Christmas Memories from Missy Tippens Christmas is an amazing time for family bonding, mainly through the traditions we establish. When I was a child, my family had some wonderful traditions, one that might seem a bit odd to some people. Most people envision cozy fireside home-cooked meals. But we would go to Pizza Hut every [...]

  True Essence of Family Kendra Norman-Bellamy Christmas is the only time of year when all of the members of my immediate family travel from our separate destinations and gather at my parents’ home to spend quality time as a complete unit.  We pray together, play together, cook and eat together.  It’s a very cherished [...]

    My Christmas Memory Linda Hargrove Christmas is a hard time for those who have fallen on hard times, but it doesn’t have to be a sad time. That’s one thing my parents taught me. They didn’t say it with words. They said it with the things we did and the food we ate [...]

Remembering to Be Faithful When my daughters were tiny, I impulsively decided to hang candy canes on our tree on the night of Christmas Eve, while they were fast asleep. They were so excited to find the treats on the tree Christmas morning that I knew I’d come up with a very special tradition. But [...]

I gave my life to Jesus during the Advent season—early December of 1975—after I heard Dave from down the street share his heart about what the cross meant to him. He talked about the forgiveness of Christ, and heaven, and some of the things I’d heard mentioned in church, before. But this was way different. [...]

The Christmas of Candle Glow We never had "silent nights" during Christmas at my grandparents’ house in South Hadley, Mass. Gagnons always celebrate large and loud—just like our French Canadian family. Lights blazed in every room (occupied or not). The Christmas tree sparkled in front of the picture window with its view of snow-covered Mt. [...]

For our family, Christmas celebrations have remained much the same over the years. We put up our tree and decorations Thanksgiving weekend. I don’t like shopping in the cold, so I usually finish up buying gifts early. Throughout December, we enjoy various Christmas programs at church, and take my invalid mom to look at Christmas [...]

Christmas Sauce by Marilynn Griffith Ink-black night stretched out like a sheet above the Chevy Skylark. I wiggled in the passenger’s seat. It was Christmas Eve, and we were late. My mother eyed her watch. “We’ll be there soon honey. Just relax.” Anxious to obey, I turned and counted the gifts packed in the backseat. [...]

My family celebrated Christmas in an unusual way when I was growing up, mainly because of my father’s job. He had to work late at night every Christmas Eve (like starting at midnight) so we would all open our Christmas presents at night so he didn’t have to wake up early the next morning. We [...]