Everyday Living

Old Time Christmas

~ Blog hop, Christmas, Tablescapes

Merry, merry Tuesday, sweet friends!

β€œGlory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭

Do you ever long for an old time Christmas? A time when the season was simpler. Grab a warm cuppa and walk down memory lane with me!

I am joining a group of seventeen table stylists, hosted by my friend, Rita from Panoply, to bring you a Christmas Tablescape Blog Hop. You will find the links for all the creative stylists at the bottom of this post.

Christmas always brings back wonderful memories of my childhood, early years of our marriage, and the birth of our only child two weeks before Christmas. God answered our prayer for a child after being married almost thirteen years. On that Christmas morning, we placed him under our Christmas tree and shed tears of joy!

Royal Stafford Christmas Sleigh dinner plates with Santa and his reindeer remind me of my childhood when in my dreams I imagined Santa in his sleigh coming to our home. Back in the late 50’s and 60’s, Santa was not seen in every store in our small town as he is today. He could only be seen in the basement of Sears. I well remember my precious parents taking my brother and me to see him. We were afraid of this strange man and kept a safe distance behind my Mother’s skirt. Since Santa frightened us, my sweet Daddy would help us write a letter to Santa each year. As a letter carrier, he would take our letters to work with him and make sure they would reach their final destination at the North Pole.

The downtown Christmas parade was a really big deal in early December. The anticipation of catching the first glimpse of Santa reached a fevered pitch as he rode at the back of the parade. When my brother and I were children, our gifts were small and few, but always perfect. I have vivid memories of my first bicycle and the largest gift I ever received, a piano. Begging for a piano for a couple of years, it set me on a path of music that brought RM and me together. I still have a doll from my childhood that resides in the Sunshine Cottage for EM and EK. They love playing with her and we are making new memories.

Placing the old world Santas on my table brought back memories of my beloved Mother. She was talented and made gorgeous ceramics, dolls, and quilts. Unboxing these precious treasures each Christmas brings tears and a flood of memories…happy memories of her tender love. I will pass all of her hand-made items to the grandchildren one day with hopes that they will love and cherish them as much as I do.

Tartan plaid chargers placed on beautiful ruffled linen placemats and gorgeous embroidered napkins with Christmas tree napkin rings all add warmth and charm to the table. Silver-plated flatware is a memory of my bridal shower almost fifty years ago! Table details are listed at the bottom of this post.

As my Renaissance Man and I put up our main Christmas tree each year, we place ornaments that were bought for our first Christmas as a married couple. Pitiful, little, cheap ornaments that were purchased at K-Mart, but they are priceless to us. I admit that I often shed tears as we find a special spot on the tree for them. Many ornaments from travels and friends are also placed on the great room tree. It is a memory tree, definitely not a themed one!

It was an honor for many years before Mother passed away to decorate her mantel and help her make her home (where I grew up) festive. It was always warm and welcoming, no matter the season. Christmas floods me with memories of our old time Christmases from the past. She would bake at least fifteen to twenty different kinds of candy and cookies and place them in tins. She must have hand delivered dozens and dozens of cakes to those who needed a little love during the season. One of mine and Daddy’s favorites was her fruit cake. I have tasted many fruit cakes that were dry and not edible, but hers were moist. I have searched all of her cookbooks and have never located the fruitcake recipe. But, I watched her make it for years and learned what the ingredients were. I am happy to say, after a few tries fifteen years ago, according to Daddy, it meets the high standard of moist and delicious!

Renaissance Man loves this song by George Strait and plays it all through the Christmas season. Hearing it inspired this post and many memories of old time Christmases!

Old Time Christmas

Tricycles, Bicycles
Candy canes and candlelight
Tryin’n to stay awake all night to catch a glimpse of Santa’s reindeer
Mama baking, sister making angels in the falling snow
Now it seems so long ago
I wish they all were here

(Chorus)
We’d have an old time Christmas, old time Christmas
Just like the ones from yesterday
We’d leave the world behind us
Let the spirit find us
And have an old time Christmas
For old times’ sake.
~ written by John Jarvis, Aaron Gayle Barker

In our early years of marriage, we would gather a group of friends and go caroling. We have many fond memories of those cool December nights when we would surprise senior adults from our church and community by showing up on their porches. They would sometimes come out and sing along!

