Be a kid again at Christmas … An unsurprising survey of adults found that 72% enjoyed the holidays more when they were kids. Which is probably why nearly 70% said they would like to re-create their favorite childhood memories this holiday season. Some favorite traditions include: decorating the Christmas tree (43%), seeing friends and family (40%), decorating the home (29%), watching classic holiday movies (26%), and eating holiday meals (25%).
My wife and I hit on all of the above mentioned traditions. In fact we're setting aside time to decorate our living room Christmas tree this Friday. Our mancave Cleveland Browns tree has been up for a week and other decorations were up in time for Thanksgiving. We visited both sides of the family for Thanksgiving and will do so again for Christmas for food and fellowship. And we love Holiday movies. "Elf" and "Christmas Vacation" has graced our TV screens a couple of times already this season and will again along with "It's A Wonderful Life" and "A Christmas Story". I love the Christmas Holiday almost as much as I did when I was a kid. The difference being now I'm living vicariously through the Grandkids and the joy they experience checking for the Elf on the Shelf, trying to stay off the naughty list, telling Santa what they want to see under the tree.
If I could re-create a childhood memory, it would be either the year Santa brought an electric race car track or the year he brought Electric Football. There were no video games at the time so electric football and electric slot cars were among the hottest toys of that era.
-Matt Appleby