Christmas Decorations Make Memories

Growing up, one of the Christmas season's traditions for my family was driving through our local park to see the lighted holiday displays. Then we'd drive around in the surrounding residential areas to see who had outdone everyone else. My mother enjoyed decorating our house for the holidays as this was her favorite time of the year. Every year, the decorations and displays got bigger and better. As a child, I loved seeing large Christmas decorations.

My family moved to Michigan over 30 years ago (from the East Coast). We learned that there was a huge "all year round" Christmas store about 30 miles away in Frankenmuth, MI. They are open 361 days a year and are a worldwide tourist attraction. They carry every imaginable ornament and decoration. My husband and I would take our 2 daughters up there at least once a year because the store kept growing and growing. It was especially fun to go in the summer when the temperatures were high. Large Christmas decorations were every where. Trains ran on tracks close to the ceiling, dolls were swinging on swings, animated animals and characters were moving about and some were singing. I thought we had seen everything in the way of holiday decorations.

Christmas Is Just Around The Corner

It's hard to believe that Christmas is not far away. Children are starting to return to school, summer flowers are fading and the weeds continue to show me who's boss. Halloween decorations are beginning to pop up in stores and there are fabulous end-of-summer sales.

My 2 daughters are grown now with children of their own and my husband passed away several years ago but we had lots of holiday traditions when the girls were growing up. Decorating the inside and outside (always trying to beat the snow and really cold weather) of the house and buying the perfect Christmas tree. The girls especially liked putting up the nativity scene. It was always carefully wrapped and stored at the end of the previous holiday season and part of the fun before unwrapping each figurine was trying to figure out who or what each one was through the paper.

About 2-3 weeks before Christma, we would decorate the inside of the house. From a young age, my daughters did the nativity scene display. Each of the girls had their favorite people and animals that they liked to put into the scene so we ended up having 2 nativity sets. That way each girl could design theirs the way they wanted.

A week before Christmas , my husband and daughters would hunt for the perfect tree. They would go to tree farms and spend several hours looking for the ideal tree. Bad weather was never a deterrent for this hardy group.

The tradition of the nativity is now being carried out by my grandchildren who have the original sets my girls so lovingly set up year after year.