Christmas Past

It's been such a weird season up here on the  mountain top so far.....we have no snow. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Nil. 

What the heck? Where's my white Christmas?

Our local ski resort hasn't even opened yet. They can't even blow snow on a consistent basis - it's just too warm. 

How on earth am I supposed to remember that it is the Christmas season?

I think back to my childhood - it was so easy then, wasn't it? The first little twinkly light that you saw in any department store window and BOOM it was the holiday season! It was all you could think about until the big day!

I read Deb's article at Frugal Little Bungalow this morning and she brought so many childhood memories to my mind....if you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do. What a lovely trip down memory lane!

Deb reminded me of the Sears Wish Book - do you remember that catalogue? It was huge with glossy pictures of everything under the sun....and pages and pages of toys and more toys! We used to fight over the catalogue - "it's my turn, give it to me, you've had it all day!!" We'd sit on the sofa and pore over those pages for hours on end, composing a very detailed letter to Santa, letting him know on exactly which page he could find all the items on our list. 

Santa was always good to us. We were blessed. 

I remember the lights in the windows in our Queens neighborhood - the big, colorful glass bulbs. The lights had to be untangled and bulbs replaced every year. I loved those strings of lights and still to this day when I see a house decorated with them it makes my heart sing. 

There's a house I pass on my way home from work that just decorated their front window with these vintage lights and a plastic light-up Santa. 

I want to go in and give the homeowner a big hug!

Christmas trees were bought from a corner lot in our New York City neighborhood and carried home through the streets. They were decorated with glass ornaments, colorful lights, and lots and lots of tinsel. 

Lots.  And then a little more. Tinsel was the bomb

I miss the tinsel!!

The best, though, were the bubble lights. They were put on the tree last and as children we used to sit and stare at them for hours - they were mesmerizing! 

Via

I bought a bubble light night light a number of years back but I don't know what happened to it. 

My parents had a tree topper that was a star with a stained glass cup with nativity scenes on it that spun around casting colors all over the room. We thought it was the most beautiful tree topper ever! 

My younger sister has all the family ornaments and the tree topper now. 

Via

Things were easy back then. Holidays were pure joy. 

We were kids, everything was innocent. 

I miss those simple holidays. 

I miss Christmas Past.