaked out and tried to grab it away from me. Holiday royal rumble!!

  —By melissa k on December 1, 2011 at 6:43 pm

• I remember chasing my cat under my parent bed, where I found our gifts from Santa. This made me question if he was real.

  —By greg on December 1, 2011 at 6:53 pm

• My best and earliest memory was when my friend in Kindergarten told me about Santa. I was so relieved. I was always so scared of a stranger coming into my house. Even if he was bringing presents, I was still worried. My Mom was also relieved too! She was ready for me to know about Santa.

  —By Judy on December 1, 2011 at 7:07 pm

• Waking up and coming into the living room. My Mom had bought my sister a typewriter that you had to turn the dial to type each character. She was writing my sister a letter from Santa. I was probably about 4 years old. She scooted me back to bed.

  —By PAULA Nelson on December 1, 2011 at 7:12 pm

• My first memory…is sleeping with my older brother..ta talking to him about how santa sneaks into house. And how I made a trap to catch him by putting Stratego game pieces over the floor.

  —By esigler on December 1, 2011 at 7:14 pm

• One of my favorite holiday memories is a bit bittersweet. We had to put our dog down two days before Christmas and a day before we were driving to visit my family for the holidays. My husband and I left, without our dog, for central Kentucky. We were sad, but we were surprising my mother for Christmas. Little did we know, we would be stuck in a huge snow and ice storm. Through different cities in the midwest, we crawled in our little car facing ice and snow. My husband drove, white knuckled, while I searched on kayak.com for a place to stop. After driving 30 mph for several hours, passing cars in the ditch, we stopped for the exit for Santa Claus, Indiana. No joke. We ended up staying in Dale, right near Santa Claus, on Christmas Eve. We stayed on the timeline – central and eastern time – celebrating a safe arrival to our second Christmas eve as a married couple.

  —By Jara on December 1, 2011 at 7:24 pm

• i remember waking uo in the middle of the night and hearing mom crying. we were very poor and our Sunday school teacher had mom to send our sizes to her mission so we could have Christmas. But the package had not arrived and the next day was Christmas eve and there would not be any mail. Mom went to see her brother who knew the postmaster and he went and asked him to check and see if mom had a package and she did. I never did see mom any happier than on that Christmas morn, I was 4-5 years old.

  —By mug on December 1, 2011 at 7:32 pm

• The first holiday memory I have it from when I was 4 or 5. My little sister and I decided to sleep in the same room so that we could wake up and open gifts together. At 5 AM she started jumping up and down on the bed yelling about Christmas presents. From then on, we had a rule in the house that no one could wake anyone else up until after 7.

  —By MichelleM on December 1, 2011 at 7:47 pm

• My first Holiday memory is going to Midnight Mass with my family and not understanding why I couldn’t play with my doll! Then going home and getting to pick one gift from our stocking

  —By BeckyF on December 1, 2011 at 7:49 pm

• I remember being about 5 and getting a barbie case full of cool barbie clothes that included wigs and shoes and purses. My sister and I dressed barbie and played for hours with this awesome gift. =)

  —By kkatt on December 1, 2011 at 7:49 pm

• I don’t even remember what I got, I just remember being dazzled by the tree the lights, the colorful pile of presents – just magical!

  —By Rmcgrudiva on December 1, 2011 at 8:01 pm

• One holiday memory I have is the year my mom warned us we’d get coal and we woke up Christms morning to a single box, for three of us. We were all dressed up and pretty and opened the box to find a leg box…full of coal…we cried our eyes out and there’s pictures to prove it. She later brought out the real gifts. But we learned our lesson

  —By Heather Zeh on December 1, 2011 at 8:02 pm

• My first holiday memory is making cinnamon rolls with my grandmother. She only made them on Christmas Eve and she made batches upon batches.I was around 4/5 and remember how much care she took into making them for family, friends & neighbors. every year after that I was allowed to help her make them. That was far too long ago and she passed years ago but I continue the tradition of only making cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve with my daughter. I hope she will continue this tradition when she is older and has her own family too.

