CHILDHOOD XMAS GIFTS

Today I'm taking a trip down memory lane to remember some of my favorite toys as a child.

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The first one I remember would be a Betsy Wetsy doll that I received probably when I was around 6 or 7 yr old. She also had a little pink plastic playpin and an additional set of clothes. I loved that doll and played with her a lot. Then one day, I decided to give her a haircut!!! Oops!!


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My most memorable doll was when I was about 8 or 9 yr old. Barbie was very popular then; and that's what I asked for at Xmas. But on Xmas morning, this is what I opened.

I was never disappointed that I got Tammy instead of Barbie. My mom explained that whereas Barbie was a teenager, Tammy was a preteen -- just like me! That first Xmas, I also got a set of Susy Goose furniture for Tammy - a canopy bed, wardrobe and hope chest for the foot of her bed. I also got one other change of clothes -- this one they called Pizza Party. My kids think this outfit is hideous (and I guess I'd have to agree with them). But you know, when I look at it, all I can see is the joy and hours of fun I had dreaming and acting out MY ideal preteen life with Tammy.

In our tiny bedroom, my sister and I had a large wooden wardrobe: my Mom wallpapered the floor and about 2' up the sides, and that became Tammy's bedroom.

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Then the next Xmas, Santa brought me 3 more outfits for Tammy -- School Daze, Cutie Coed and (my favorite) Cheerleader.

Also that Xmas, my Aunt gave me a wonderful pink plastic china cabinet (with little grey dishes). And later my older brother gave Tammy a sofa and chair (made of wrapping paper covered cigarette packages!!!). With various empty thread spools and other doodads, Tammy's home began to take shape.
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Tammy was only produced for a few years in the 60's. I played with her for years, but with a younger sister about 3 yr behind me --- and 2 brothers with GI Joe's and science kits -- MY Tammy never survived the decade. (I have, however, been able to replace my original doll as well as collecting a lot of Tammy clothes [much more than I ever owned] and the Susy Goose furniture via Ebay. She sits proudly on the top shelf of my bedroom hutch!)
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For a few Xmas's in a row, I would receive the same gifts -- another favorite! A transister radio -- whose batteries were usually dead by Dec 28th due to the nights of falling asleep with it under my pillow! Batteries were an expensive item to replace for young kids! And if it was left around idle for any length of time, it would inevidibly be taken apart and examined by my older, extremely inquisitive brother -- thus necessitating the need for a new one the following Xmas!

I'd also receive books at Xmas. Then there'd be many late nights in bed with a flashlight reading -- either these books....

OR these books ... (Robin was a preteen who lived in California and had her own horse! Dreamy sigh!!)

or Trixie Belden, Dana Girls, Bobsey Twins OR even these books given to my older brother....

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As I entered my teen years, Xmas was be full of cheap dusting powder (always appreciated by me and usually a gift from THAT brother!!). Or there'd be this much coveted perfume - Evening in Paris! Ooooo! How exotic that sounded! Too bad it didn't smell the same way (unless you think the docks or your local recycling centre smells exotic!!) Really! I believe it was pretty bad!!

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As far back as I can remember, my life has always revolved around music. So for all of my teen years, I'd have a tiny record player something like this one, which would get replaced the next Xmas as I wore out the previous one! I very fondly remember a lime green plastic one that I adored! There'd also be many Xmas's of K-Tel records (I still have them); and throughout the year, I'd save my baby-sitting money to buy 45's of The Beatles or The Guess Who or Gary Pucket & The Union Gap.
And these records would be kept in a little box like this. *

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What wonderful fun it's been to walk down memory lane with you.

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What were some of your favorite childhood Xmas gifts? I'd love to take the journey with you.

LUNCHING AT XMAS TIME...

This week, I've been staying late at work and rushing around town during the day doing office errands so I can get caught up before I take time off over Xmas. It's been very hectic! But I've been very careful to make sure I'm drinking plenty of water and that I have lots of apples and clementines and such around to snack on. And whenever I begin to complain about how tired I am or how my poor wrists ache, I think about the 2 blissful weeks ahead of me!!!! Ahhhhhh! What a lovely thought!

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I was driving back to work from the bank yesterday and I noticed something on the side of the road! So, keeping in mind the fact that I've lost 8 pounds over the past 2 months, I thought to myself:


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"Why wait until the 25th to wreck your healthy diet. Why not start today!"




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Screeeeechhhhh!

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(Sound of car veering off course and into DQ drive-through!)
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Yum, Yum!!

I had a Moolatte chaser!

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"BELCH"

(Pardon me!)

Holiday THRIFTY THURSDAY

From my local Frenchies store, 8 cute little napkin rings for $3.



This self-sealing covered jar for $1 --- for wee little cookies perhaps? (Rethink that one Sandy! They'd never get past your mouth long enough to sit in a jar!)

And this lovely teapot for $2 at the Sally Ann!

