What was your best Christmas ever?

Dear users, dear authors,
What was your best Christmas ever?
What do you need for a successful Christmas?

Hi,

my best Christmas was in 2015. It was the first time we went on vacation with our kids over Christmas. Before that, we’d have the house full of guests for three days every year, and my husband and I were constantly cooking, cleaning, and entertaining. Until we just didn’t feel like it anymore and decided to go away.

The best part was:

we had time for ourselves and the kids. And when the kids said on Christmas Eve—after we’d unwrapped the presents and played and done crafts with them—“Mom, you finally have time for us at Christmas”—I just thought: we’d done EVERYTHING right.

Since then, we’ve gone away every year and enjoyed our time as a family.

Best, Heike

I don’t have one specific “best” Christmas.

For me, Christmas means family. And so I remember so many wonderful Christmases. Ever since I got my first apartment (in 1980), I’ve hosted Christmas Eve at my place. Everyone comes.

When I look back, these Christmases come to mind: My brother got a surprise day off and showed up at the door unannounced just before we opened presents. The children were born, and they were the center of attention. Their wide-eyed wonder when they were finally allowed into the room and saw the tree. Now, Christmas with our grandson is always an experience—he’s very excited and has been making little gifts for everyone for a week now.

This year, too—I hope—will be another wonderful celebration. Everyone’s coming; we’ll have a big table so there’s room for everyone, and we’re looking forward to the evening. 

Since we’ve been getting our tree from our own garden ever since we bought the house, everyone thinks we have the ugliest tree of all. But isn’t every tree beautiful once it’s decorated? Here, it was cut down by my partner with some energetic help from our grandson.

I’ve had quite a few, if not many, wonderful Christmases, but one of the best was in 1981 when I was finally alone with my three girls. The fear and pressure of doing something wrong in the eyes of the children was gone, because for the two years before that, my ex was still around, and unfortunately we were in the midst of a bitter divorce battle, and he always dragged the kids into it.
Today, my three girls say that the first Christmas without their father was the most wonderful and peaceful one they’ve ever experienced.