Tis the Season! Please share your favorite memories of your loved ones, either deceased or still living. Holiday related or not.

Polar,

I will never forget that scream when my mom discovered Oscar in her shoe.

We laughed about it many years later but at the time she didn’t think it was funny!

I got my girls hamsters when they were younger and they had those plastic balls that the hamsters could run around the floor in.

My husband teased me, saying that whoever invented that ball must have been a crazy kid like me who wanted to see their hamster running around the house and being free!

Needhelp, that hamster story is too funny.

I have a funny story about my mom with my hamsters.

My mom loved dogs and cats. She wasn’t thrilled when my friend asked me if I wanted one of her hamster’s babies.

Still, she agreed to let me have one. Daddy went to the pet store to buy a cage, a spinning wheel and hamster food.

I came home from my friend’s house with three hamsters! I didn’t want to separate them from being with their siblings. 🤣

I suppose I was a goofy kid at times. I was about 12 years old when this happened.

I got tired of watching my hamsters spinning around on the wheel and thought it might be fun for them to get out of their cage for awhile. I took some of my kite string to make a little leash for one of my hamsters.

Obviously this wasn’t a good idea! My hamster got out of the little noose that I made for his neck and I lost him.

My mother freaked out and said that she wouldn’t be able to sleep that night with a rat running around the house! I told her that it wasn’t a rat, and that it was only a tiny hamster.

She said that I better find Oscar before nighttime so she could sleep. I looked everywhere and didn’t see him.

The next morning she got up and took her shoes out of her closet to put on. I heard her screaming. Yep, Oscar was inside of her shoe! She called for me to come and get Oscar and put him back in his cage where he belonged.

I was glad that she hadn’t crushed poor Oscar while putting on her shoe. I think he was glad to be back in his cage after she screamed!

Oh, MJ

I love those memories. So sweet.

Yes, favorite foods always bring back fond memories.

Your grandfather was awesome! He was indeed a kind and generous person.

I can tell you a funny story about us getting money from our grandpa.

When we were young we always went to grandma and grandpa’s house for holiday and Sunday dinners.

Grandpa would reach in his pocket to give each of us a quarter. Back then we could buy something with a quarter!

Anyway, on the ride home we heard mom tell daddy to stop at the store to buy ‘sanitary napkins.’ My youngest brother and I were so curious and said, “Mom, what are sanitary napkins?” She was speechless! LOL

She told us it was something for ‘ladies’ which only confused us more! Then she said, “Don’t ask me anymore questions about it!”

We wanted to go inside the store to spend our quarter that we got from grandpa. She told us that she would take us back the next day. I guess she didn’t want us to see the mysterious package of ‘sanitary napkins.’

My oldest brother was upset about not being able to go inside the store to buy something so he threw his quarter out of the car window.

My mother asked him why he threw his quarter away. He said, “Well if I can’t spend it. what good is it?”

The next day we all drove to the store to spend our quarters. My brother was complaining that he didn’t have a quarter. Mom said. “I know you don’t. Remember, you decided to throw yours away. Your sister and brothers kept their money to spend today.”

She didn’t give him another quarter. She wanted to teach him not to throw his money away.

It’s funny how there are some incidents from our childhood that we never forget!

My mother always made potato soup for Christmas Eve, and we'd have that, bread, and a salad for dinner. Somehow that tradition is more of an intimate family memory for me than Christmas morning with presents and the fancier dinners.

I also remember getting together with my grandparents, aunt uncle, and cousins the weekend before Christmas, and after all the gifts were opened my grandfather -- a retired bank manager -- would get up and pull out a bunch of envelopes from his pocket. He'd give a new, uncirculated $20 bill to everyone in the room, including my uncle's mother, who was older than he was, and any extra cousins from my uncle's side of the family or guests who might be there. He ALWAYS had enough for everyone. So generous and kind...

If we compiled all of our memories together we could write a terrific book with sweet and funny stories or have a hilarious sitcom!

I have always had a secret desire to become a standup comedian. I have loads of material! LOL 😆

I often think about the standup comedians that were discovered and ended up with their own television shows! They became filthy rich. Look at Seinfeld! I saw him many years ago at the Sanger Theater here in New Orleans. It was a great show!

ITRR,

My dad started smoking in WW11. A lot of soldiers did during the war. Mom said that people would often send cartons of cigarettes to them.

Mom didn’t smoke and asked daddy to stop when my oldest brother was a baby.

Well, my brother wanted to be ‘cool’ like his friends and he started smoking. He was around 13 or 14 years old at the time.

Daddy saw my brother smoking in the backyard and started walking towards him. My crazy brother threw the lit cigarette underneath our house! Daddy sprayed the hose on it to put it out.

Daddy got so mad and asked him if he was trying to burn our house down! My brother smoked until he died. I think if he would have been allowed to smoke in hospice he would have. My other two brothers quit when they had their heart attacks.

Graygrammie, your memories brought back the memory of teaching my young nieces how awful drinking and smoking are.