OLD WORLD SANTAS

I found these last month at The Daisy thrift shop on the Christmas table. They called to me ..... with a $10 price tag on the box ........ and I walked away. I looked at the shoes and blouses; and when I saw a volunteer bring out another box of Xmas trinkets, I went back to the table. They called to me again .............. but I was strong, and I walked away. At the end of my visit, when my total was being tallied, they called to me again! Persistent little beggers, aren't they!


"Can you give me a better price on these?" I asked sweetly with my best festive smile.


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"How about $8?" she responded.


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"Hmmmmm? No. Thank you anyway" I said to her. "Still a little too much for me!" (But I was now wearing my secret lethal-weapon face! The one that embarassed my children until they left home! Yes, it was the poor, little, single, low income mother duck-lipped, head-tilted frownie/poutie face.) Would it still work like it used to when I had 3 wee babies in tow?


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"Well, you can have it for $6!"
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SCORE AND SOLD!

You know what they say; and by golly, I've still got it!

(Sometimes I just can't remember where or what IT is!!)
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They are reproductions, made in the US in or around 1989; and they originally sold for $24.

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Ain't they cute!! (Sorry - bad picture!)

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Here are some of them on the tree; all but 1 of the 6 have the little rubber stopper which holds them on the mini light.

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And here are a few of their little faces all lit up.

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Eww! Wait! There's something about the thought of Santa being "lit" that doesn't sound right, does it! I know it happens in department stores across North America all the time. But it's wrong, people; just wrong! ..... Except in this case below.

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I realize that some of these Santas have faces that only Mrs Claus or a Mama could love!

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But this Mama loves them!

MY KIDDIES ARCH OF FAME

It started with our first child, Amy, when both my Mom and I bought identical "1987 Baby's 1st Christmas" ornaments. Then each year since then, I've continued to buy an ornament for each child. I tried at first to buy a certain series - Mary's Angels for Amy; Teddy bears for Molly; carousel horses for Libby. But either the series ran out or money was too tight to opt for the more expensive Hallmark ornament. Nevertheless, each year brought an ornament that in some way reflected the child.

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One of the drawbacks with a lot of these ornaments was the weight! And after 3 children and 16 years, I noticed that there was very little room on the tree for my growing collection of special ornaments. So, one way to solve those problems was to put the ornaments in a special place. A second tree wasn't a solution for us. But we happened to have some fake tree boughs and lots of doorways. Thence was born the children's arch! My Ex used to complain about the staple holes in the woodwork and/or plaster. I feel that a few holes are nothing compared to celebrating and highlighting the growth and passage of each of my babies.

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Here's this year's arch, one of the first things you see as you enter the house. Amy's ornaments run along the top, Molly's are down the right side, and Libby's down the left.

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Here are some of the ornaments beginning with, of course, our first little "angel", Amy. My Ex and I didn't have a lot of money; but we did take the girls on one very special summer vacation to Cape Breton. The ornaments with their names on them are from that trip.

Scattered among her special angel ornaments are others that show things like her love of shopping and the diva on the telephone!

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Molly was always the quiet, gentle little one. (At 19, she's now trying out her wings by not so much cutting the apron strings as ferociously wrenching them away from me! Not so gentle anymore! Still, she's learning to fly on her own.) But she's still soft and (sometimes) cuddly like a Teddy bear.

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And Libby was always the one who performed and made everyone laugh.

It's been more difficult to find a series of ornaments for her; so she has a mixture of little things. But a couple of years ago, I was fortunate enough to find these 2 "Libby's Travels" ornaments.

And this little mouse somehow made me think of her -- although she's neither quiet nor timid!

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I've mentioned a couple of times to the girls that they're getting too old now for me to keep collecting ornaments for them. But they wouldn't hear tell of that!

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Until they have homes of their own and/or request their ornaments, they hang at home as a wonderful reminder of my beautiful children.

When can I sleeppppppppppppppp......

Singing with South Shore Chorale all weekend. That means early practices, followed by rousing concerts which equal late nights. Then I have to try to get to sleep when I'm all wound up and my poor, arthritic knees ache from standing for so long. This morning I have to prepare a snack for the afternoon concert today. (And in between, I've still had to find time to do the laundry and eat!) Argh!! When can I sleep?

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Soon! It will all be over with this afternoon at 5 pm.

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Then I will be back in the land of the blogging! See you soon!

EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT HOW WE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS

There's a Christmas meme going around! I heard about it from http://stopnsmellthechocolates.blogspot.com/ . So, here goes!

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1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I like them both; but if we're talking Christmas (which is the only time egg nog is available), I'll pick egg nog with a couple of ice cubes, a little whipped cream, grated dark chocolate and a dash of nutmeg.

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2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? In this house, "Sandra" Claus has been doing the gifts for a lot of years. And yes, she wraps them or more likely puts them in gift bags (which get used over and over and over again each year). Also, the girls have colored coordinated gift wrapping so that it's easy for me to tell at a glance who should have which gift.

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3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White lights on the tree and colored lights outside. But I usually buy my lights from thrift stores; so that could all change!

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4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. I've no man to kiss me and the girls don't need mistletoe to lay one on me!

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5. When do you put your decorations up? Oh gosh! As soon as possible after Nov 11th! I love Christmas and like to enjoy it as long as possible. And they go up gradually (because I have so many).

