Pap, Tipper, and Steve at Christmas
Our stockings were Daddy’s Nelson socks, the ones with the red heel. There would be an orange, orange slices, a few nuts such such as pecans and Brazil nuts. Also there might be some fire crackers. We did not have a mantle, the stockings would be draped on the back of the couch. Our Christmas breakfast was not any different from other mornings but dinner (noon meal) was quite different at my grandmothers house. Maybe twenty relatives with each family bringing a dish. Ham, turkey, chicken, dressing and several vegetables. Desserts were too numerous to name. This was in the 1940s in West Tennessee.
—Herman Williams
I grew up in the Appalachian Coalfields of Southwestern Virginia. One of my fondest memories as a child was my Grandma Martha, my Dad’s mother, calling on the phone every Christmas morning. There was no caller ID back then, so we answered every phone call with hello, not knowing who was on the other end of the line. After answering hello, she would shout “Christmas Gift” and then proceed to laugh so hard and say “I got you.” I miss her and the early morning phone calls.
—Tammie Fleming
The story made me think of the little red wagon my brother and I got for Christmas when I was only 5 and my brother was 4 years old. We were going across a huge hill in Dad’s 1938 Pontiac. Well, I think it was a 1938 Pontiac with big running boards. Somehow I knew there was a present in the trunk and was trying to find out what is was. No such luck. I feel like I could take you to the exact spot where we got to asking about our present. Just as we topped out the hill, I think. This remains one of my strongest memories of Christmas as a child. Oh, the things we did with the wagon and the things we did to the wagon.
—AW Griff
Granny made all of the stockings we use except two that Miss Cindy bought when the girls were just babies. She made the ones my brothers and I used when we were children too.
This year Chitter bought two new stockings to use at our house for Woodrow and Ira. They have their names on them and are very old fashioned looking.
I thought Granny and her family were silly for yelling Christmas Gift at each other, but once I was married with my own family I joined in the fun and still try to get Granny every year.
I don’t remember us ever having a store bought wagon but maybe we did. I do remember when I was very young my brother Steve and another older cousin made wagons. I’m sure Pap helped them. They pulled those wagons all over the holler and even as far as the Coleman Gap so that they could ride them down steep ridges and banks. Sometimes they even let me go with them.
Last night’s video: A Special Christmas Errand.
Tipper
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
It’s fun to reminisce about Christmas when we were kids.❣️We never had much but I was always happy with anything, especially art items.❣️When I see everything that is available now, it takes me back❣️
Have fun with those babies and God bless you and your family❣️
Christmas memories are so nice. when I was little and the only child we went to my grandmother’s pn Christmas eve and spent the night opened our hits and always ate dinner around 2 with all the relatives there. when my sister was born we started having Christmas at our house. dinner was all the family on both my mother’s and father’s side. When I started having children it all switched to my house and as my children got married we soon had their in-laws joining us. so glad I had a big house. I did love hosting and like you everyone contributed to the meal and clean up. sometimes as many as 30 of us. I wouldn’t change a thing
My father’s family was very large, he was one of thirteen. So all the cousins, aunts and uncles would gather at my grandparents house, and we would open gifts. It got do that someone mentioned we can’t continue this because they would become bankrupt. I thought that was funny. I remember opening presents of Barbie, Pepper her sister and Hi Heidi another doll that would raise her arm I think. My mother’s parents would have those vintage bubble lights on their tree. They had a way smaller family, but it was good times had by all.
We always has orange slice candy, chocolate drops, and mommy’s peanut butter fudge! In one of daddy’s socks, would be an orange, apple and nuts. I always looked forward to the church Christmas plays because we always got presents from Santa. Yes back then Santa was in the church house. One year I got 2 sets of ball & jacks but shared a set to another little girl.
One of the best Christmas’ I remember under the tree was a beautiful doll wearing a pink dress and bonnet to match, my brothers got a wagon and my older sister got a Bulova watch. I’m so glad memories cannot be erased!
Blessings to all.
I don’t remember ever getting a present from my Grandparents or Aunts and Uncles at Christmas not did I ever expect presents. And oh my goodness how I loved them all!! Of course, I usually received a doll for Christmas from my Parents BUT the BEST present to me was our family going down south to celebrate Christmas with my Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins of which I had a grand amount:) It would probably be hard for you to believe but it was more joyous to me to get there than it would be for kids today going to Disney land. In my 80’s now, I sit by myself and think of those joyous times, even sitting by an old fireplace roaring with warmth, eating some parched peanuts that Daddy had made and listening to my Grandparents tell about their growing up years.
