I don't have a lot of memories of my Grandparents from either side, but I do have a fun Christmas memory from one of my grandmothers.
When I was a child, I loved to cook and bake. In first grade, during a catalogue book fair, I had purchased a Care Bear cookbook, and I loved that thing! It had simple recipes in it that I could make by myself. Scrambled eggs made with milk (I had never made them with milk before), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with cream cheese mixed into the peanut butter, and other easy kid-friendly entrees.
My grandma also enjoyed cooking and baking, and boy, did she love her sweets! She used to make the most delicious zucchini bread and pumpkin pie. Maybe one day, I can pull her through during a trance and get those recipes from her.
When she heard of my love of cooking and baking, she decided to encourage that hobby, and I'm glad that she did.
For Christmas, when I was 6 years old, she gave me the most perfect and incredible gift. She got me an apron, oven mitts, another kids cookbook, and some ingredients that I would need for some of the recipes, including mandarin cherries and a boxed cake mix.
I was so excited over my new haul! I now had oven mitts and an apron that were perfectly made for my short little 6 year old body. I also loved mandarin cherries and I had no idea that you could buy them in a jar like that. I thought you could only get them when you ordered an ice cream sundae at restaurants.
And my own boxed cake mix....well, that was just the icing on the cake (pun intended)!
I don't remember what else was included with that gift, but I do know that there were other baking goods stashed in that special box.
My grandma looked at me with a huge smile and with such pride as I excitedly went through this box of baking treasures.
My dad tried to ruin the moment with some snide remarks about the gifts she had given me. I don't remember exactly what he said, but I remember my Grandma was upset with him and said to him, "You told me she loves to bake and so I got her things that she can bake."
I don't remember anything else about that day. I don't know what else I received for Christmas or what Santa brought me. But when I think about the best Christmas gifts I received as a kid, or my favorite memory of my Grandma, it's this one. The Christmas she made me feel like a big girl, and nourished my growing passion of cooking and baking.
And to this day, I still love to cook and bake, especially for the people that I love.
What's one of your favorite Christmas memories?