On the eleventh day of Christmas, my daughter gave to me…too many nostalgic moments to count. Friends and family will tell you that I’m a big kid at heart, so having a young child is such a wonderful experience as I not only build new experiences with her but reminisce over some of my favorite Christmas memories.

One nostalgic moment that was simple yet really moved me happened earlier this week when we were wrapping presents. My daughter asked to keep the empty gift wrap roll. “Look, it’s a baton!” Quinn said as she paraded around twirling it. “Now it’s a telescope,” she exclaimed looking through the one end in my direction. She then put it on her nose saying, “Look at me Mommy; I’m an elephant!”

“It can be a megaphone too!” I told her. She then put the roll up to her mouth and started enunciating her words carefully and loudly for that special megaphone effect. It now has a several old extra socks on it from a project we did making sock snowman.

Watching her with the gift wrap roll immediately made me think about how my sister and I used gift wrap rolls to communicate at night as we waited for Santa to arrive. I could close my eyes and envision it like it just happened and feel the same level of excitement I had as a child knowing that Santa was on his way.

I can’t help but smile as I recall those memorable Christmas moments among many others that have yet to happen.

All the best,

Tanya