Coming from a big Italian family, Christmas time has always been my favorite holiday for a few reasons: the family time, the food, and the great memories that come with all of the chaos. There are so many moments I will always cherish and remember. To get in the spirit of the holiday with December upon us, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite family Christmas fails and memories with you all.
- First Christmas
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When I was a baby, my parents decided that for my first Christmas we should get a real tree. So we all went to a nursery and picked out the perfect one. When we arrived back home, my dad tried to set it up in the living room on the tree stand. Unfortunately, the tree stand we had wasn’t the best quality, so long story short; it was a true struggle trying to get the tree to stand straight. After hour three of my dad trying to get it to stand on its own, he said to hell with it. Our Christmas tree was then launched out the door into the front yard.  But don’t worry, it didn’t go to waste! My dad called my uncle, who lived nearby and asked if he had bought a tree yet. He happily drove over and grabbed the tree for his house.  So that year, we did have to settle for a Charlie Brown tree. And every Christmas after that, we always get a call from my uncle asking if we have a tree for him this time.
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- The Cookie Monsters of Christmas
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Another Christmas memory that I love to look back on and laugh about was when I was young and with all of my cousins. It was the day after Christmas and my aunt and uncle were hosting a Boxing Day party. My cousins and I were there early in the day playing while all of the adults were cooking and prepping for dinner. We were running around the house when we saw a whole tray of freshly baked sugar cookies on the counter; being kids, we all started eating them and shortly after the whole tray was cleared. A little while later my Uncle came back into the kitchen asking where all cookies had gone. He had planned on icing them and serving them for all the guests that were coming that night. He didn’t let us live that one down for a good while…
- Cold Turkey
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One year for Christmas my aunt decided to host Christmas day dinner. So, me and all of my family members gathered at her place early in the day. We all prepped the sides and hung out while the turkey was cooking. We kept checking on it every so often until five hours had passed by and half the turkey still appeared to be raw. Nobody understood what was going on. We were all puzzled for a good while. It wasn’t until someone looked inside the oven itself and noticed that half of the oven wasn’t even working. Although my aunt was mortified and frustrated, we all laughed about it and still had plenty of sides to eat for dinner. But not for long – a Christmas miracle came through and all of my aunt’s neighbors who heard about the tragedy brought over some of their turkey, so we didn’t miss out too much after all.
Christmas time is a great time to spend with family and friends. Regardless of the Hallmark movie expectations I always secretly hope for every year, stories like these are here to remind me that imperfection always leads to the best moments and in turn, great stories.Â