Merry Christmas, and happy holidays to all of our readers! Are you the sentimental sort? I loved reading Paula’s Game Ramblings: Memories from Christmas Past article, and I’m thankful she shared some stories. The part about the doll really made me laugh! I’d like to provide a couple of tales of my own, from a different time frame and different part of the world.
Christmas Memories
Did you ever watch the movie A Christmas Story? It takes place in the USA’s Midwest, which is where I grew up; very much like the stereotypical Christmases in film, we often had that blanket of snow and cheery decorations on houses throughout the neighbourhood.
I also recall sunny Christmases, or the dreariest rainy days you could imagine, with muddy slush. On Christmas day, if there was snow, my brother’s best friend, who lived across the street, would show up throwing snowballs at our front door until a snowball fight ensued. I loved playing in the snow as a kid! My mom called me “snow queen” and would have us wear plastic grocery bags layered between our shoes and socks to keep our feet dry.
Pokemon Red and Blue
My brother got a NES for his fourth birthday when I was just under two years old, so I don’t remember a home without video games. Christmas and birthdays were our best hope to get new games, and my mom was a gamer with us, so we always did get something. Back when Pokemon Red and Blue were brand new, my brother and I thought we’d been clear that each of us should get one… what actually ended up happening was both games were gifted to my brother!
It was a long time before I got my own gaming identity as the little sister. The extra funny thing is the same thing happened the year that Pokemon Gold and Silver came out! Thankfully, my brother is wonderful, and he shared.
Christmas Music
One of my favorite things about this time of year has always been the music. When I was small, I’d put a pillow on the floor by the living room speakers and just lay there on the floor enjoying the Christmas classics. We had the Time-Life Treasury of Christmas Volumes 1 & 2, Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis, The Carpenters, Amy Grant, Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, and Burl Ives.
It was a wonderful introduction to artists and genres I’d end up loving through the years. Now that I’ve got my own place and traditions, I’ve got a record player, and it doesn’t feel like Christmas until I put on John Denver & The Muppets’ A Christmas Together. If you’d like, you can click here for a Spotify playlist of my Christmas music must-haves.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The first game I ever owned that was just my very own was Harvest Moon. I’d seen it in Nintendo Power, and my mind was blown imagining a video game where you built a life instead of just killing enemies. Unwrapping that gift on Christmas morning, a new world of gaming potential opened up to me. Another favorite Christmas of gaming for me is the year my brother received The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Just after Christmas, he went on a trip with the teens of our church, and I was just too young. I kept playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time until I made sure I was past the progress that he’d made! It was quite the proud little sister’s accomplishment. At that time, I also discovered “seam walking” wandering around in 3D was brand new to us, and we loved finding the glitches.
As I settled into my teens, we settled into a tradition of cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast after Mom had tried various things over the years. One year, she’d been excited to get frozen cream puffs, then was very disappointed when we didn’t love them! They hadn’t actually thawed out in time for the holiday.
Another part of being a teenager at Christmas was getting more excited the more presents were rectangular boxes in familiar sizes, hoping for games, books, and movies. By then, my brother and I each had a TV in our bedroom, plus one was in our cold, dark, unfinished basement. Somehow, the basement ended up being where the two of us played Lord of the Rings: The Third Age together, which is one of my favorite gaming memories of all.
I hope I’ve stirred up some of your own favorite images of winter’s past! Whatever your age and wherever you are, I hope you make great memories this year.