[NickF!!]

Christmas Competition!​

We are so excited to launch our final competition of 2022! This one is extra special because it’s Christmas themed for the holidays AND we are drawing it in the first week of December, so the winner can use their $100 voucher to either Coles, Woolies, ALDI or IGA to help with the Christmas shopping!

Entering the competition is simple! All we want is to hear about your favourite Christmas memories. It can be any Christmas you remember. Maybe it was your childhood Christmas. Or maybe, it was last year’s Christmas. Whatever it was, we want to hear about it! The person with our favourite Christmas memory will win a $100 voucher to the supermarket of their choice (Coles, Woolies, ALDI or IGA!)

So get storytelling members; it’s time to get into the Christmas Spirit!

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[BCY]

My best Xmas memory was getting a bike for Xmas. We never got much for Xmas as there was not a lot to go around but one year I got a brand new bike so special and that bike was the best thing I have ever been given as a child I just loved it. But I always like Xmas time a time for families and sharing it together and love hot Xmas lunches they are the best

 

[Honda]

My favourite Christmas was last year.
It was the last Christmas to spend with my husband before he passed away in May.
All the children came with the grandchildren.
We had a great time & made lasting memories
Merry Christmas to all. Spend as much time with your loved ones as you can make g those special memories

 

[PattiB]

My favourite Christmas memory is dad making his special ice cream, on Christmas Eve.
Three days before Christmas mum would put four cans of evaporated milk in the refrigerator (this was a kerosene refrigerator)
The four metal trays would be scrubbed in readiness and placed in the ice chest of the refrigerator. Out would come the old crockery mixing bowl and the handheld rotary egg beater!!
He would empty the evaporated milk into the bowl, add a little bit of this and a little bit of that (I would ask what he was adding, but I never really got an answer, just it will “taste great”). He would beat the milk until it doubled in size… then pour it into the icy metal trays, back in the ice chest until it started to form ice crystals…then out it would come to be beaten again, again almost doubling in size…he would then pour it back into the trays…there was always too much after the second beating so we would have an ice cream milkshake. Off to bed and wait for Father Christmas to come!! Christmas lunch followed by mum’s Christmas Pudding with sixpence in it and dad’s ice cream….

My favourite Christmas memory is dad making his special ice cream, on Christmas Eve.
Three days before Christmas mum would put four cans of evaporated milk in the refrigerator (this was a kerosene refrigerator)
The four metal trays would be scrubbed in readiness and placed in the ice chest of the refrigerator. Out would come the old crockery mixing bowl and the handheld rotary egg beater!!
He would empty the evaporated milk into the bowl, add a little bit of this and a little bit of that (I would ask what he was adding, but I never really got an answer, just it will “taste great”). He would beat the milk until it doubled in size… then pour it into the icy metal trays, back in the ice chest until it started to form ice crystals…then out it would come to be beaten again, again almost doubling in size…he would then pour it back into the trays…there was always too much after the second beating so we would have an ice cream milkshake. Off to bed and wait for Father Christmas to come!! Christmas lunch followed by mum’s Christmas Pudding with sixpence in it and dad’s ice cream….

How I loved homemade ice cream! I must be a little younger as we had an electric beater & fridge.
mum used to let us have the the bit that wouldn’t fit in the trays after the second beating, it was so good. Christmas was such special time when we were kids, & seemed to take forever to arrive.
I have mums recipe collection so maybe I should make ice cream this year, though it won’t be the same as mum’s.

 

[Eveanngra37@gmail]

One memory of Christmas i have, i was about 10, 75 years ago, when it was so wet and cold on Christmas day we had a roaring fire. What is so unusual about this is, it was in summer in Western Australia. Always hot!

 

[Happy girl.]

Christmas Competition!​

We are so excited to launch our final competition of 2022! This one is extra special because it’s Christmas themed for the holidays AND we are drawing it in the first week of December, so the winner can use their $100 voucher to either Coles, Woolies, ALDI or IGA to help with the Christmas shopping!