Tipper, I enjoyed going along with you on your errand trip and when you stopped at the cemetery and pulled out that beautiful Christmas arrangement for Matt’s Mother, like a portal to the past, it took me right back to going with my Mother as she made all the Flower arrangements for her Mother, and Brothers that were in one cemetery. My Mother was a master at flower arrangements. Matt I will tell you that the wind really does sweep hard through cemeteries and Mother always took two pieces of thin wire and tied it to the arrangement on each side and ran it down to a small wooden piece she stuck in the ground and tied the wire to it. Once you do this, no strong wind, unless a tornado, will blow it away.
On a happy note, I remember many happy memories of sledding in the south, not on snow, but on pine straw. My Grandfather had made us a beautiful wooden sled and oiled the runners and it would just fly down a hill:) Mother loved those orange sliced candies and I remember my Grandmother always had stick candy at Christmas. I noticed they sell it at dollar tree now and I think walmart too and it always brings a special memory to mind when I see it and puts a smile on my face.
As a child we always received a stocking – usually one of paw’s, and it was laid on the foot of our beds after we were fast asleep, to find when we woke Christmas morning – filled with small toys, a ‘Christmas’ orange, a few assorted nuts and hard candies. Christmas eve day we all would trek into the woods behind our home and find the ‘perfect’ tree, and that night would be decorating time – a string of lights, but mostly homemade ornaments and garlands and strung popcorn, but also a few bought ornaments = fragile bulbs. Mama would make hot chocolate, and extra popcorn for us all to eat, as well as a few shortbread cookies while we decorated the tree. Christmas carols would be softly playing in the background. Christmas day was always a big turkey and all that goes with such a meal. And if anyone in our community was going to be alone, was passing through, or had no place to go, they were invited to join our family for the day, and mama always made sure there was a small gift for each one – usually a pair of socks. There was usually a sled ride later in the day for us children, sharing the one small wooden sled we had – hiking up the steep & ‘risky’ hill behind our home. Risky because it was just a ‘game’ type path twisting and winding through rocks, boulders, trees and LOTS of brambles to try and get safely to the bottom. The sled had a front end that one could sort of ‘steer’ by, mostly by leaning in the direction one wanted to go, while laying on one’s stomach, facing forward, while careening down this crazy ‘path.’ I recall once not doing a good job controlling my turns and arrived at the bottom with my face pretty bruised, bleeding and scratched up. Then the years passed, we kids all grew up, set out elsewhere in building our own lives. Parents passed on and with their passing, it sadly brought and end of ‘family’ Christmas gatherings. It was like they were the glue that held the family together. Christmases ‘then’ and Christmases ‘now’ are not comparable, and memories of what was are all that are left. But they are precious, treasured memories. I do wish everyone here in this blog and each of the Pressley and Wilson family a healthy, happy, blessed Christmas season.
Does anyone know the origin of saying “Christmas Gift” on Christmas morning? I was shocked when I found out that other families did this! My dad’s side of the family was from Georgia. My dad was in the military and where ever we were in the world, my grandparents would call us and yell Christmas Gift before they even said hello! I always remember getting an orange, nuts, peppermint sticks and small toys in my Christmas stocking. Oh, and a new toothbrush!
I don’t have very good memories of Christmas. It was never special at our house. I was always told it was just another day. Anyways I am in my 70s and always made sure my children and grandchildren had special memories to take with them through life. Merry Christmas everyone and make memories!!!
Yep, I recall that wagons and country boys were a work and play team. Hauled most anything with our one wagon, my brother and me, whatever needed moved that would fit. Got our son a red wagon and put an “I ❤ Smoky” sticker on it. It was weaker metal though that the one we had. It is shown here so often by the memories that the “things” we value most are not things at all. We actually know this and Christmas is a very good time to remind ourselves and be reminded. BP&A does that well.
Really liked the video last night,but wow,bout got dizzy riding along with you.It was fun but I was holding onto my chair,ha! Was that town you showed Brasstown or Murphy,was curious about the size of the town. I would tell my granddaughter when we went to the cemetary,that we were visiting some of the family,and I would tell her about those she never knew. T his time of the year difficult,my husband died Christmas Eve in 2017.Miss him,miss him.
