One Christmas Eve, when I was about six, I woke up to the sound of thumping and scraping on the roof. My heart raced—this had to be Santa and his reindeer! I lay there for a moment, listening, before deciding I had to tell my parents. I bolted into their room, breathless. “Mom! Dad! I heard reindeer on the roof! Santa’s here!” My dad groaned, half-asleep. “It’s probably just the wind, honey. Go back to bed.” But my mom, always curious, sat up. “You heard something on the roof?” she asked, giving me just enough hope to drag her to the living room. We stood there in the dark, listening. And then it happened again—a thump followed by a faint scraping noise. My mom’s eyes widened. “Huh,” she said. “Maybe we should check it out.” She grabbed a flashlight, and we tiptoed outside into the cold. I was vibrating with excitement, certain we were about to catch Santa in the act. My mom shined the light toward the roof… and there it was—a big tree branch swaying in the wind, scraping against the shingles. “Looks like Santa’s reindeer are made of wood this year,” my mom joked. I was crushed, but then she knelt down and whispered, “But if we’re hearing this, it means Santa’s close. He probably sent his reindeer ahead to check if you’re asleep. You better get back to bed quick!” That was all I needed to sprint back to my room and dive under the covers. I stayed awake just long enough to hear one last thump on the roof—though to this day, I’m pretty sure that one wasn’t the tree branch. I'll always be so thankful for how absolutely silly my mom would be with us, making each moment of our childhood has special as she possibly could, even if I did wake her from the dead of sleep for "reindeer" 😭
My favourite holiday moment was when I got my first iPhone and it had a 12 Days of Christmas app which gave daily surprises such as free app downloads, free songs and ringtones and on Christmas Eve a game called Party In My Dorm was the downloadable game that came with the app. Since then, the rest is history. Good times.
My family always celebrates New Year’s together, filling the night with food, laughter, and stories as we count down to midnight. When the clock struck twelve, surrounded by cheers and hugs, I turned to my boyfriend, and we shared my first New Year’s kiss. It felt like the world paused for just a second—just us, smiling and holding onto the moment. It was the sweetest start to the new year, and I know it’s a memory I’ll always cherish.
My most favourite holiday memories would always be Christmas eve’s / mornings. Because who doesn’t love a traumatising image of Santa. My Mothers side of the family celebrate that day, and my father was always over the large family gatherings by 8pm and needed an escape. So he and his friends would catch up that night for some “quiet drinks”. It became their tradition, they’d get in the holiday spirit and over the years it grew to them all dressing up as Santa. Now, I come from a small farming town. Everyone knows everyone. And their tradition became a community tradition of “Where will drunk santa end up”. Passed out in a tractor? Sure. Park bench? Yup. Half way through a house window… rare. And that would become my most favourite memory. The night my dad thought instead of knocking on the door to wake us up when he couldn’t find his key, he would try sneakily climbing through the window. A dishevelled Santa, pillow in his Santa style shirt, getting stuck because lets be honest, he wasn’t a slim man to begin with. It was too much effort to drag a garden chair over to the window. To open it up without waking us up. To get half way through and then decide it was the perfect time to nap. He was a deep sleeper. Could sleep standing up if he wanted to. Half in a window? Pfft, perfect place really. My brother and I woke up on Christmas morning, before Mum and we ran into the loungeroom excited to see what we had gotten from Santa. Only to run back out of the room screaming for our lives, because Santa looked like he was dead next to the tree, his head resting on the side table. His dirty gloved hand grazing the floor. The smell of some back barn moonshine concoction filling the room that used to smell so seasonal. His lower body outside, hanging from the window like a dollar discount store Santa chimney ornament.
My favorite holiday was back in 2018, when my beloved grandmother was still with us. We would celebrate with the entire family, sharing meals, exchanging gifts, and creating cherished memories together. We also had a tradition of giving food baskets to our neighbors, especially those in need. Additionally, we handed out goodie bags to the children in the community, spreading joy and holiday cheer. As part of this tradition, we would distribute stubs to each family and child. They would then line up on the 22nd or 23rd of December to claim their baskets. It was incredibly fulfilling to see their happy faces and witness their gratitude for the small gifts, knowing they would be able to enjoy a special meal on Christmas Eve. These memories shaped my childhood, and now that I’m older, I look forward to carrying on this heartwarming tradition.
Favorite holiday memory... Christmas. Our family had an annual reunion, and when I was a kid, I had a sleepover with my cousins one year. Our aunt told us the usual Santa story, but the part that really caught our attention was about hanging socks or stockings around the house for Santa to fill with gifts. Our little kid brains took that and ran with it. We thought we'd cracked the code, more socks = more presents. Genius. So, late at night, when we were sure everyone was asleep, we raided my cousin’s closet and went all out like clean socks, dirty socks, didn’t matter. We didn't exactly understand how Santa's 'process' worked, so we just started throwing socks out the window, taping them to the balcony railings, sticking them on doors, windows, wall, literally anywhere we could think of. We were so proud of ourselves, thinking we were absolute masterminds. Morning comes, woke up early to check our genius plan. But instead of a house full of gifts, we found all the socks dumped in a pile in the living room. Our parents didn’t even try to sugarcoat it, they straight up told us "Santa didn’t leave anything because you used dirty socks so he got upset and left", or something like that. So yeah, lesson learned. Clean socks or no presents.
