Opening the Christmas Memory Box

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Winter-like temperatures finally reached Texas this weekend, and we're currently hovering in the 30s. The cold turns my mind towards the Christmas holidays and fond memories of when our kids, Anne and James, were young. 

How excited they were...giddy with anticipation of the holidays. As parents, Jim and I loved introducing the kids to various traditions that we grew up with, as well as all the beautiful symbols and signs of the holidays that surrounded us everywhere we went. What a fun and wonderful time to be a parent and to be able to share the loveliness of the season with them!

I have so many wonderful memories of the kids and the holidays. Here's a few that I cherish.

Annie, about 1995.

At the time of my first memory, we were living in Winona, Minnesota, in a little house on East 7th Street. It was about 1995. When Jim and I were first married, my mother gifted us with a Nativity set that we faithfully put up at the holidays. The set found its place on one of our living room cabinets, just about shoulder height. That was also the year when our daughter Anne (we called her Annie then!), then about a year and a half old, and just about old enough to begin to learn about the Holy Family. So, at bedtime each night before Christmas, I would carry her in my arms to the Nativity, where we would "Say goodnight to Baby Jesus." Of course, Annie was talking then, but I'll never forget her childlike pronunciation of the words—which I can't reproduce in writing! "Goodnight, Baby Jesus," she would say, with her big blue eyes shining. And then off to bed for a story and sleep. It was a moment that felt holy, tucked up in our little home with the snow outside, and the glow of the Christmas tree surrounding us inside.

 

James, about 2001.

For my second memory, we come forward in time to the early 2000s. Our family had grown to include our son James and we were living in Corinth, Texas. James was a big fan of the holiday lights that brightened our neighborhood and those around us each holiday. As the weeks before Christmas went on, more and more displays would emerge until the whole neighborhood was a brightly lit wonderland. This particular holiday, we were also blessed with a bit of snowfall, unusual in our north Texas location. One cold but calm evening, I suggested to James that we take a walk around the neighborhood to look at the holiday lights. We donned our winter gear, bundling up with hats and scarves, and mittens. And off we went.

Now James was also a very inquisitive little boy, who always wanted to know how everything worked. He would study things intently, trying to figure them out. So it was no surprise, but delightful all the same, to hear him say as we passed each display on the street, "Let me take a closer look." And he would toddle over the lawn through the snow to the display, looking it up and down, his little mind working. Then he would toddle back to me and slip his mittened hand into mine to continue down the street to the next display, until finally we were chilled and headed home. I will always treasure the feeling of his small hand in mine on that peaceful, snowy night, as I guided him through the neighborhood as we shared the twinkling and glowing lights. 

These are some of the memories which make the holidays joyful. Our family has been blessed to share so many good times together over the years. Each memory is like a treasured ornament which gets carefully taken out of the Christmas box, to be savored one more time.

What about you, reader? Do you have special memories of little ones at the holidays?  Feel free to share your story in the comments. I'd love to hear them.

Until next time...

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2025. All rights reserved.