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6. What is your favorite Christmas dish? The turkey -- the lovely dinner and the 4-5 days of turkey & cranberry sauce sandwiches! Love it!!

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7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Our Christmas day meals -- A late lunch roast turkey meal with my paternal grandparents who lived next door; then later that day, we'd go to my maternal grandparents and would have cold salads and ham.

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8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? When I was about 9 years old. My brother and I were in the basement playing (and in those days, it was just a big concrete space full of junk); I'd eaten something and wanted to throw away the wrapper? apple core? There were big paper grocery aka garbage bags in the corner; and when I went over to toss it in, the bag was full of toys!! My Mom was so angry with me because my little brother was only 5 years old! Not my fault Mom! (She learned to hide the gifts just slightly better after that.)

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9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? It was a tradition in my Ex's home, not in mine. So, we compromised and allowed the girls to open gifts from relatives on Christmas Eve; which left family gifts for Xmas morning. There are fewer gifts these days, so we've adapted that somewhat.

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10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? My tree is decorated (as I mentioned in an earlier post) with vintage & new ornaments as well as ornaments that hold special memories. And I have bead garlands, Victorian silver hook-shaped "tinsel" and glittery gold curly stems.

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11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I used to hate it! But now that I'm aging, I've opened myself up to enjoy it. And I will! It very pretty; and I enjoy getting out and shovelling (but my back doesn't). I dress really warmly and even go for walks in it (repeating these mantras ..... "Isn't the snow beautiful!" "Feel that lovely cold crisp air!" "The seasonal changes are a blessing!" "I'm exercising!!" "Hot chocolate later" "Thank you God for central heating")

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12. Can you ice skate? Yes, extremely poorly. I can barely stand up, I can move in a forward position, and I can stop if I skate up to something or someone and whomp! into it/them. It's part of the "Being a Canadian kid" rule book! Thou shalt learn to skate and do it at least once a year!

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13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I got lots of great things as a child that I remember. (I also loved my brothers' gifts - train and race car sets!) But my very favorite gift was one I got 2 years ago. It was my 1st year in the new house. My kitchen is tiny (my whole house is small), so I make the best use of every available space. I had a narrow wall next to the powder room door; and I mentioned to my boss and good friend, Brady, that it would be a perfect space for a spice rack. Unbeknownst to me, Brady (who is also my electrician and had been working in the house) used his key and came by one day when the house was empty and measured that space. He arrived Christmas day with a large heavy package wrapped in the funny papers; and inside was a beautiful spice rack! It was such a wonderful surprise and such a thoughtful gift. He came back just before New Year's eve with another matching one for the side of my built-in bookshelf. (And now he tries to outdo himself each Xmas. What a fortunate gal I am!)

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14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Family is the most important thing. I love Jesus and I realize that He's the reason we celebrate. And I try to honor Him on a daily basis as well as honoring Him at Christmas. But I do take part in the commercialization of Xmas and all the fru-faral of decorations, food, etc. So, for me, Xmas is about hunkering down with family, spending more time together than we'd normally do and loving each other a whole lot.

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15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Again, that's a tough one. I guess it would be my homemade orange gingerbread men (with a little icing glaze)! No, no, it's the apricot and walnut rugelach with their tender cream cheese dough! Ahhh, but I love my dark fruitcake! And those yummy, yummy dark choco-chip shortbreads. Yes, I do love holiday desserts.
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16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Christmas morning - We start with a beautifully dressed and decorated table and a breakfast of special fruit salad, homemade Swedish crescent rolls, fresh orange juice, apple-glazed sausages and wonderful dark roast coffee. The atmosphere is warm and happy and peaceful. Then we open our gifts together, taking turns so we can appreciate both the gift and the expression of the recipient! And my girls have always been wonderfully patient through the whole process, even as little children.

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17. What tops your tree? A mirrored glass star.

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18. Which do you prefer - Giving or Receiving? Giving definately! My shopping throughout the year started because I would see something that was just right for "so and so", either because I remembered them mentioning it or because I knew them so well, that I knew it would be perfect. (Why I like giving so much that I also give to myself! After all, I've no hubby! And I'm a good Sandra Claus through the year; so I deserve those lovely "oh so perfect" gifts!)

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19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? Not for me, thank you. Unless I use one to stir my hot chocolate a little bit; then it's acceptable.

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20 Favorite Christmas Show? Easy one -- It's a Wonderful Life. But that's very, very closely followed by the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol! (I try to watch them both on Xmas Eve.) And of course, I try to take them all in -- Home Alone, Charlie Brown Christmas, White Christmas, The Santa Claus, even the awful and/or corny ones!

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21. Saddest Christmas Song? I'll Be Home for Christmas.... 'cause my Amy won't be home for the 2nd year in a row :(

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22. What is your favorite Christmas Song? What Child is This. But I love all the old favorites; and I'm singing in a chorale group this year, so I've discovered so many other beautiful Christmas songs

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Please do this Meme yourself; I'd love to hear about you!