My favorite holiday memory is from the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The sun was warm on my skin, the smell of lemons and sea salt filled the air, and the vibrant colors of houses clinging to cliffsides were breathtaking. We took a boat trip to Capri, swimming in the crystal-clear water of the Blue Grotto, an experience that will stay in my memory forever. We'd spend the evenings savoring the delicious pasta and the local wine with the twinkling Mediterranean Sea as the background. It wasn't just the breathtaking scenery; it was the complete feeling of relaxation and joy with my family that made it special. Every moment felt like a postcard, a perfect memory that I hold close to my heart.
One of my most cherished holiday memories is celebrating Christmas with my grandmother. As a kid, I had a knack for getting into trouble, and my grandmother always found a way to turn those moments into lessons. She’d have me help her with different tasks, and looking back, those times spent by her side are some of my fondest memories. One experience that stands out is going with her to the grocery store to pick out items for Christmas baskets we’d give to our caretakers. We carefully chose each item, making sure every basket felt thoughtful and full of love. We also planned a Christmas party for the caretakers and their families, where everyone could come together, share a meal, and celebrate the season. Seeing their joy and gratitude left a lasting impression on me and made those moments all the more meaningful.
My favorite holiday memory is any holiday where we had the entire family around the dinner table. It seems like there are less people the older I get and I miss all my cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.
My favorite holiday memories will always be the moment when me and my big family are united. When my cousins, uncles, aunties and my parents are under one roof. It was a really fun moment for me to see everyone I cherish having fun and celebrating Christmas.
My favorite holiday memory would be when I was 17 and me and my mom and dad had went to a breakfast and I was still pretty tired so I went back to sleep after the food, and when I woke up we were at a cruise line they were gonna tell me about it but I had fallen asleep obviously so they just decided to let it be a surprise when I woke up, we spent three days on it doing all sorts of neat and fun things, when we came back it was Christmas and I had completely forgotten and we walked in and I have no idea to this day who set everything up ( I suspect my aunt and uncle though ) but it was beautiful lights and decorations everywhere presents and more family with food waiting and the day was just lovely🤌✨️🖤
My favorite holiday is honestly Thanksgiving. For me, I come from a southern family and also a Nigerian family so it’s hard for us to come together throughout the year. Thanksgiving is for when all of my favorite family members come to town and we cook together and then pray and eat. We play games and host little fun events for the week leading up to the special day. We then splurge on black friday which makes it a lot better.
It’s been a while since I enjoyed christmas, ever since I lost a dear friend whom I always share every lighting of christmas lanterns every year. The annual lighting celebration in my hometown had to stop when Super Typhoon Phanfone (Typhoon Ursula) hit my hometown on the exact day of christmas. It had to be the worst christmas we faced; homes were destroyed, dead people continuously got reported on certain areas, shortage of food and water, and struggling to find evacuation centers for temporary shelter. I was lucky enough that we stayed at our home since our home stood well and only got minor damages. It was a severe blow to me when I heard that my friend “J” (for confidentiality), was announced dead earlier when a sharp roof part hit one of his foot caused a major blood loss. It was only a matter of time when I do not hear a thing around me, his death was the only thing that rings my head on repeat. For the holiday of others is a trauma for one, the “christmas spirit” as they say got vanished within me. Few years have passed, and I am still recovering from that darkness. Years also have passed when I stopped participating the lighting of lanterns but I still see them every year. It was naive of me to think that at my current age, I should not be even believing in christmas wishes, but I stared above at the heavens and wished it was only a nightmare. I heard his grandma once said to me during at the burial, “he’ll always be wherever when he needed me for I had become his true friend,” even his whole family witnessed to see how our friendship grew over the years, her grandma also stated. I don’t know what and how I should feel this upcoming lighting of Christmas lanterns again. Should I join or not? or just to stay at home wait til the holiday is over. I can only remember of all the memories with all of the fun we made including with our other friends during this holiday just by seeing all of the colourful glow that the streets have become. I just thought and wished that there is still hope with all of these festivities and learn to move on from the past.
My fav holiday memories are when i was in elemntary school, every new year, my family would go to this old friend of my dad's house and celebrate new year there. The house has this type of balcony and i watched fireworks there. During that time, my house doesnt have it and my village area arent really crowded, so theres not much of entertainment during new year at my house, my village back then. One time, one of my dad's friend take me and my sister to city square and we watched the most amazing fireworks show i have ever seen. It was crowded with a lot of people and there are a LOT of fireworks, its like the new year celebration i watched on TV, and experienced it on real life was just really awesome 🥺🎆🎆🎆
My favorite holiday memory is my first Christmas away from home. i was in college across the country at the time and wasn't able to get a ticket to fly home because i had to be on campus for my sport. I was devastated, christmas is such a celebrated holiday within my family and this would be the first time i wasn't gonna be there. not to mention all of my friends besides my teammates were gonna go home for the holidays (as they should). i was bummed and my teammates could tell so they decked out our common room with tons of decorations and threw a little pajama christmas party. we all had hot cocoa, and matching t shirts. it was so sweet that they put together a little surprise.
One of my favorite memories is from new years celebration quite a few years back. It was a final year of high school. We decided to celebrate w friends and our families together and rented a cottage at the lake side. The view was just breathtaking and I don't think I've ever felt such holiday spirit ever again. Night was full of good foods, music, boards games and friendly banter of course. I think it was the very last year that we all actually got together like that. Everyone got busy w their own adult lives. But I will always remember and cherish that memory 💖
My favorite memory is a few years back when both my grandparents were present for it. That Christmas Eve smelled of tamales, just like it did back in Mexico. My abuelitos surprised us by visiting from Mexico, their warm hugs filling the room with joy. We gathered around the table to help make tamales and champurrado as the others sang La Posada. We laughed as my abuelita scolded us for sneaking extra tamales soon after they were done. Having the family coming together made it feel like ours.