Entering the competition is simple! All we want is to hear about your favourite Christmas memories. It can be any Christmas you remember. Maybe it was your childhood Christmas. Or maybe, it was last year’s Christmas. Whatever it was, we want to hear about it! The person with our favourite Christmas memory will win a $100 voucher to the supermarket of their choice (Coles, Woolies, ALDI or IGA!)

So get storytelling members; it’s time to get into the Christmas Spirit!

View attachment 8129​

Christmas was getting closer. So were the bombs. I was a little girl who was very worried that Santa might not be able to 'get through' and make his deliveries during the blitz. Christmas morning arrived and excitement ran high. Of all those special memories there is one which stands out. Santa sent me a letter to explain why the jacket for my baby doll was not finished. Santa 'SENT ME' a letter. It explained that the air raids meant Santa's helpers didn't have enough time to do all they wanted. He asked me to give the pattern, needles and wool to my mother and ask her to help. She didn't mind at all.

 

[Wandiwa]

One memory of Christmas i have, i was about 10, 75 years ago, when it was so wet and cold on Christmas day we had a roaring fire. What is so unusual about this is, it was in summer in Western Australia. Always hot!

Haha I'm in Perth, my English mum cooked a roast every Xmas day lunch even if it was 40c.

 

[Diablo]

I lived remotely in the nz bush for awhile. My children experienced climbing around the hills and riding their pony. We had chooks that layed our eggs and a cow who gave us milk. The honey bees
Provided the sweet flavour we needed for making our icecream. The littlest one collected the eggs and the twin sister made a carrot cake. I payed a lady to plait a bridle for the pony and bought a 2nd hand sadle. We cut a small branch from a tree we called the mirror tree and decorated it. Best xmas ever and a treasured memory.

 

[Bizzybees]

The best memory of Christmas Day was waking up to find a big sack at the bottom of my bed full of toys and good things to eat. A doll and or a Raggedy Ann doll, chocolates and Turkish delight, and always a sock with an orange and all the new year coins my mom could add. We never knew what we would find. Looking back now it seemed like the sack was twice the size of me and my eldest sister had to carry it down the stairs for me.
After a big cooked lunch my Aunty would visit and she always gave us great wind up toys, no need to worry about batteries in those days. If we were lucky and we had got snow overnight we could go outside and build snowmen.

 

[Iggydi]

This Christmas memory was about 10 years ago. Our daughter was staying with us after a stint in the hospital. She is divorced and her ex had been looking after the 2 girls aged 10 & 6 while she was recovering. It was Christmas Eve when Izzy (6year old) was asking Granddad (husband) if Santa knew she would be here and if he would bring her presents here or at her dad's place. Granddad said to Izzy if he does come in to leave presents he better not drink my beer. Leave milk and cookies for Santa and the reindeers and leave a note telling him not to drink granddads beer. Well Izzy left a note and also the milk and cookies. Being practical jokers we got a few empty cans of beer and threw them around the lounge room floor, left the cookie crumbs everywhere and left the milk in the glass. As you would expect Izzy was up early and when she walked out into the lounge room and saw the beer she had the look of shock on her face and said 'Oh no granddad won't be happy as Santa drank all his beers'. When granddad woke up she told him Santa drank his beers and must not have read her note. Granddad said to Izzy well he won't be allowed to come here next year then. For a couple of years after that Izzy believed that Santa wasn't allowed in our place. I only thought of this after reading Maddie's reindeer footprints Christmas memory. Merry Christmas to everyone

 

[Judibing]

I remember Christmas morning in, it would have been 1944 or 45. When I opened my eyes, at the bottom of the bed was a shiny 3-wheel bike. Because it was wartime, my dad had made it for me. He was an aircraft engineer and a fitter and turner during the day and air raid warden through the nights. When he had found time to make this, goodness knows! Also, there, hanging on the bottom of the bed was a pillowcase. It contained a beautiful doll, books and an orange.