Debbie-I’m so very sorry you lost him. We were in Murphy 🙂
One of my Christmas memories is my dad standing at the bottom of the stairs (my sister and I slept on the second floor) and yelling in a deep voice “Ho, ho, ho, merry Christmas”. We knew it was time to run down the stairs and into the living room to see what Santa had brought us.
Hi Randy. I’ll bet there were some fun times when your families got together! That’s a nice memory to have. Did that happen more than once a year?
My family only got together once a year when the weather was nice. The men would always be drinkin’ and get into arguments. I was only 5 or 6 years old when the last reunion happened. It was only my mom’s family because she divorced my dad. When I was 7 she had to go to a hospital because she had TB, so our home was broken up. I had to live with some people my mom worked for. They moved to a larger city and life was not so nice.
My great aunt Frances gave me a little red heart shaped purse when she visited once. I never saw her again as she lived in Minnesota. She was a housekeeper for a Catholic church.
What did you hunt for using those bullets?
Thanks for sharing your story.
Yes we would get together throughout the year and especially within my wife’s family. We would usually have a big fish and chicken fry on Labor Day out in the yard at my father in laws home. There would probably be around 40 of us, it would not only be family members but also include a few family friends. The fish would be a variety of fish caught by some of the men earlier in the year. I furnished the 2 burner Coleman propane camp stove the fish would be cooked on. One of the family members had made a deep side, square stainless steel fry pan that was the perfect size to fit over the two burners. The thing I am most proud of is being able to say it was pure joy and happiness anytime we would be together, there was never a hint of any madness, fussing nor squabbling between any of us.
Caye, I hunted rabbits, squirrels and would occasionally shoot bobwhite quail- just known as birds in my area. These would be cooked for some of our meals, at that that time there were no deer. I will add this to our family get togethers, everyone of us were church going people and there was never ever any drinking of alcohol at this get togethers.
The house I grew up in had had a fireplace at one time but had been replaced by a gas heater. But the mantle was still there, which gave us a place to hang our stockings. When I was little I wasn’t quite sure how santa would get in as we didn’t have n actual fireplace. But I figured long as we had our stockings hung on the mantle he would somehow get in. And he always did.
So many wonderful memories of childhood Christmas by all. Sweet memories!
I remember going to Momo’s, my maternal Grandmother. She had 5 kids and 10 grandchildren. I’m like the gentleman who first commented I don’t remember much about presents, but the getting together. We would eat first. Kids on the closed in back porch adults in the kitchen. Then we made a big circle and went from youngest to oldest with each person getting in the circle to open their gift. Everyone was smiling and happy.
My kids wagon could tell some tales!
I enjoy reading your stories filled filled beautiful memories. Merry Christmas.
I could write a book about my memories, it would not be so much about presents but would be about memories of being together and celebrating with my family. Before I was married, we would have get togethers with both my paternal and maternal grandparents, all of the aunts, uncles and cousins would be there. After marriage it would be the same with my wife’s family only larger because of her families being larger. All of these get together might not have been on Christmas Day but would have been close. As a child, I didn’t give any thought to the large tables of food, but did after being grown, especially to the pans of true southern cornbread dressing. Two of my best Christmas memories are about my Daddy, one year when I was a young teenager, my Daddy had been in the hospital with pneumonia but got to come home just before Christmas. The only gift I got that year was a full (25) box of shotgun shells my aunt bought for me. Up until then I would buy 5 shells at a time at the old country store. The other would be after I was grown and married and happened in 1983. My Daddy had a very bad heart attack on Nov.7, 1983. He felt it coming on and was in the ER. His heart stopped three times. We were told by his doctor, too much damage had been done, he couldn’t live. He was on full life support from then until just before Christmas and was able to come home on Christmas Eve Day but had to go back in the hospital after Christmas Day for another week. I will not write more but will say God let him live a fairly normal life and our family enjoy him until January 21, 1991. Now most of these family members have passed on and Christmas celebrating with family is only a shadow of what it used to be. Please enjoy your families while you still can.
Tomorrow, Dec.21 would be my parents wedding anniversary, Daddy would tease mother and say he had wanted his honeymoon to be on the longest night of the year. Mother would be telling him to hush. I inherited my joy for humor and love of joking and teasing from him.
we had a hill that my older brothers, my cousins and I rode our wagon down–at least three in the wagon and everyone else pushing to get up some speed before starting the downhill slope….lots of spills and thrills and I would give anything to go back to that simpler time of life and the closeness of family. We had apple orange nuts and hard candy (with fuzz attached lol) in our stockings, I think I preferred digging through my stocking more than opening gifts