It is 2023, and I am celebrating my 73rd Christmas.
Over the years, the memories have changed. I recall that it began at 5 Highland Park, my first home with my three brothers. The special Christmas gift I remember Santa bringing me was Wanda the Walking doll. My most treasured memory is a photograph of my mom and me near our Christmas tree.
As the years progressed and my family grew, welcoming two little sisters, our Christmas celebration occurred on Evergreen Drive. Santa must have been very busy delivering toys to the Adam Miller Toy Store.
My favorite toys were my Tiny Tears Doll, a two-story metal doll house, and my first Barbie. Sadly, I had the bright idea of cutting off her ponytail. So many pictures centered around our aluminum Christmas tree that changed colors with the revolving light as Silent Night played. Downtown Main Street was filled with people Christmas shopping at their favorite stores. There were so many local stores to choose from. C.L. Carrs was always so festive with their decorations and Christmas music.
There was a time when you could see a nativity scene in front of City Hall. You had to take a family drive to look at all the houses decorated for Christmas. You always had to stop at the Blind School to see the miniature Christmas village. What a shock and sadness it was returning home from college in the 70s to see the destruction of most of our Main Street. The historic buildings were gone, and only large mounds of bricks dotted Main Street.
Christmas always meant family, but family dynamics, marriages, children, and grandchildren changed. The most challenging part was when the siblings moved away, which changed our Christmas’.
We cherish the Kodak Super Eight movies and VHS video tapes of our daughters on Christmas morning. Another memory was the Montgomery Wards Dept Store, waiting in a large group to hopefully purchase two Cabbage Patch Dolls. Another place we frequented was the Hiding Place in the Mall and Alberty Drug Store, looking for that rare Beanie Baby.
We will never forget Christmas Eve when Rich assembled the Barbie Dream House. We had never seen so many pieces and decals. We just made it to bed an hour before the girls woke up on Christmas morning.
Our girls made Christmas so memorable, but then that changed. They were off to college and then married. We are now back to a very small Christmas. Many of my baby boomers have experienced the loss of parents that changed Christmas in so many ways. It is a loss that never goes away.
Even though our Christmas has changed over the years, our memories keep us warm, and we remember our Christmas past.
Merry Christmas to my readers. I wish you beautiful memories to cherish today and tomorrow and remember your past Christmases in your hometown, Batavia, NY.