 

[SylvieO]

I was mad about dogs when I was a little girl and longed to have one of my own. I loved going to friends homes who had dogs, and was always the kid that would run up to a stray dog pleading 'can we keep him Mum?'. The answer is was always a resounding 'NO'. I remember asking Father Christmas for one in a letter that my brother and I sent up the fire's chimney. I said he didn't have to bring me any toys just my very own puppy. Well, Christmas morning we ran down the stairs to see the Christmas tree with presents underneath and my heart sank as I realised there was no puppy. I couldn't help it but tears started to roll down my face. Seeing this my Mum went into the kitchen and opened the back door and screamed! We all ran out to see and there on the step all cozy and warm in a box decorated in Christmas paper and tied up with a bright red bow was the cutest little puppy I ever saw! 'Can I keep him Mum? I asked between tears and this time she said 'YES'. I always believed Father Christmas brought him that magical Christmas!

 

[Carwill]

Christmas Competition!​

We are so excited to launch our final competition of 2022! This one is extra special because it’s Christmas themed for the holidays AND we are drawing it in the first week of December, so the winner can use their $100 voucher to either Coles, Woolies, ALDI or IGA to help with the Christmas shopping!

Entering the competition is simple! All we want is to hear about your favourite Christmas memories. It can be any Christmas you remember. Maybe it was your childhood Christmas. Or maybe, it was last year’s Christmas. Whatever it was, we want to hear about it! The person with our favourite Christmas memory will win a $100 voucher to the supermarket of their choice (Coles, Woolies, ALDI or IGA!)

So get storytelling members; it’s time to get into the Christmas Spirit!

View attachment 8129​

My memories of Christmas go way back to when I was a little girl.
Dad would always have to work on Christmas morning, or so we believed. My brother and three other sisters would get up Christmas morning, have breakfast, mum would do are hair in either a ponytail bunches or plates. After cleaning our teeth and putting on are best clothes we would go into the front room and sit and wait for Santa to arrive. We would be sat in order of age. I was the second youngest. We had presents all around the bottom of the tree. Then the knock came at the front door. We could all hear the ‘Ho Ho Ho’, from Santa as he came down the hallway and into the front room carrying a huge sack full of presents. It was so exciting. Santa would introduce himself to each one of us and ask us our name and how old we were. Then one by one he would call out the name on all the gifts. Then when he had finished handing them out he would say bye bye Merry Christmas and off he would go to the next house. Or so we thought. Dad would always arrive home at the front door, too late as Santa had just left through the back door. Never mind, poor dad.
Wonderful years with my family will remain with me forever. When I think about those times they always make me smile.
We’ve all grown up now and gone our separate ways.
Merry Christmas everyone.

 

[riskydave]

The year was around 1970 when I truly experienced a Christmas Miracle. We never had much in those days but Mum had prepared a lovely traditional lunch for around 10 people, not allowing for any extra visitors. Well people kept 'popping' in throughout the morning and Mum kept inviting them to stay and have lunch with us. I questioned Mum as to how she planned to feed everyone and she just smiled and said that everything would be ok.
That Christmas, as our table kept extending, remains etched into my memory bank. Not only did our lunch for around 10 end up feeding 25 people, we also had leftovers for the next day.
A great reminder that miracles still do happen

Don't seem to have days like that anymore, I remember them as a child at Christmas, it seemed to be a never ending stream of visitors and conversation and very good memories now, as I say, it does not seem to happen now days.

 

[perritykity]

