Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a "favorite" but it is definetly one that sticks out.

I was around 11 or 12. Dad installed the home security alarm by himself. He recruited my help to do it. I hated being recruited by my Dad for home improvement projects like this because I was essentially an "elf". So helping my Dad with this necessitated him barking orders at me to "Hold this here! No not there! HERE!!!". He would also cuss and swear whenever things didn't go right. Now Dad was an electrician and he knew what he was doing....but electricians, for the most part, work by themselves and don't necessarily have people-skills. I hated helping my Dad. I wasn't really "helping" Dad either. I was simply "standing around waiting for this to be over", which of course, infuriated my Dad further since I never took an interest in what he was trying to accomplish.

That Christmas, we were visiting my grandparents out of state. We get a phone call just shortly after midnight on Christmas Eve. It was our neighbor. Someone had tried to break into our home and triggered the alarm. The police arrived and stayed at the house but warned our neighbor to tell us that the front door was smashed in and wouldn't shut. The police couldn't "house sit" for the whole night. Our neighbor said he would watch the house too but he said he couldn't house sit the whole night either.

So Dad did the only thing he could do. He picked up his coat and told us to stay behind to enjoy our Christmas. My Mom jumped and said "No way! That's OUR home! We should all go!" Dad wasn't in the mood to argue. He said he had to leave and he had to leave right now.

"I don't want to ruin the kids' Christmas" he said. So he looked at me and my brother and and asked us what we wanted to do.

My brother and I didn't give it a second thought.

"We're with you Dad. Let's go home." We said.

My grandparents were a little upset, but they completely understood. So we left and drove through the night. My brother and I slept in the car but just beforeI fell asleep I heard Dad say "I am so glad Drac0 and I installed that alarm system!". It was the first time in my life that I actually heard my Dad acknowledge my "worth" in something. Since that day, I became a little more "helpful" when helping Dad. I actually took an interest in the home renovation projects. Oh sure Dad would still get angry and swear whenever things didn't go right, but thanks to him I learned a thing or two about electrical circuits. More importantly I learned that when it comes emergencies, families stick together!

I have several warming Christmas stories/things.

I think the one that happens is ever year my mom doesn't tell us when she is sending them but she sends a advent calendar for each child and then one for grandchildren to share with SS he gets his own. It's always fun to randomly get sometimes in November as most the time I forget about it.

The sweetest Christmas ever though was Christmas 2011. Myself and my great grandmother went to Thailand for the holiday. It was so weird not having at least my mom around. However she has sent stockings and a gift each to the people we traveled with and they left the stuff outside our hotel door knocked and ran off. Probably the sweetest thing even I remember thinking I was going to have to wait to open stuff until we returned. And now even that I have to play Santa it gives me a reason to try to always believe.

Another sweet one was last year when DH finally got to see how some of my family Christmases were. He got to help make pies and everything - first time I got to enjoy taking somebody over to family. Mind you Christmas before it was chaos as we didn't have SS until noon Christmas so I did my family by myself.

This Christmas is going to be sad though mine and DH's first Christmas apart due to his work schedule he doesn't come home until New Years. I even get to decorate the tree alone.

My favorite Christmas story is from this year.

When my sister, brother, and I were little my mom would always get us those plaster Christmas village house & plaster ornaments, paint, and paint brushes. We did this all through elementary school and most of high school.

When I was in college my mom moved cross country and my brother soon followed.

This year is my moms first year living back here (after living cross country for 7+ years ) and she wanted to do something special for SD10, my sister and her DD2 and I. So what did my sister and I suggest? Painting plaster houses & ornaments. My mom agreed.

When we all arrived at my moms she had personalized Santa hats for both girls and antlers for us "moms".

We painted all afternoon, and while the houses were definitely not works of art, we had an amazing time nonetheless.