I decided to let them light up with a cheap beer. Oh, that back fired, the oldest found it disgusting but, her younger sister thought it was great. Then I had to tell her she could do whatever she could afford. I knew I would be in hot water if I didn't find a way to discourage her. That tactic worked.

Fortunately, both of them are responsible drinkers and don't smoke.

GrayGrammie,

You sure made me giggle!

Daughter,

Now that is hysterically funny 😁!

I love hearing these inside jokes. Too cute!

Grammie,

That’s funny!

I also have such fun memories of my mother. Most would remember her as a quiet person, but she said things to me I’m sure she wouldn’t have said to anyone. Those comments still give me a smile.
As a child I prayed hard for a pool, and I told her one day that the Bible said if you pray believing God will give you the desires of your heart. My Sunday School teaching mother said “go ahead and pray all you want, it’s not happening. If we had a pool, I’d have to put up with every kid in the neighborhood and God knows I can’t” Whenever I’d try to argue with what she had out for me to wear to church she’d say “the Bible says ‘come before the Lord in your very best” One day I looked and found the Bible never says that and I happily told mom. She immediately replied “well, that’s what He meant” I wore what I was told!
When I was a teen she randomly looked at me one day and said “honey, there’s just nothing uglier than a naked man”
Once we were at a bridal shower for a young lady who was marrying a college football linebacker, my mom leaned over and whispered to me “I wouldn’t want him on top of me every night”

Two memories that make me laugh are both alcohol-related.

Nanny always made two bowls of eggnog, the adult bowl and the kid bowl. I took from the adult bowl once and apparently my reaction was fodder for stories for years to come. Never did develop a taste for adult eggnog.

My Grandma used to put something in her Coke (I was too young to know what it was, just that it was booze and booze made you drunk). I spent the night with her often. One day, when she was out of the room, I switched my empty coke glass for her coke glass. When she came back in and exclaimed, "What happened to my coke?" I slurred to her something along the lines of, "Grandma, mine was empty so I drank yours." And then I put on quite the act. I remember Grandma going into a panic and the one thing she kept saying was, "What am I going to do? Your father will be here to pick you up in just a little while." Oh she was so upset! I let it going on for a few minutes before finally producing her full glass and telling her I was just teasing. I thought it was funny, but I'm not Grandma ever saw the humor in it.

ITRR,

That was mean, (not really) but so funny 🤣!

Those cars were tanks! They were huge! One of my friends mom’s had one. It felt giant to me when I was a kid.

The funny thing is that my friend was an only child and they had that big a** car! LOL

We had a bunch of us in our family but my dad couldn’t afford a car like that.

One of the few happy memories I have of my mom is actually me and my best friend being brats.

My mom had a Lincoln town car, the boat sized ones and we were driving through town and this totally gorgeous guy was in his truck next to us. So I holler, oh baby! Then me and my girlfriend dropped down.

There sits my mom and this guy is looking at her thinking she was coming on to him.

She didn't think it was funny but, I still laugh remembering this gorgeous guy getting "hit on" by someone old enough to be his mom.

Oh and feeding my brothers the mud pies I made.

Gershun, I love your mom.

Laughter doeth good like a medicine. Lots to laugh at in this life, especially if we don't take ourselves to seriously.

Gershun,

That is absolutely precious! I would have loved your mom!

She was very witty!

I have so many good memories of my dear mom. I could post one every

One thing I loved about my mom was her sense of humor. She cracked me up.

For instance: One day she and I went to Denny's for lunch. We always sat in a booth facing the door cause my mom loved to people watch. These two men walked in. They looked pretty rough. Like that old horror movie "The Hills have Eyes" My mom turns to me looking all serious and says "Which one do you want?"

Good old mom. :)

Cxmoody,

My mom made delicious baked goods, but not cookies. Cookies and Christmas do seem to go together!

I love seeing the decorations on Christmas cookies!

The only cookies my mom made were the slice and bake ones.

I have made sugar cookies with my daughters and nieces. My husband makes killer oatmeal raisin cookies. I love a classic chocolate chip cookie! I do love a good shortbread cookie too! My grandfather’s favorite cookie was gingerbread. My mom and grandma loved lemon cookies.

Gluten free aren’t quite the same. You’re right! Some recipes are pretty good though. I tried a gluten free coconut macaroon once that was fabulous!

I love coconut but I know that some people don’t like it at all. I think it is a texture issue for them.

My mother made tons of different Christmas cookies. 🤶

I have to be gluten-free now, so my versions don’t taste exactly the same. But, my memories of Mom’s cookies are so strong, that I can almost conjure up the taste of them!🌲

Sounds sweet.

Yes! My great aunt and uncle always had a Christmas party every year!

Presents 🎁! Most fun part for kids.

Well, Christmas stockings are awesome too.

My kids always headed straight for their stockings first, then gifts from Santa.

Mother and and Dad and their big Christmas Eve party every year. First to the community Christmas pageant, and then gathering all the relatives at their house. Lots of presents for everyone, and great memories.