The holidays are here and no matter which one you celebrate, memories are a vital part of the celebration. Good, bad or just ones that represent the passage of time, holiday memories and experiences stay with us long after the meals have been eaten and the shiny gifts have lost their luster and appeal. The Nanolumens marketing department can always be counted on to share offbeat tales of holidays past.
Sarah Shelnut, Demand Generation Manager: The year was 1990 and I was a 7 year old girl OBSESSED with horses. At the top of my Christmas list was a pony and I was sure that my good behavior from the year would result in my obtaining my very own horse. I woke up long before my brother and parents to go assess the gift situation, and lo and behold, there was a box that seemed ten times my size under the tree.
“Holy crap, I’m getting a horse.”
I scurried back to bed, hardly containing my excitement and counting down the minutes until it was time to open gifts.
Once my family awoke, I made sure to save the best gift for last- a “big reveal” of my new horse to end Christmas on a bang. When it came time to open the large box, I remember shaking with excitement. I tore aside the paper and caught sight of wood (makes sense, as horses should be shipped in their own mini-stables) and prepared myself for a stampeding pony to present itself in our living room. I tore all of the paper off of the gift and stood back to look at the epitome of all Christmas gifts.
But the gift in front of me wasn’t a pony, or a stable, or anything remotely resembling a horse.
I got a dresser. A friggin’ dresser!
While the antique dresser was beautiful, it was certainly not a pony and I did my best to hide my disappointment and allowed my parents to move the monstrosity into my room.
Later that afternoon, I began to put my clothes into my new dresser (which was NOT a pony) and as I pulled the antique glass knob to open a drawer, I felt a sting and, looked down, saw a pool of blood forming in my hand.
My not-pony-dresser knob had shattered in my hand, slicing me to bits! This was quite possibly my most disastrous Christmas memory.
Jareikus Agnew, Marketing Operations Coordinator: I don’t have one particular Christmas memory that sticks out as a favorite. The ones where my family made it a point to return to South Carolina to visit family are my most enjoyable. I used to love being able to hang out with everyone in the family because everyone would return to spend Christmas with the family. I would get to play with all of my cousins and share in the excitement of everyone opening their gifts and playing with them for the first time. Also, since I was the first grandchild and loved trains, my grandfather used to get me a train set every year, increasing my ability to make longer and more elaborate tracks every year.
Joey Davis, Marketing Content Manager: I have a lot of holiday memories, from spending the week in bed with walking pneumonia to getting engaged. But one in particular stands out because it involves TOYS! As any parent will tell you there is an ‘it’ toy each year that every kid wants. And kids can be quite persistent in their demand for that Holy Grail. Moms and dads, out of love for their children and an attempt to avoid epic meltdowns, will go to great lengths to secure that toy. One year, my parents failed in that endeavor. I’m sure the attempt rivaled anything Indiana Jones has ever done to get whatever treasure he was seeking, but the Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots were not waiting for me under the tree.
Instead, I got the dreaded substitute – Karate Robots. Really, Santa?? Karate Robots???
But all my other friends got Karate Robots, too. So on that cold winter morning, we had the equivalent of a Robot Ninja battle royale on my driveway. The Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots were completely forgotten and my candy apple red Karate Robot stayed in my possession years after that.
So, do you have favorite holiday memory?