When I taught teen girls in Sunday School, we would go to nursing homes and sing for the residents. It definitely lifted their spirits to see pretty young ladies coming to sing and bearing gifts. It is the small things that often touch a heart in a big way!

Many of you probably remember singing old-time Christmas carols gathered around a piano or in a country church with only a piano and organ providing the music. That would be a breath of fresh air these days! Music has always been an important part of our marriage. It brought us close together in 1970. RM is a song writer, guitarist, and singer. Our son is an excellent singer and musician. I play piano and sing. Our son grew up with music always playing in our home. The old Christmas standards by Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Rosemary Clooney, John Denver, and Karen Carpenter are artists that are playing on repeat in the Sunshine Cottage!

Butch and I have many memories over these past 50 Christmases. Taking our son to Opryland Hotel to see his first John Denver concert…I think he was seven or eight…was a wonderful experience. John did most of his well known songs but also did Christmas music and was backed by a choir. Another sweet time was a trip to the Biltmore to see all of the Christmas decor in early December. We stayed for a couple of nights and it was truly magical.

Butch and I were reminiscing and discussing our Christmas tree experiences and memories. We used live trees for many years. Some we cut from local tree farms. Others came from various places, including the nearby woods. One year Butch was working in North Carolina in early December and he brought home a fresh cut Fraser fir. It smelled so good.

One of our live trees fell over during the night, and being already decorated, a few ornaments didn’t survive. We kept the tree but had to tie it to a hook in the wall to keep it upright!

While we are on the subject of trees, did any of you have a silver aluminum Christmas tree with a rotating color wheel providing the lighting? If my memory serves me well, most of the time those were decorated with glass balls all the same color. I remember watching that color wheel in motion and being mesmerized!

Old time Christmas memories probably vary somewhat, but I am thinking you likely had many similar experiences that are now very special as you look back to days gone by!

Tabletop details:

Old world Santas and tree napkin rings ~ hand-made by my Mother
Arte Italica/Crown Linen Designs ~ linen ruffled placemats mats, Royal embroidered napkins, Merry Christmas pillow in chair, and Natale bowl
Centerpiece ~ Lynch Creek Farm
Table runner ~ TJ Maxx many years ago, Royal Stafford Christmas Sleigh dinner plates (last year)
Tartan chargers ~ old Pier 1 (several years ago)
Cranberry red stemware – many years ago from a local department store
Champagne flutes ~ Tuesday Morning
Silver-plate flatware ~ wedding gift from parents
Leyland Cypress ~ harvested by RM

Be sure to visit all of the links below for fabulous Christmas tabletop ideas!

Debbee’s Buzz – Unique Holiday Peacock Theme Tablescape

Home Is Where the Boat Is – ‘Tis The Season for Plaid & Peppermint

Panoply – Nutcracker Classic Christmas Tablescape

Everyday Living – Old TIme Christmas

My Thrift Store Addiction – Enchanted Forest Christmas Tablescape

Thrifting Wonderland – A Hunt Breakfast Christmas Tablescape

Hyacinths for the Soul – Christmas Joy

From My Carolina Home – Vintage Christmas Tablescape

The Painted Apron – December Birthday Celebration

The Little Yellow Corner Store – A Candy Land Breakfast

Life and Linda – Plaid Tidings with Santa

Pandora’s Box – Where the Treetops Glisten

Celebrate and Decorate – A Christmas Tablescape Wrapped Up for the  Holiday

Me and My Captain – Snow Was Falling Gently on the Streets

Corner of Plaid and Paisley – Dreaming of a Christmas White and Sweet

Dinner at Eight – Cozy, Bright and Classic – A Holiday Table

Red Cottage Chronicles – Cranberry and Gold Christmas Tablescape

The Bookish Dilettante – Christmas Sweets

 

Thank you for your visit and gracious comments. Wishing you an old time Christmas filled with wonderful memories!