I used to love Christmas.. especially when my Mum was with us.. we would have Turkey, Ham, Chicken and Roast Veggies.. But then I lost her on the 22nd December 2002.. I tried to do the same with my son and Kids.. but he didn't want the Turkey and all the Trimmings.. and wasn't silent in telling me that he doesn't do Christmas, all he did was put the batteries in the kids toys and get drunk.. My Daughter Lives in Chinchilla and asked me to go out there for Christmas, so I did.. I loved being out there with my grandsons and my daughter and her house mate.. until they wanted to go the boxing day sales in Dolby.. I didn't have money to spend at the boxing day sales, so I stayed back and I said I would cook dinner for everyone.. Well I called her at 4.30 to find out where they were.. I got we are over at housemates parents place and will be home soon.. They still weren't back at 6.30- 6.45.. so I called again and said that she can go over there any time and day when I go home and I made the effort to come out for us to spend time together over the Christmas break.. They finally come home round 7.30.. I dish up the cold roast dinner and had to microwave the grandsons food.. after dinner I made them cleanup.. put everything in the dishwasher .. then they went in the bedrooms, loungeroom, posing and taking photos of each other.. I sat in the lounge with the boys until bedtime for them.. by this stage I had, had enough and when they finally went to bed I packed my car to go home.. I finally thought Daughter had gone to bed and made a move to exit and opened the door and daughter was walking down the hall and asked what was I doing? Well I was asked why was I going home.. I wander why? Anyway I had said goodbye to the boys that night.. There has been no contact with her for 5-6 years and she made it all about her and I was the one who made her Depressed.. She now has a daughter which I got to nurse her for 10 mins and then got told that that was I get and I will never get to see her again.. I was out there with the boys father and family.. I was devastated.. Anyway she called me a few weeks ago to invite me to her wedding... ceremony only and everyone was dressing formal.. so I am still looking for something to wear.. and get shoes as well.. this wedding is on the Sunshine coast 2 weeks before Christmas.. So when it come down to having Christmas I don't celebrate it at all.. I stay home on my own now..

HI! Everyone, just to let you know I went to my Daughter's wedding at the Kawana Surf Club & I started to shake like someone was squeezing and turning my stomach like when you squeeze a wet towel.. anyway that was the feeling. I didn't know anyone that I could talk to until I saw this little girl that I had seen for 33 years. It was my Daughter's Daughter, My grandbaby.. then I realized that the man next to her was the groom. I ended up going inside as my Daughter was coming through the club. Self-talk stop shaking and take a breath, but it was so hard when I had seen her for so long. When my grandsons started walking towards me I just wanted to run to them, Then my Daughter came behind them & what do you think I did.. Started to cry as she looked like a princess.. that she said when she was little that, that's what she wanted to be when she got big.. while I was trying to record her coming up to me I think I broke the record of a runaway bride in reverse.. she came up to me and we both hugged and she was almost in tears like me.. she kept telling me to breathe. We got someone to take a photo of us on my phone, I gave her my mum's engagement ring to put on her thumb as it was big. So after the ceremony the photo's were done and she came up to me and asked me to stay for the reception. I still couldn't stop shaking, my Grandson I call My Monkey stayed with me most of the time there. It was a great day.. But before the speeches I just had to go as I had a headache that had taken hold and was making me really sick. I went up and gave her a hug goodbye and I had to tell her that I loved her, but it wasn't returned, I gave the groom a hug and I went back to the hotel. I spent the night with my stomach twisting and turning and still shaking. I left early to come home. My daughter has texted me a few times.. so I hope that we can repair now..

 

[PattiB]

My Christmas special was my first Christmas with my Dad. I never had Christmas with my Dad before as my mum took us away from our day while he was working. My parents split up when I was about three and half year old. Back in December 2009 my Dad came to live me and that was the first Christmas we had together and I was about 51 yr olds That was also my last Christmas at home because by my Dad was put in a nursing home. I loved him so much and my time with him was so special.

My Christmas special was my first Christmas with my Dad. I never had Christmas with my Dad before as my mum took us away from our day while he was working. My parents split up when I was about three and half year old. Back in December 2009 my Dad came to live me and that was the first Christmas we had together and I was about 51 yr olds That was also my last Christmas at home because by my Dad was put in a nursing home. I loved him so much and my time with him was so special.

I looked after my dad for two years after my mum passed. It is a time I’ll always treasure as we grew so close, we even shared a birthday. How I miss him, & my mum,especially at Christmas. It’s not the same when parents are no longer here. I will be thinking off you Cazsa.