  —By Leslie W on December 1, 2011 at 8:16 pm

• One of my first and favorite holiday memories is getting to be with my Mom on Christmas. Not sure exactly how old I was but I only got to see my Mom every other weekend and rarely on holidays. On the rare occasions I was there we I would get to stay up with her snuggling in her bed and watch TV. Then we got up and spent every moment of the day together. It was awesome. She passed away in 2004 at the age of 51 so I treasure every moment like that I had with her.

  —By Stacie D on December 1, 2011 at 8:17 pm

• My first holiday memory is going shopping for a Christmas tree, decorating it and putting all the gifts under it.

  —By Howell on December 1, 2011 at 8:20 pm

• My first Christmas memory is the Christmas I wore my Fievel pj’s and woke up to a play kitchen from Santa!

  —By Suzanne on December 1, 2011 at 8:23 pm

• I got caught peeking in a shopping bag in the trunk of my mom’s car. It was a keyboard and my mom told me she was taking it back. I cried and cried! But she TOLD me to get something out of the trunk! Why would you ask your kid to look in there if you knew there were presents in there?! Who does that?!

  Obviously, I’ve completely gotten over the incident.

  Oh, and I DID get the keyboard. My mom’s supernice. I knew she wouldn’t take it back.

  —By Kerrie T. on December 1, 2011 at 8:35 pm

• My first holiday memory is of making christmas cookies with my mother and grandmother. Its something we still do each holiday season.

  —By Tricia on December 1, 2011 at 8:36 pm

• One of my first holiday memories is seeing the darkened living room with a Cabbage Patch kid sitting in a little wooden desk and other presents under the tree. I even remember lots of hammering sounds in my parents room the night before — that explains how the desk got put together. It’s been oh, 25-30 years since then, but i still have that Cabbage Patch doll! runner_girl5k at yahoo dot com

  —By ~K~ on December 1, 2011 at 8:36 pm

• Getting my first record player when I was 4. It was a Mickey Mouse record player and it came with a goofy record.

  —By runnerryan on December 1, 2011 at 8:56 pm

• I remember my mother taking us to the woods off a lonely road & cutting down a tree for Christmas. We were so very poor & could not buy one!

  —By caffeineT on December 1, 2011 at 9:01 pm

• Best memory was the year Santa brought my favorite baby doll.

  —By Sheryl E on December 1, 2011 at 9:09 pm

• We woke up Christmas morning and I knew we did not have many presents. A little disappointed but keeping my spirits up I came to the living room with my mom and, sure enough, only a few packages under the tree. We waited for everyone to wake up and my mom opened the door for the newspaper AND on our porch was the most amazing box of presents! There was even a box of food with lots of good stuff to eat. My mom sat right there and cried. We knew there was a Santa that morning!

  —By tam on December 1, 2011 at 9:13 pm

• i remember we had an attic, we were always told it was santa’s workshop, so every year we would lay awake listening to hear those ols creeky stair pull down and stay awake listening to here what we thought was santa bringing our presents down most of the night and putting them around the tree. we would tire and fall asleep and then the next morning all our presents were under the tree.

  —By sally on December 1, 2011 at 9:19 pm

• I love Doc Martens… I wore those so much in HS and College!

  I don’t know if this is my first holiday memory, but it’s definitely my most vivid. I desperately wanted a Cabbage Patch Doll. I knew the shape of the box exactly, so when I went downstairs Christmas morning and saw the box wrapped up, I squealed in delight. When I finally got to open it, I tore through the wrapping paper to find the box… with an orange inside.

  During the night my uncles had carefully unwrapped the box, removed the doll and replaced it with the orange. They thought it was a hilarious prank, I don’t think they realized that to a little girl this was really devastating! I burst into tears at how mean Santa was to trick me!

  —By Jill Will Run on December 1, 2011 at 9:21 pm

• My 1st Holiday memory is of Christmas. My dad was in the Air Force and we were away from all family when we were awaken by loud gunshots! My older sisterand I ran down the stairs hearing shouts from our dad and mom yelling at dad to stop. Well, we got down to the living room and there is dad hold his shot gun and yelling about how the fat fella in that dirty red suit has no business being in his house! Well, of course we found out later that dad was a fake Bah Hum Bug dad and that though relatively poor, this was the 1st of his many ways to give us some kind of surprise each Christmas that would keep us from wondering why we didn’t get much from Santa when we were so sure we had been really good that year.

