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Retro Thursday: Christmas Edition

Another trip down memory lane, via a one-horse open sleigh.

We spent every Christmas Eve at my Grannie and Granddad Renner's house. Every year, someone received, in a gaily wrapped box, a picture of a truly hideous old man. "It's the picture!" the recipient would howl, and everyone would laugh and laugh. Grannie was obviously the gotcha this year. The child in the too-short dress and the bow on her head, to the extreme right of the photo, would be me.



1973. Granddad made, by hand, a dollhouse for Jana and a cradle for me.



1975. I used to be blonde! Note my dress, which, like all my Christmas outfits, was sewn by my mother. I wish I had a picture of the matching, quilted dresses she made for herself, me and Jana when I was around three. They were something. The baby in this picture is my cousin Annie. Also, in the background is the wooden church that Granddad also made by hand, which was brought out every Christmas. I don't know where it is now.



1977. Awww. Please realize that my mother must have made these dresses while she was either vastly pregnant with twins, or the mother of newborn twins. The mind boggles. Also made by hand, by my mother (although not that year): the sequin-y stockings and the advent calendar. I LOVE that advent calendar.



1978. Another Christmas Eve, another Christmas dress, a Dorothy Hamill haircut. I was handing out gifts, a coveted task at Grannie's house. That's my Granddad in the plaid pants, and half of my cousin Caleb.



Best Christmas present ever:



Until this:



1990. My siblings will love me for this one. Aimee is obviously the only one happy to be up so early.



Doesn't that get you in the Christmas spirit?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I have to say that the too short dress was not too short in 1973! It was just right!! Also I think that Grandma Lavon made the dresses in 1977 because I think that Annie and Michelle also had dresses like that. Granddad's plaid pants are really hideous in retrospect!

Mom
11:50 AM
aimee said…
I loved that church. I would stare at it every Christmas Eve. I hope it is still in good condition somewhere.

I was happy to be awake. It was Christmas! :)
9:13 AM
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