Christmas Writing Challenge #1: Wished-for Photo
Randomalities, Christmas-Style

Christmas Writing Challenge #2: Most Vivid Memory

Writing Prompt: When you think of your childhood Christmases, what is the most vivid memory you have?

My friend is still scanning my photos, so today's another photo-less writing prompt (unless you have a photo to go along with your vivid memory; if so, lucky you!). I think the most vivid memories have two separate connections that keep them strong: a sensory connection and an emotional one. If that holds true for you, include those details in the telling.

Surprisingly enough, my most vivid memory isn't connected with the Christmas-morning gift-opening frenzy (although I have some fond memories of that event!). I wrote yesterday about our Christmas-Eve dinners at my grandparents' house, and my most vivid memory is connected to that. I'm not sure how old I was when this happened, but I was definitely younger than six, because I still believed in Santa. Sometime during the evening, it had started to snow, and when we started getting ready to leave, we discovered inches & inches piled up on everything. I think this is the only time we had a Christmas-Eve snow during my childhood. I'm not sure what my mom was doing, but my sisters and I stood outside on the balcony, watching the snow fall down through the sky, illuminated by Christmas lights. In this memory, my sisters are like shadows behind my dad and me; it's mostly just the two of us, watching the snow fall, looking up, and then suddenly the magic happened: we heard sleigh bells. Maybe that is what my mom was doing? I don't really want to understand how the magic was made. I just want to remember that moment: cold air and falling snow, the warm yellow light from the open door behind us, being small enough to feel safe in my dad's arms, the sound of bells and the absolute certainty that everything impossible really exists.

Comments

Karen

I'm surprised at how quickly the prompts jog my mind! Journaling does not typically come easily to me. Thanks for doing this.

Becky

I really want to participate, i've just been quilting all weekend! But hopefully I will join in soon on your 12 blogs of christmas. I have to tell you: Ben's quilt is all the way to the quilting stage thanks to 12 hours sewing on Sat & some borrowed quilting frames (to make it tight when I pinned it; hand quilting = blech!)! Yay! Its almost done! love you!

Kim

Thanks for these challenges, Amy. I wanted this to be a Christmas I enjoyed, and your challenges are bringing back old memories and helping me focus on what's important.

Kasandra

Amy...so happy to go back and find these pictures and write about them! Just have to get my family reading my blog so they can fill me in on more details....thanks for the challenges.
Good luck on all the quilting, haven't done any in so long........Kasandra

Molly Simmons

Hi Amy,
I'm taking your Big Picture Scrapbooking class on the Gift of Words and using all your Completely Optional Bonus writing prompts as well as Jessica Sprague's Daily December template to compile a digital scrapbook. Here is my blog entry for most vivid childhood memory:
http://mollysimmons.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/12/holiday-writing.html
Thank you! Molly

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