  —By Granny D on December 1, 2011 at 9:22 pm

• My first Holiday Memory: I was four years old and my grandparents came to visit! It was wonderful! Grandpa made chairs with boxes under them for our books. Mine was tiny because It was my size. I loved having them here! We did christmas plays for them at home

  —By Diana on December 1, 2011 at 9:26 pm

• Finding a huge box in the basement and putting my hand through a hole in the side. I felt something metalic and something rubber and realized I would be getting a bike. Total joy!!

  —By franperry4 on December 1, 2011 at 9:34 pm

• at granparents house, with all the cousins, matching nightgowns and a real tree

  —By sandy on December 1, 2011 at 9:43 pm

• My first holiday memory was when I was about 5 years old and we’d just bought our first house. The little apartment where we lives was small and didn’t have enough room for a christmas tree. My dad came home one day with this fake Christmas tree, lights, and ornaments. I was so happy to finally have a christmas tree to decorate and put presents under. Dad and I spent the whole day decorating the tree and the house.

  —By Sandra on December 1, 2011 at 9:45 pm

• I remember when I was 3 or 4, we had asked for this puppet spider thing that looked like a glove on top, but your fingers went into the legs of the fuzzy spider. We were soo excited to get it. We usually just got socks or thermal underwear(Colorado gets cold)so it was a real treat. we actually were camping that year @ the hot springs for Xmas, so it was really fun.

  —By ladytiedye on December 1, 2011 at 9:49 pm

• Xmas morning at my Grandparents house playing with the Lionel train set and getting to enjoy the family and festivity.

  —By mybimmer on December 1, 2011 at 10:04 pm

• My first memory is actually ‘talking’ to Santa on the phone, my brother said Santa was on the phone and I was so excited!

  —By PNWMOM on December 1, 2011 at 10:14 pm

• When I was 6 and Santa came by with presents. I always wondered why my daddy wasn’t there!

  —By Kat on December 1, 2011 at 10:54 pm

• Going to family friends house on Christmas Eve since I was old enough to walk every year. We’d come home late at night and our stockings would be full and we’d open them before bed. Not that we could sleep anyway…

  —By travuw on December 1, 2011 at 11:13 pm

• My first Holiday Memory: was waking up and finding a cabbage pail doll in my bed from Santa, I was 7 yrs old.

  —By jeweles on December 2, 2011 at 12:47 am

• My first holiday memory is of sitting at the sliding glass door looking into the back yard waiting for santa clause ( I was probably about 7). My step dad thought it would be funny to try to scare us kids, so he came running into the back yard as fast as he could, screaming and acting retarded…. but he forgot about the clothesline. Looks like we got the last laugh…

  —By andrea on December 2, 2011 at 2:05 am

• I remember coming out of my room on Christmas morning when I was maybe 4 or 5 and I saw the plate of cookies I left for Santa just had a few crumbs on it, his milk glass was empty and the carrots I left for his reindeer were gone too. I found presents labeled “From Santa” and started crying I was so upset…it was in my mom’s handwriting!

  —By Melissa on December 2, 2011 at 7:14 am

• I was 4. I got my first Alphie toy. It was a learning toy…like a computer. but it was my best friend when I was little. it went with me every where I went. That Christmas I stayed at my Great Grandmothers. I can picture it like it was yesterday.

  —By Ginuzza78 on December 2, 2011 at 7:15 am

• I was about 6. Santa would leave our filled stockings at the end of our beds. I woke up in the middle of the night that Christmas Eve and felt the stocking at my feet. In the dark I started to feel through my loot. I was convinced it was filled with coal. I stayed up the rest of that night imagining how the toys in my stocking were really implements to use coal. Like the doll house swing, which I thought had to be a charcoal holder! Imagine my relief when the sun finally rose and I found NO coal in my stocking!

  —By LynnMcG on December 2, 2011 at 7:16 am

• My first holiday memory is when my friend told me Santa didn’t really exist.

  —By kim on December 2, 2011 at 7:24 am

• My holiday memory is when my stepdad said he had to walk 20 miles barefooted in the snow to get to school ,Ouch!

  —By bromleylisa27 on December 2, 2011 at 5:19 pm

• All the decorations and christmas lights

  —By disciple36 on December 12, 2011 at 3:14 pm

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