Linking with:
 Pieced Pastimes,  Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
 Imparting Grace,Life and Linda

Comments

  1. Pam,
    What a sweet, thoughtful post! Ornaments garnered over the years speak to a life of family memories.
    May I ask the color of your dining room paint? It is so soothing.

    Have a joyous Christmas celebrating our Saviour’s birth.❀️

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  2. Pam, I love your trip down memory lane and β€˜memory trees’ are better than any theme Christmas tree! Your Royal Stafford Christmas Sleigh plates are beautiful (as is your entire table), framed by the tartan chargers and ruffled placemats. I love your LCF Natale centerpiece, embroidered napkins and cranberry stemware. The lights of your tree and mantle…such beautiful bokeh and ambiance!! I am a fruitcake lover unlike my hubby, so glad you mastered your sweet mother’s recipe. As always it’s a treat to join you at the table. Merry Tuesday β£οΈπŸŽ„πŸŽΆπŸ•―οΈβ›ͺ

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  3. What beautiful and precious memories you have. They make you a very wealthy person, don’t they? More precious than gold. Now you have made so many new ones with your little grands. God has blessed you.

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  4. Dearest Pam, this was such a beautiful and touching reflection of your Christmas’ past. I’m sure a few more tears were shed in writing this post. I teared up reading it, especially the birth of Seth. Our generation was truly blessed to have such magical, precious childhoods, especially at Christmas. Definitely put me in the fruitcake fan club camp! That is amazing you were able to recreate your dear mother’s recipe.

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  5. Pam, it was lovely to be treated to your Christmas memories. They brought back so many of my own special time growing up in a loving family. We didn’t have much money but Christmas was always a special time with parades and carols and decorating the tree with special ornaments that were mostly handmade. We carried on many of those traditions with our own children and still do today. Love your Royal Stafford Christmas plates and the traditional table setting. A pleasure joining you today.
    Lynne

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  6. Oh Pam…I have shed tears of joy and memories reading your post this morning…Your memories could have all been mine right down to the tree falling over in the night. Ours was the last tree on the lot (cost 5.00) and was so crooked it had to also be tied up. I wrote a poem about that crooked little tree to join my book of family poems. You and Butch have been Blessed with so much in your life together and now the new memories with your littles completes the circle. We, too love all the old classic Christmas music and the hymns of yesteryear are the best. I can remember standing around the piano, drinking hot cocoa and singing carols in our church basement after an evening of caroling. I also have wonderful church family who came to our home during my illness and sang carols. I couldn’t get out of bed but thanks to our Ring doorbell was able to hear and see them. So sometimes the new gets mixed in with the old and those are good memories too. Your table is wonderful! Merry Christmas my dear sweet friend. Hugs

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  7. This might be my favorite post of the season so far, and I have to say that assessment has nothing to do with your absolutely beautiful table. Your tables are always beautiful. But these memories — they are priceless. I read each one closely and some more than once. I love that you put your precious baby under the tree that special Christmas. And I remembered with you the joy of Santa — and the apprehension! Caroling, special concerts, and those K-Mart ornaments. This is a beautiful story in itself (and that table’s pretty lovely too!)

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  8. Your words brought me to tears this morning! It is so sad to think of how quickly our lives fly past, isn’t it? That has been on my mind a whole lot this Christmas. It was so nice to walk down memory lane with you and to hear about your life. It is so wonderful that your Mom lived in the same house where you grew up, and you were able to relive those memories with her as you helped her decorate her mantel. May God bless you and your family this Christmas as you make more special memories!

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  9. Hi Pam! What beautiful Christmas plates and I love your tartan chargers and pretty napkins–pinned! Wishing you a joyous Christmas season! Blessings, Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addiction

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  10. Oh, what a beautiful post! Memories are the most precious gift. I remember my parents taking us to see Santa at the Henry Ford Rotunda in Dearborn, MI. That was the REAL Santa. The line was long, but we were patient. When we finally got to see him, he knew our names! Santa was actually some guy my Dad worked with and he told him who we were. I’ll never forget that Christmas knowing Santa knew my name! Have a very Merry Christmas with your beautiful family and a Blessed New Year!