 

[Cazsa]

Thank you for sharing your Christmas memories

 

[perritykity]

HI! Everyone, just to let you know I went to my Daughter's wedding at the Kawana Surf Club & I started to shake like someone was squeezing and turning my stomach like when you squeeze a wet towel.. anyway that was the feeling. I didn't know anyone that I could talk to until I saw this little girl that I had seen for 33 years. It was my Daughter's Daughter, My grandbaby.. then I realized that the man next to her was the groom. I ended up going inside as my Daughter was coming through the club. Self-talk stop shaking and take a breath, but it was so hard when I had seen her for so long. When my grandsons started walking towards me I just wanted to run to them, Then my Daughter came behind them & what do you think I did.. Started to cry as she looked like a princess.. that she said when she was little that, that's what she wanted to be when she got big.. while I was trying to record her coming up to me I think I broke the record of a runaway bride in reverse.. she came up to me and we both hugged and she was almost in tears like me.. she kept telling me to breathe. We got someone to take a photo of us on my phone, I gave her my mum's engagement ring to put on her thumb as it was big. So after the ceremony the photo's were done and she came up to me and asked me to stay for the reception. I still couldn't stop shaking, my Grandson I call My Monkey stayed with me most of the time there. It was a great day.. But before the speeches I just had to go as I had a headache that had taken hold and was making me really sick. I went up and gave her a hug goodbye and I had to tell her that I loved her, but it wasn't returned, I gave the groom a hug and I went back to the hotel. I spent the night with my stomach twisting and turning and still shaking. I left early to come home. My daughter has texted me a few times.. so I hope that we can repair now..

Update.. My Daughter texted me yesterday for thought's on the day... then told me she doesn't want to have anything to do with me.. Merry Christmas to me.. What an expense that I could have bought Christas presents for the grandkids.. absolutely Gutted..

 

[Ian1]

If you’ll forgive me, I have some comments to make about what many of us regard as the ‘real meaning of Christmas’. Over the years, I’m sorry to say, we seem to have forgotten or overlooked the ‘real reason for the season’. While many of us have wonderful memories of time shared with family and loved ones but, as important as they are, these are NOT truly the real reason we would celebrate Christmas. We have also embraced various customs over the years, such as a Christmas tree, singing carols, Christmas baubles and decorative lighting, Christmas pudding, bonbons, etc. - nothing to do with Christmas originally. However in all of this, we miss the REAL REASON OF THE SEASON! It’s to mark the birth of my Saviour, the blessed Lord Jesus Christ who, through a miraculous birth and vicarious suffering, came to this Earth to save me (and others) from sin. This truly is the real reason for Christmas. May we never lose sight of this, and God’s goodness to us, in providing a way out!

 

[perritykity]

HI! Everyone, just to let you know I went to my Daughter's wedding at the Kawana Surf Club & I started to shake like someone was squeezing and turning my stomach like when you squeeze a wet towel.. anyway that was the feeling. I didn't know anyone that I could talk to until I saw this little girl that I had seen for 33 years. It was my Daughter's Daughter, My grandbaby.. then I realized that the man next to her was the groom. I ended up going inside as my Daughter was coming through the club. Self-talk stop shaking and take a breath, but it was so hard when I had seen her for so long. When my grandsons started walking towards me I just wanted to run to them, Then my Daughter came behind them & what do you think I did.. Started to cry as she looked like a princess.. that she said when she was little that, that's what she wanted to be when she got big.. while I was trying to record her coming up to me I think I broke the record of a runaway bride in reverse.. she came up to me and we both hugged and she was almost in tears like me.. she kept telling me to breathe. We got someone to take a photo of us on my phone, I gave her my mum's engagement ring to put on her thumb as it was big. So after the ceremony the photo's were done and she came up to me and asked me to stay for the reception. I still couldn't stop shaking, my Grandson I call My Monkey stayed with me most of the time there. It was a great day.. But before the speeches I just had to go as I had a headache that had taken hold and was making me really sick. I went up and gave her a hug goodbye and I had to tell her that I loved her, but it wasn't returned, I gave the groom a hug and I went back to the hotel. I spent the night with my stomach twisting and turning and still shaking. I left early to come home. My daughter has texted me a few times.. so I hope that we can repair now..

Update: it was a merry Christmas to me .. not! I sent a text to my Daughter and thank her for inviting me to her wedding and hope we can move on... only the reply was I don't want a relationship with you ever..