Teens tell tales of Christmas

Teens tell tales of their most memorable Christmas

By Sharon Bouchard

Feature Writer / Photographer

Thanks for the memories

There is no other time of the year that makes one more nostalgic than the holiday season. The older we get the more we cherish those special Christmas memories. Recalling the scents from Mother’s kitchen, sitting on Daddy’s lap while he read a Christmas story and the visits from grandparents give us a feeling of melancholy comfort.

When asking a group of teenagers about their best Christmas memory you might expect that they would be focused on a favorite gift left for them under the tree. Though that one outstanding gift can hold a very special spot in their minds, their best memories can be a lot more sentimental than one might think.

For Jay Bonneville, age 14 of Norway, his best Christmas memory goes back to when he was six or seven years old. Though he remembers his Dad did give him a small motorbike, that is not what really made it his best memory.

“That was the last Christmas with my parents who were later divorced. We were all together as a family and I just really loved it. I’ll always remember it.”

Decorating the Christmas tree brings a warm feeling to 15-year-old Vincent Ortiz, of Norway.

“We were wrapping the tree with lights and we had them stretched out all over the floor and there were boxes of ornaments everywhere. You had to be careful where you stepped. My Mom was baking banana and poppy seed bread and it smelled so good. I was probably around eight, and my Mom, Dad, sisters and aunt were there, too. It was so great!”

Izabel Earle, 16 of Oxford, can now laugh about her best Christmas memory, but when she was five it was no laughing matter.

“My mom and dad, grandparents and aunt and uncle were there for Christmas dinner. We could each pick out what we wanted for dessert, which were all up on a counter. I was not tall enough to see that high so I dragged a chair over and climbed up on it. The chair started to wobble and I started to fall. I reached for the peach upside-down cake as if it would magically save me. It didn’t! I crashed to the floor and the peach upside-down cake landed on my head. Everyone looked at me in shock as I laid on the floor covered with peach upside-down cake and blood. Finally my grandmother yelled “get the car” and off to the hospital I went. I don’t remember how many stitches I got, but I sure do remember the peach upside-down cake!”

Reese Wales, 17 of Norway, does not have just one best Christmas memory.

“All my Christmas memories are great so I can’t pick out one that was special. I can tell you why I love Christmas though. It’s because it brings all the family together and we spend a lot of time hanging out, talking and laughing. The presents are great, but I would still love Christmas even if there we no presents as long as the family is all together.”

Abbie Earle, 14 of Oxford, smiled as she recalled a memory of Santa when she was seven.

“We lived away then, but were visiting in Maine at my Aunt Diane’s. On Christmas Eve all of us kids were sleeping, or trying to, when we heard something on the roof. We all ran to the window just in time to see Santa running into the woods. Santa turned out to be my uncle.”

Andrew Clinton, 15 of Oxford, shared his fondest memory from when he was seven or eight.

“I woke up in the morning smelling hot cocoa. My sister and brother and I sat around the fire pit drinking the cocoa. There was just us kids and Mom; it was a hard time, but that Christmas was special. My sister gave me a Lego set that was pretty sweet. It was the last Christmas my sister spent with us and it is my fondest memory.”

Legos also brought back a fond memory for Elijah Wales, 14 of Norway.

“When I was five, I really, really wanted a Lego castle for a very long time, but it was big and expensive so I knew I would never get it. When I found it under the tree I was so happy. Sometimes Christmas wishes really do come true!”