Almost six years ago on Christmas I had woken up at six o’clock to open gifts for Christmas. It was all so pretty with the garland hanging on the railing and the snow on the ground. It looked like it was the perfect Christmas. Anyway, the snow had been falling all upon the garland hanging outside and my mom’s village houses were lit up in the window with a spot for a new house each year. The wreath was hanging and lighting up the door with lights wrapped around it, and spot lights were in the ground facing a sled that was leaning against a tree and showing the snow falling from the sky.

I was so ready to go out and play in the snow, but my parents had come out from their bedroom and ready to have their coffee while we opened our presents. The prettiness of the snow gently falling from the sky and landing on the trees that would soon have too much snow on one branch was what made me love winter. I was no longer looking out the window because it would have tempted me to go outside too mush. I had set up the stockings with each person’s stocking on a chair, a couch or a place where someone could sit.

I went downstairs to wake up my parents and my sister. It was torturous because I had to wait for my parents to get out of bed and get their coffee ready. Guess what, I got them their coffee I was so excited. They also got out the video camera each year to film what we got for Christmas. Then it started the opening of the presents. I remember as I was opening my presents that I wanted a guitar, my sister wanted a blow dryer and my mom wanted a house for her collection.

Although she knows she is going to get one because she gets one every year. My dad didn’t really want anything special that year. My parents made us keep one specific present to open last each Christmas. We started opening up our presents and we got to our last present. I would get so antsy because my parents would make us open it slowly and I would be so excited to see what my gift was that year. My sister and I went at the same time and she got her purple blow dryer and I got my guitar. My mom got her house and my dad’s big gift was an electronic car with a remote. I even remember going to the special store and picking out what car I thought he would like.

Then when we were starting to use our gifts, my parents said there were three big gifts that couldn’t fit in the house. Well two did but the one was downstairs and the other one was covered up. My dad lifted up a sheet and underneath he had the horse stable he had built for our plastic horses. That was the reason we weren’t allowed in the basement. Then we went outside and there was a basketball hoop in our driveway. That’s the one that wouldn’t fit in our house. My sister and I were so excited that we forgot we had one more present left. Our parents brought us into the basement and the first thing we saw was an air hockey table. We were so happy we started playing with our stuff instantaneously.

We were having so much fun with our new gifts that we hardly noticed the time. We got changed and headed off to see my dad’s side of the family at my grandma’s house in Esperance. Then we went to the McCune side of the family in Amsterdam. I was so happy because it was actually snowing on Christmas.

There we usually eat dinner, open presents and then play charades. Once charades was over we were about to pull out of the driveway when we realized that our car was snowed in. Our car was covered in snow and my grandparents’ street wasn’t even plowed and it was eight o’clock p.m. We decided that since it would be around nine o’clock until the street and driveway were plowed that we slept over night. Fortunately we got sleeping bags for Christmas. While we were sleeping, my cousin, Shannon, who was six, stayed even though she lived a couple blocks away, thought the Grinch was going to come down the chimney even though we already opened our gifts that night.

When we woke up on the floor of my grandma McCune’s house the snowing was still gently falling from the sky. Although the only thing different is the streets were being plowed. We went outside and shoveled the drive way, and took off. When we turned onto our street there was snow on our lawns and our driveway. We had to park our car across the street so we could shovel our driveway.

My sister, Chelsea, and I were going to walk up our driveway but there was four feet of snow on it. She walked up well at least she tried anyway, and got stuck. Her boot came off and she was stuck until my dad came to fish her out. My dad had to pull her out and carry her to the garage, while I waited on the side of the road for my dad to come back for me. I mean what do you expect, I was seven years old and she was nine.

While my dad was plowing our driveway my neighbor and I were waiting for the snow to shoot out and see who could get away faster. The four of us, my sister, Chelsea, my friend, Jill, her brother, Ben and I, all had the best time making snowmen, trying to sit in the snow and making snow angels without ruining it trying to get up. The best times were always at my old house, enjoying winter while it was still here.

As you read this you might have had a good laugh or not, but all these could be are just a bag full of memories. Now in this house, my friends and I accidentally sled into a frozen stream down in my back yard. Hey, some of us just want to have fun. Time goes by really fast when you have good memories. We have more time to gain in the future that is full of happy memories.