#reverbbroads11: Memorable Holiday Moments

I'm participating in #ReverbBroads11, a month of blog prompts promised to be silly and reflective. I'm actually doing today's post on time. December 24 prompt:  Name your top 5 best holiday gifts given or received. Who gave it to you? Who were you giving it to? Why was it memorable? (via Kassie)

There are some Christmases I feel that I've put way too much thought into some gifts, while some people always have come easy. This Christmas was tough, both financially and in terms of coming up with ideas, so I'm excited so many of my gifts are homemade this year and I can only hope my family loves them. I've actually beeen pretty stumped by this top 5 prompt, so they may be a mix of gifts givena and received, in addition to a few traditions.

1. I'm laughing as I type this one (my mom apparently didn't know the whole story, and I just shared it with her across the table. She says it's a sad memory, I think it's funny). Picture this: fourth grade, I'm 10. It's Christmas Eve, and there's a pretty, shiny, teal bicycle under (er, next to) the Christmas tree at my aunt's house, where we spend every Christmas Eve and have for as long as I can remember. I see the bicycle, it has my name on it, and I am crushed. Why? Because now it's been declared official to me that Santa isn't real. You see, my older cousin and I had been goofing off and snooping (as every good kid does) the week or two before, and found the bicycle in the stable. We knew it was probably for me, but I was happily in denial. Well... bicycle under the tree, you confirrmed it.

Mom and Dad with their book!

2. My mom and I both said this one out loud as soon as I asked her and my sister about this prompt -- 2008, again, Christmas Eve. We all open presents in one mass flurry of red and green paper, ribbons and bows... this one was different. My sister asked us all to open ours ("us" being me, my parents, each of my cousins, and my aunt and uncle) all together. Obviously, it was the same thing. My sister had made photo books (on Shutterfly, I think) capturing the memories and silliness of our years and years of Christmas Eves. To this day, it sits out on my coffee table during the holiday season and every year as soon as I unpack it, I flip through it for some chuckles and reliving.

Me, my sister, and her quilt.

3. I feel like all these awesome gifts are lately (minus the bicycle). My sister was a senior in college Christmas 2009, and having been active in her sorority since her freshman year, I wanted to capture that some how. How best? A t-shirt quilt, of course. I asked her to send me some of her favorite Phi Sig shirts that she never wore but couldn't get herself to get rid of. A few weeks before Christmas, I had about ten shirts in my mailbox and was so excited to get to work! A co-worker of mine taught me how to piece them and sew them all together and on Christmas Eve, she got her t-shirt quilt. I was really proud of it, having put it all together myself, and hope she cherishes it as much as I think she does in my head!

4. Christmas 2006 -- I was smack in the middle of the ACUHO-I internship process. I had just finished my applications, was getting ready (and really nervous!) for interviews after Winter Break in January, but was excited for some really cool opportunities. For Christmas, my parents know how to pay really close attention to things I'm big on that year, or things going on around my life. That Christmas, they got me a brand new, beatiful navy luggage set. Growing up, I had dozens of soccer duffle bags and random other suitcases, but never a pretty 5-piece set of my own! I was SO excited. I'll never forget look on my dad's face as he came around the corner of the hallway, around the tree, and wheeled the set practically straight into my lap and said, "For the internship I KNOW you'll be doing this summer." I  had never (okay, maybe not never) felt more set on setting myself up to do something my parents were proud of me for! (Side note: I didn't get an internship, and was totally and utterly crushed. However, this 5-piece set has gotten more than its fair share of air mileage in the last five years, between trips home, conferences, and other random adventures. I still hope I make my parents proud)

5. I'm stuck. Seriously. Can I come back to this one?