Dear Santa,
Thank you for giving people something to believe in. The excitement, the joy, the magic that people experience year after year is magnificent and memorable. So, Santa, I decided to ask several family members to share a Christmas memory or two and was delighted by their responses. I hope you enjoy them as well.

My memories:
“I remember one year, we had two Christmas trees. Our father had picked out a tree on his own. When our mother saw it, she didn’t care for it; she preferred large, full trees. So, we had to head out to search for a mom-approved tree. My parents didn’t want the first tree to go to waste, so they put up and decorated both. I also remember my sister, Debbie, getting a tape recorder for Christmas in 1976. I was enthralled with it and kept recording myself doing weather reports. Then, I started ‘meowing’ into it—until it drove my mom bonkers. She can be heard yelling from upstairs, ‘Stop the meowing!’ We had no idea at the time that it would give us something to laugh about for years to come.”

Tony (my husband):
“We had bunk beds, and each year we planned to stay awake all night so that we could see Santa. But, without fail, we ended up falling asleep. I remember that we always woke up before our parents, so we’d go into their bedroom to wake them up.”

Rachael (my daughter):
“I remember sprinkling glitter on the lawn so that Santa could find our house. I also remember finding a candy cane at the foot of my bed, Christmas morning.”

Troy (my son-in-law):
“I remember waking up between 4 to 5 AM, anxious to open up gifts. The rule was no gifts until 6 AM, so we would be waiting outside our parent’s door for 6 AM to come!”

Jeff (my son):
“I remember waking up before Rachael and having to wait for her so we could go downstairs to see everything under the tree and start opening presents.”

Haley (my son’s fiancé):
“I remember our tradition of opening up our presents right after midnight instead of waiting until morning-time.”

Alex (my son):
“I remember setting out some cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer. Then I remember waking up the next morning and found bites in the cookies and nibbles in the carrots, and I freaked out.”

Debbie (my sister):
“I remember in first grade, and I was lying in bed in the orange bedroom in Portsmouth, NY, with my eyes closed super tight, pretending to be sleeping because I truly believed Santa was in my room and was looking down at me (in the lower bunk). I heard him say, ‘she’s a good girl.’ The next day, I told grandpa while we were at aunt Barbara’s house, and he was like, ‘oh yeah?’ with the biggest smile on his face. Another memory I have was again in the orange bedroom in New Hampshire. I was in second grade. Mom wanted us to go to sleep and was standing in the living room, and she screamed down the hallway, ‘I see Santa! You better go to sleep!’”

Evan (my nephew):
“I always remember waiting to spot that glowing star on the top of Grandpa and Grandma’s house. You could see that thing from the street over. I also remember continuously watching the Santa tracker on TV. I think I was trying to make sure I was asleep before he arrived in our area, out of fear that he’d skip our house.”

Tyler (my nephew):
“I remember spreading ‘reindeer food’ on the lawn on Christmas Eve to feed Santa’s reindeer. I remember getting up several times in the middle of the night to check if presents were under the tree (there never was until morning). I’m pretty sure one Christmas morning, I came downstairs and found the fireplace tampered with as if Santa had come through it.”

Mike (my brother):
“I remember standing in the backyard in Charlton, NY, a day or two after Christmas. I saw a marking on the roof and surmised the shingle had the imprint from Santa’s sleigh and the reindeer standing on it. Dad said that it could be the reason for the marking. I also remember every year, getting trees with mom and dad, and how dad wanted to grab a tree right away, but mom wanted to look for the perfect tree!”