Christmas Memories Throwback

Let's do a little throwback to a few years ago when we had a few of our sales guys share a Christmas memory from their childhood. We came across the memory David highlighted and wanted to share it again today!Hi everyone! I'm David. I am a part of the Authentique Paper sales team, and I have the opportunity to work with some amazing people in the paper crafting world! Hopefully you've been able to find Authentique Paper products at your LSS, but if not, please let the store owner know you'd like to be able to find our products in their store! {It's in my blood, I had to throw in the sales pitch!}
  Okay, back to sharing one of my most vivid Christmas memories. I tried to think of the most elaborate Christmas, the best trip, or the year that I got the entire GI JOE collection, but none of those are as memorable as the one I want to share with you today...Like me, my dad was a salesman. Some years were great and others not so much. In my youth I never knew about the 'ups and downs' of a sales career. Now that I am older, raise kids of my own, and reflect back to my childhood, I have had some great talks with my dad about how hard he worked to provide for our family. There is no doubt that the Christmas season can be a very stressful time of year for many families. It is easy to justify stretching the budget when your littlest one looks up with that face on Christmas morning that unspoken, but loud as can be, "I can’t believe Santa knew how much I wanted this gift." To me, this season is about having fun with the kids and remembering what Christmas is all about. Santa is just the icing on the cake!

Okay, back to my memory, I think I got a little side track setting the stage, I hope my intro wasn't too dramatic....

It was one of those years Dad didn't do as well as he had in the past - he was actually in between jobs during the holidays. We lived in the Northwest part of the country and my Dad took a job installing cable TV to try and make a little extra money. As a kid I just thought it was cool that I had a COX cable van parked in front of the house. My dad worked very hard to keep the family in a warm house and to put food on the table, but there wasn't much left for Christmas.

When I look back, I refer to this Christmas as our "Montana Christmas". My grandparents had a humble little cabin in Whitefish, Montana. It seemed to take all day to drive to the cabin, and needless to say, my two brothers, sister and I were not cheerful children by the time we arrived. The cabin was a one bedroom, with a little loft above the garage where the kids would sleep. (We would all run from one side of the loft to the other, at the same time, and we could actually feel the garage lean from side to side. I can only imagine what would have happened to our back-sides if Grandpa would have seen us in action.)

This one year in particular, my parents did a great job of taking our less than ideal financial situation and telling us we were going to have a “Back to Basics” Christmas. As kids, we complained about how boring it was going to be...you know, boring stuff like cutting down our own tree to decorate, building a fire each day to keep the cabin warm! We were told to make of the gifts we wanted to give to each other. Some of us drew pictures, others made things out of paper, and we tried to whittle things out of wood. There was only one rule: It all had to be handmade, by yourself. (I am sure the "Montana Christmas" is where I began my love for this industry and realized a handmade gift means so much more than a store bought one.)So, for my blog post today, I thought these little handmade gifts I created for my Mom and Dad with the Free Bird Series, were a good reminder that you can never go wrong with a “Back to Basics” Christmas. I think these would be nice to fill with candy or popcorn and hang on your neighbors door. They are simple and easy to make, but show that you took the time to create a gift for your friend or loved one.

I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and I hope you will find a little extra time to "make" a gift or card for the few special people in your lives. Maybe, it will be the Christmas they remember more than any other Christmas.... Thanks Mom and Dad for all the efforts you put into the Holidays every year!