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  11. Oh Pam, You opened the floodgate to my Christmas memories and brought happy tears to my eyes! Yes, we had the 1960’s aluminum tree with the color wheel. Christmas was indeed very different back then. It didn’t start in August! It was simple with family and church was at the heart of it. Love your table especially the plates. I adore your Mom’s ceramics. She was so talented. I know you miss her as I do my Mom but we both know heaven has them. We just got back from seeing the Christmas decorations at the Opryland Hotel. Your table is gorgeous! Clara❀️

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  12. I really enjoyed reading about your Christmas memories and just every single thing you shared about your experiences growing up. We never had a silver tree, but we did have that tinsel. Remember that? and how sometimes in the box it would come out wrinkly looking. Once my sister came up with a genius idea of ironing it between towels.
    Anyway, I love everything about your table setting.
    Christmas is different now. I think we are blessed to have grown up in a time when family was truly cherished and these times spent celebrating the birth of Jesus.
    Merry Christmas

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  13. Pam, your old fashioned Christmas is so precious. The tartan chargers and Royal Stafford Christmas Sleigh dinner plates are so pretty. Love the ruffled placemats. Beautiful table runner to adore your LCF Natalie table centerpiece. Love the story about your mom and her precious Christmas tradition. The cranberry goblets are stunning. Now you are creating special memories with your grands. Always a pleasure joining you. Merry Christmas.

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  14. Thank you Pam! What a heartfelt post…so sweet…sharing your memories with us was very special. Everthing is beautifully stunning on your table setting. The photos are so pretty and charming, definitely a home full of love❣ Thank you for making my dayβ£πŸŽ„πŸ’›πŸ πŸ’šβ­πŸ•―β›ͺ

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  16. Pam, you took me right along with you through your years of experiencing an Old Time Christmas. I loved it! So many precious memories. I could almost hear you all singing at one time. And like your mom, my mom also baked dozens upon dozens of cookies to give away. It does bring some tearful eyes when I think of it. I loved looked at all of those tins filled with wonderfully smelling cookies. And your tablescape! It captures all that you were reminiscing. The painted figurines and your plate stack including plaid tartan chargers and RS Christmas plates. And peeking underneath all of the traditional centerpiece greenery was a lovely and slightly whimsical table runner. It definitely brought to mind all of my own childhood memories of Christmas. Love your table and I loved your story. Have a wonderful holiday with many more memories created.

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  17. Pam, what a feast for the eyes, such a festive and stunning tablescape! And, the heirloom Santa’s and napkin rings made by your mother are priceless treasures! I loved everything about the gorgeous place settings, included those wonderful Santa plates. But most of all, I loved reading your holiday stories and traveling down memory lane. Thanks so much for sharing! I went into early labor with our youngest son 5 AM Christmas morning, and he was born 7 minutes into the 26th. A year before, I had a softball sized benign tumor removed that made it unlikely I’d be able to get pregnant again. He’s the best Christmas present I’ll ever receive!

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  18. Pam, thank you so much for sharing your special Christmas memories with us. I’ve enjoyed reading about them, and I even went back and re-read them! Your table is pretty, and I love the ruffled placemats below your pretty plate stacks. I love the special pieces your mom made. How special that you have them on display! We did have an aluminum tinsel tree with the rotating color light, and I remember when I was about three trying to plug it in to the wrong outlet, and I pulled the tree on top of myself and several ornaments broke! :/ Thanks again for sharing your walk down memory pane with us because it brought some of my own memories to the forefront, too. Have a Blessed Christmas! ~Ricki Jill

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  20. Such a beautiful post Pam. My grandmother had one of those aluminum trees and I remember as a child how beautiful it sparkled. What a great post of beautiful memories. Love your beautiful table setting. The traditions and memories make it even more special. Happy New Week. xoxo Kris

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  21. What a beautiful post Pam! The table is just lovely. Your plate stack and embroidered napkins are beautiful and how special to use those gorgeous napkin rings that your mother made and you can share with your family. 50 Christmases together is quite an achievement! Thank you for sharing your precious memories and a walk down memory lane!

