25GoC: Sarah Quigley + Fun Contest

Memorable Christmases
By: Sarah B. Quigley

1976: I crawled up to the tree and attempted to snack on the needles.

1979: The Tina the Ballerina Barbie Doll (complete with crown embedded into her skull) appeared under the Christmas tree, as did a Cookie Monster comforter. This is the first Christmas I have any real memory of.

1982: I saw E.T. in theaters seven times that year. I also experienced my first musical obsession in the form of Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. Imagine my delight when Santa gave me an album in which the Gloved One sings about E.T. and narrates the film.

1986: My family and I drove thirty miles to a church that had a live, outdoor nativity, complete with sheep and goats. Sounds like a great idea, right? Not when you live in Minnesota and it’s -12 degrees outside. A doll was used for baby Jesus since no parent in his or her right mind would subject an infant to such insane weather. We watched it from our car.

1989: I received a pair of Guess? jeans and was officially cool. Not. See http://sarahquigley.com/blog/?p=828 for more details.

1993: To my great surprise, I began dating the super-hot Norwegian exchange student my senior year. We said “I love you” for the first time on Christmas Day.

1995: Now a college sophomore, I’d long ago kissed Mr. Norway and another boyfriend good-bye. However, the latter dude phoned me on Christmas to say hi, and we got back together when the new semester started. It didn’t end up working out the second time around, either, but I’ll never forget the excitement and promise of that phone call.

1999: Not a fun one. I spent it at my grandma’s. One of my relatives was going through a personal crisis, and we were all a little nervous about Y2K. Oh, and I was engaged and spending the holiday apart from my man. Snow, sadness, and solitude.

2000: Now a married lady, I celebrated with my in-laws, an open-your-presents-Christmas-Eve type of family. Christmas morning was eerily odd, with everyone just eating cereal and reading the paper as if it were any other morning.

2007: My husband and I always traveled to see our families for the holidays, but I was eight months pregnant this year. For the first time, we got our own Christmas tree. We didn’t have any ornaments, so we threw an ornament-making party and invited all our friends. Best. Party. Ever.

2008: It was my daughter’s first Christmas, our first Christmas as a new little family. I cooked all kinds of special food, and we went out for a windy walk in the afternoon.

2009: My first Christmas as a published author!

Who knows what the coming years will bring…
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Thanks for sharing Sarah! I hope this year is just as lovely. 

Sarah has very graciously contributed one of her famous, self-designed, hand-crocheted nosewarmers!

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Wishing you many blessings this Christmas,

Jill