Advent Day 6 - Christmas with Children

This Seekerville Advent journey had me reflecting on my favorite Christmas memories. I have sporadic memories from my childhood like the year my father/Santa almost didn't find Snugglebun (the baby doll who came in a cradle with a small lamp) that was the ONLY thing my sister wanted, because a man snatched the last one from in front of him. I don't remember how he actually got one, just the story of the one he lost.

Then there was the year I was 5 or 6. I remember walking solemnly around my backyard wondering how it could be Christmas when there was no snow. Note, I've survived many many snowless Christmases since, so I'm wondering if snow at Christmas was a thing to 5 year-old me because of Rudolph.

That reminds me of another memory. Back in the day, The Sound of Music always aired on Thanksgiving Night (except for the times it was The Wizard of Oz instead). Charlie Brown, Frosty, Rudolph - they all were only on once and it was a special occasion that we were allowed to stay up for. There was no streaming! If you missed it, you were deprived for a whole year!

My most wonderful Christmas memories though, come from when my girls were young.

I miss my sweet babies

My husband LOVED prepping for Christmas with the girls. It usually involved a trip to Macys and the mall so we could select that year's special ornaments.

We would wander through Toys R Us and the girls would eagerly point out presents they'd love. They are still amazed that we managed to get the presents into the cart (under their winter coats) and check out without them noticing. My oldest daughter and I had a long Thanksgiving road trip last week, and we were reminiscing. She commented that she remembers Daddy always came out to the car awhile after us, but since it happened every year, she didn't think anything of it.

Such JOY! Cinderella loved the gown Santa's elves made for her.

Not so the letters from Santa. I remember the year she told me that Santa's handwriting looked an awful lot like mine. I thought I was so brilliant typing it and leaving it in the printer the next year, but apparently that was a dead giveaway to my smart 4th grader.

My girls are grown women now, and have their own homes, but we still make sure to spend the holidays together. This will be our second year without my husband. It's hard. It's different. But we're making new traditions. Last year we each got white candles for our windows to light in his honor - one for each of us, and one for him. And when we take those precious decorations from their boxes, we have beautiful memories.

In my Love Inspired Suspense, Christmas in Hiding, Callie Martin loves Christmas. She's a kindergarten teacher who longs to be in her classroom amid the glitter and tinsel, but instead she's in witness protection and on the run for her life. I had so much fun writing Callie and her love of Christmas, but I especially loved writing the scenes where her U.S. Marshal, Jackson Walker, goes out of his way to bring Christmas to her.

What memories do you have? Do you have a special family tradition or memory you would like to share?

In honor of my husband's love of choosing ornaments, I'm giving away this Christmas memories ornament that you can choose to have engraved however you like, along with a digital copy of Christmas in Hiding. I apologize to those who prefer print, but Amazon has no more and neither do I, so we have to go with eBook.

Cate Nolan lives in New York City, but she escapes to the ocean any chance she gets. A devoted mom and teacher, Cate loves to leave her real life behind and play with the characters in her imagination. She’s got that suspense writer gene that sees danger and a story in everyday occurrences. Cate particularly loves to write stories of faith enabling ordinary people to overcome extraordinary danger. 







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