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  22. Your beautiful memories remind me so much of my own. Your table is simply beautiful. I love your mother’s beautiful creations. Every detail speaks perfection. My only Baby Girl was also placed under the tree. I had three miscarriages before she was born. She was three months old and loved looking at the tree lights. Mother also baked cakes and cookies and made lots of candies to share with neighbors, families and church friends. Carolers from church came to their home as long as they lived. They lived in the same house 60 plus years. Your post is so very beautiful with every detail perfect. We also had the aluminum tree. As they grew in age, I put up their tree and helped decorate the house. Dad always had a star and cross with lights in the front yard that he made himself. May God continue to bless you with such extraordinary talent and bless your beautiful family.

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  24. Lime for you the holiday season evokes many memories. It was simpler then and for that reason I’ve started keeping things simple and focusing on what is important. There is so much to cherish.

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  25. Oh how I enjoyed all your sweet memories of Christmas’ past. This is my most favorite post to read this season! Thank you!
    Your memories brought back so many of my own cherished memories! And to have your son for Christmas… I shed some tears with that.
    Your table is gorgeous my friend! Thank you for the inspiration! And thank you for such a loving post.
    Merry December!

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  26. Thanks for sharing your beautiful table and sentimental memories. I love the gorgeous reds and deep greens! All the special touches on your table, from the handmade elements to the pretty new linens, to the lush plate settings will continue to make lovely memories as family and friends gather. Wishing you a very merry Christmas!

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  27. Pam, your post has me pulling up my own memories from childhood and actually all the years of my marriage. Monnie and I have always had a memory tree. It was bittersweet to decorate it this year. It was a process over several days, as the emotions I felt were almost too much at times. But it is up, and I’m grateful that I have it to sit by at night, remembering special years together. Some of our ornaments are from our childhoods, some from when I was single, but most are special ones collected together through the past 47 years. Monnie often put a special ornament in my stocking. Many of the ornaments are MacKenzie-Childs collected over 30+ years. So many special memories hanging on our tree each year.
    Your plates represent a wonderful feel for the holidays, and of course the layer of tartan atop the velvet offers a special touch. Every detail is perfection!
    Happy Holidays!

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  28. Pam-I always enjoy your posts, but today was very special. Thank you for sharing your wonderful Christmas memories. It brought back many cherished memories of my own.

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  29. Pam,
    what a wonderful post that I not only enjoyed looking at the pictures of this stunning tablescape but I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your wonderful memories of Christmas past…Such a touching and heart felt post! Thanks so much for sharing! Your table is drop dead gorgeous and those dishes took my breath away!!..Pinned and Shared!!
    Have a great day!!
    Hugs,
    Dbe

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  30. Pam, what a beautiful post! Your traditional table aligns with all of your wonderful Christmas memories. Your sleigh plates are gorgeous and you have them framed so beautifully with the plaid and the ruffles. I loved hearing about how music is such a big part of your lives. My father hated music- I don’t know why- but he would always tell us to turn off the radio, despite that I played the bassoon in a youth orchestra- yet he never came to see me play. But to this day, music is my solace and my husband has a wonderful voice and sings in the church choir. Putting up your memory tree must be a blessed time. How nice that you have so many treasured pieces that your mom made!! Very special❀️I hope you have a joyous Christmas seasonπŸ•Š

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  31. Thanks for sharing your Christmas past with us. We never had a bought tree. Always one we found in the woods. Several years mom put spun glass on the tree . It was her job because the spun glass would cut your hands. She never made cookies or candy but made cakes. Many cakes. Love the song and would love to hear Butch sing it. So precious to me that you laced Seth under the tree that first year of his birth. I filled up reading your post. It is a very wonderful Christmas gift to me.

