Some favourite 'money tree' Christmas memories

Having celebrated twoscore (how's that for vague, ancient mathspeak? heh) I have definitely acquired a ton of memories. I am using the prerogative of age to dust  under the carpet the less than happy memories of Christmas. But I thought that since I have readers from all parts of Canada, US and around the world, it would be fun to share some of the good ones that stand out. 


They are in no particular order as that would require me to be more organized.


We did several 'northern Christmas' celebrations before I had kids and twice since. All the following memories come from those Christmas times in the north. She lives about three hours north of me in a wee town where you are right in the middle of nature. We all would cram into her little house. There were bodies everywhere. Lots of laughter and music and perhaps, just perhaps, a drop or two of alcohol

•  Fondue party. We did this for Christmas eve. It felt like we ate for hours. Wonderful meats, breads and tons of fruit at the end. Every 15 minutes we would rotate spots so you got to chat with everyone.
• Skating on the outdoor pond. They live by a lake and a wonderful wind had blown in, cleaning off  the newly fallen snow. We skated on the lake and it had frozen clear, not cloudy. It was rather eerie to skate, being able to see the plants and the bottom of the lake in the shallower spots. DS1 was really freaked out and loves it to this day.
• Skating in the rink. My sister rented their natural ice rink for Christmas afternoon. We had a great game of hockey with the Christmas carols playing in the background. Even my dad got out there. He was about 60 at the time. He wore a pair of skates he's had since the 50s I am sure. We were positive one of us was going to be driving him to the hospital for a broken hip.
• Sleigh rides. We did this one Christmas eve. Sister had rented a long wagon and horse team. The driver was a widower whose children were grown and all away for the holidays that year. He was all alone and said the two hours he spent driving us around town and the lake was one of the best memories we had. My sister and her husband both play guitar so we had some great caroling going on that night. They have a joint seniors home and critical care center and we all piled off there and went through the halls, singing for them. We made sure to do that early in the evening before the Christmas cheer had affected the quality of our singing.
• They have a wee church up there. Well several churches but this is a United Church of Canada, we went to. It holds maybe 50 ppl if they are all squished. We took up about 25 of the spots. When the offering plate was passed around, DS2 tried to make change in it for $5. I almost died. LOL
• Snowmobiling and ice fishing are popular pastimes when we head up there. DS2 said it was the best fishing memory he had, going out with all his uncles and older cousins.
• With four sisters in my family, the only men for prechildren Christmas were my father, and the four husbands/brothers in law. One Christmas eve, one of them thought that it would be  a great idea to tie into the home made crabapple wine while they played Kaiser. Their eyes were such slits the next morning that we could have blindfolded them with dental floss.
• When we sleep up there we usually cram one family in per room. My sisters thought that since I had no children then, I could use some practice. When I went to bed, it was just me and my husband. When I woke up Christmas morning I discovered they had slipped 6 of the grandkids in to share our room. There were bodies everywhere.

I guess the recurring theme is, the memories are made through family and experiences. Not one of these includes gifts.