Favorite Winter Memory
by Jenners • 12/18/2008 • Life, Writers Workshop • 20 Comments
It is time for another Writers Workshop over at MamaKat’s totally excellent and fun blog. I love these workshops and visiting all the posts because everyone takes such a different approach to the same prompts. This time, I’m choosing the prompt:
2. Describe a favorite winter memory.
Before I start, I want to direct your attention to the giveaway I am running right now. You could win a $20 Target gift card. In case you haven’t seen it yet, the information is here! There is also a Children’s Book Quiz in the post if that is your cup of tea!
As I was thinking today about this prompt, I realized that one of my all-time favorite winter/Christmas memories was the Christmas that my family skipped all our regular Christmas traditions — tree, presents, stockings, dinner — and went away for the holiday to a little cabin in the mountains. (We were living in Montana at the time.)
All of us kids were old enough that my parents didn’t have to pretend about the Santa thing anymore. The plan was to go cross country and downhill skiing all weekend. But the weather didn’t cooperate, and we were stuck in the little cabin for three days. Now I know this sounds like a recipe for disaster, and it usually would have been — three days of my family in close quarters typically results in the silent treatment, the screaming treatment, tantrums, quarrels and the like. But this year the Christmas spirit must have graced us because we had one of the best times as a family ever.
We had brought some movies with us — a lot of movies. And we watched them all, and they all were fantastic. Have you ever watched a bunch of movies in a row and they all seem perfect? Well, it was like that. We had something like 10 movies, and each one seemed better than the next. The two highlights that stick in my mind were Amazon Women on the Moon (a spoof of 1950s sci-fi movies interspersed with comedy sketches) and Saving Grace (a movie in which the newly elected pope is accidentally locked outside the Vatican). These movies could not be more different, but they made sense to watch together at the time. I think we may have watched Amazon Women on the Moon two or three times — and each time it seemed funnier than the last. I remember my father laughing so hard that tears ran down his cheeks. It was great. (In retrospect, I realize we must have all had a case of cabin fever but it was wonderful, delirious laugh til you cry cabin fever.)
Although we didn’t get presents that year, we did have presents to open from a relative who was notorious for giving really awful Christmas presents. Each year, we anticipated how bad the year’s selection of gifts might be, and this year was the year to top them all. For my brothers, there were rainbow suspenders a la Mork and Mindy. Aside from being fashion-backward even in the mid-1980s, the suspenders were made for grown men who were 6 feet tall — not my 4-foot tall pre-teen brothers. For me, there was a little “fuzz buster” to remove lint from sweaters — just what all young teenage girls long for! And the best gift of all was the big “family” gift — a gigantic magnet shaped like a refrigerator that was to go on your refrigerator. The “amazing” thing about it was that it had a little tape recorder in it with one of those tiny little tapes like you used to find in answering machines so you could record messages for other members of your family. What made it so bad was that there was a price tag on it — the relative had paid $65 for this useless thing. We laughed at these presents until we were sick.
It doesn’t sound like much — a lot of movies, some bad presents — but my memory of the camaraderie and laughter my family shared during those three days in the cabin remain one of my most prized family memories — eclipsing all the other holidays that were “picture perfect.” I think it is something to remember as we run around making ourselves crazy during this holiday season — sometimes the best holidays are the ones that aren’t picture perfect but are just about being together.
Happy Holidays — and may you find the love and laughter that I remember so fondly from my favorite winter memory.
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Those are the kinds of times that create those inside jokes that you remember for years and years! I love that! My family was trapped inside a rental house at the beach during a hurricane (nope, we didn’t evacuate) and we only had two movies: Flash Gordon and Karate Kid. To this day if any of us hear the words Flash Gordon, we have the irristible urge to sing-song “Flash, ah-ah!”. And, with Karate Kid, my grandmother said she wanted to hit the guy that ran the dojo in the face with a frying pan. So now people that irritate us? They’d better beware our frying pans! Ahhhh…fun times! Wax on, wax off!
Oddly enough, it won’t allow me to comment on your New York post, so I will comment here! I bet NYC is beautiful at Christmas. I was there in 1987 for a class trip and have never been back. I would like to visit it again someday.
Awww… that sounds like SUCH a great Christmas. It’s a perfect illustration of what’s really important about the holidays: family, togetherness, and laughing until you very nearly vomit. Good times!
That is the bestest of gifts – you keep receiving it from your memories!
I just loved this story! It sounds like such a fun time. It paints a very fun picture when you read it.
Last year we did a similar thing with my in-laws. We went to a town about an hour away and stayed overnight, went to a fun restaurant and did some activities around town. It was great to get out of town and to really just spend time together. Way better than opening a bunch of presents if you ask me.
The fridge magnet that was a fridge is crazy. $65? Wow.
we have an aunt who gives TERRIBLE presents. the worst part is that she likes us to open them in front of her. as kids, we used to practice keeping a straight face. ahhh, memories!
Sometimes changes of tradition become the new tradition and other times they are simply jewels of memory. Isn’t amazing the things that stick in our minds eye? I always find it amazing that we seldom recognize the future great memory as it is happening – only afterwards.
what a great story. I loved reading it.
Oh I adored this. Isn’t it amazing the detail we can recall from moments like this??
I am so glad that you had a good time after all.
I love that story! Thanks for sharing it.
That’s a great story! It’s the simple Christmases that seem to stand out.
I’d like to go to a cabin. alone. right about now (kids crying in the background, but I’m sure you can hear it all the way to the states).
That was a great memory, thank you for sharing. We recently took a vacation to a cabin and there is alot to be said for just spending that one on one time together without the distractions of things to do. We also played games and watched old movies.
What a great memory! I love how it’s not traditional at all but yet one of your favorites.
There’s something to be said about tradition … but there is also something to be said for changing things up, even once … This sounded so cool!
You know, I still haven’t seen Amazon Women on the Moon … and I’m a HUGE fan of spoof movies.
I grew up in the Philly area, by the way …
Cute story! Movie marathons and bad presents sounds like heaven to me! (And rainbow suspenders? hahhah)
I loved this story. I think it’s so sweet that y’all were able to bond and be together like that at Christmas, without all of the commercial things that we get so used to.
Thanks for sharing with us!
Great story. And now that you have written it down it will be forever remembered!
What a lovely story! You’re right; the most memorable times are about being with the ones you love in circumstances that vary from the norm. Your description of the awful gifts was great, and Saving Grace IS a wonderful movie; I have to try to locate Amazon Women on the Moon…