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  32. Sweet friend, I have so enjoyed reading about your Christmas memories this morning, I am always brimming with wonderful memories this time of year. I would not trade them for anything. Your table is absolutely gorgeous! I am swooning over the Santa plates. All of your mother’s beautiful creations set the perfect Christmas setting. I know you treasure these items, and your grands will one day as well. Your entire table is so warm and inviting, and the theme of an old fashioned Christmas is perfect. It is what we all need. We need to slow down and reflect on the true meaning of the season. Enjoy you day, dear friend!

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  34. Pam, How lovely it was to imagine all of these wonderful memories you shared while reminiscing about my own past Christmases. I did not know that story about your only daughter, what better Christmas gift could there have been for you to tuck beneath your tree than that blessing from God? All of the memories you have shared are so dear. Thank you for opening your heart to share with all of us. Your classical styled table is certainly all about an old time holiday celebration. May the joy of the season fill your heart with more joy and love!

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  35. Pam, as you reminisced over Old Time Christmases, you definitely triggered many memories for me too. Yes, we had a tree that fell over, yes we had aluminum trees in 3 different picture windows growing up (and a real one in the living room). While in the ballet, we used to go to a local nursing home and dance for the residents at Christmastime. Isn’t it funny how dressing a table with cherished items from the past triggers so many memories? The place settings with the indelible image of Santa as most of us remember him from our childhood sets the tone, along with your wonderful memories and cherished Santas your Mother made. And the music of Christmas I will never tire of, it most definitely is part of the memories. Thank you for the walk down memory lane as you so subtly shared the beauty of your family Christmas table elements. May you enjoy the beauty of the season throughout the month! Thank you for being a part of this group of stylists. It’s a privilege to be alongside you in these events.

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  36. Pam, you and I must be about the same age. Your memories of Christmases past are so very familiar to me. Going to see Santa at Sears was always special, but he frightened me too. I have a picture of the Sears Santa and me in 1958, when I was four. I am all dressed in my Christmas dress but I am standing by his knee, too afraid to get on his lap. And all the artists you mentioned are my favorites. John Denver is greatly loved by my husband and my adult son too. And to me, the best Christmas album ever done was the Carpenters first one. I was fortunate to see both John and the Carpenters in concert in college. Thanks for taking me back in time. My mother also made lots of goodies to give away. We miss those that have gone ahead, especially at the holidays. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

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  38. Pam, I thoroughly enjoyed your walk down memory lane. It had me pausing to remember some of my own Christmas’s past. All wonderful and vivid memories! And yes, we have had trees fall in the night only to be tied to the wall the next morning! And, yes to the silver tree and rotating coloured lights. Your table is a delightful node to an old fashioned Christmas. Your plates are gorgeous, and centrepieces perfection. I love your attention to detail, especially the cranberries in the champagne, the monogrammed napkins, and adorable Christmas tree napkin rings! Merry Christmas πŸ™‚

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  39. Your table looks so beautiful and elegant. What joy it must bring to your family! I love Old Time Christmases. Your remembrances are inspiring. It must be so precious to have beautiful things of your mother’s that you decorate with and have wonderful memories. Thank you!

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  41. Loved reading about all your wonderful memories – and the table is stunning! The Royal Stafford dinnerware is completely charming, and the rich red glassware really enhances the traditional feel of the table. Beautiful!

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  42. We had a tinsel tree with a revolving light. My parents decided to flock it. I never got to see the tree flocked, but mom said it was beautiful! Love reading about your memories.
    Have a blessed Christmas,
    Rachell

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  43. Hi Pam,
    I love this post. I think Christmas always brings us memories and for me they are wonderful. My parents loved Christmas and made it special for us. My youngest brother was also born on Christmas morning. I was 12 so I remember it well. Also, like you and Butch, our son, our only child was born 9 days before Christmas. I will never forget that special Christmas and our baby dressed in a Santa suit. Merry Christmas to you, Butch and family. β€πŸ’š

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