Dear friends, I feel a big dose of Christmas Nostalgia comin’ on! We are just on the cusp of Christmas Day, and I hope each of you will have the perfect Holiday with friends and family! There’s so much hurry up, and extra to-do’s….I think we all come skidding into Christmas with a collective WHEW! WE MADE IT!
But, to quote the great philosopher, The Grinch, “What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” ― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Christmas Nostalgia: My Past and My Present

The Curious Cowgirl, circa 1978

My Amazing Mother and My Precious Ganny
Christmas from 1970 to 2019
While preparing to have family in my home, I had to embark on a super fast clean up of some of those “piles” we all have around our homes, and in doing so, I found the images I have shared with you today. Looking at these photos dating back to the 1970’s, I was confronted by so many vivid memories, and a lot of Christmas Nostalgia.
I remembered years and years and years of Christmas mornings when it was just me and my brother Michael, before we grew up, and started families of our own. I remembered my very favorite stuffed animal, Mertsey Mouse, which was an early Christmas gift, and wondered where in the world did Mertsey go? I remembered with some pretty sharp sadness, my precious Ganny and Ca-Ca, the world’s greatest grandparents, who are no longer with me….but in their case, I DO know where they are!

Me and Michael Michael Motorcycle, Circa 1974
All The Christmas Feels….
And whether it’s things, or people, or places….the Holidays can bring back so many emotions and so much Christmas Nostalgia! And while we can’t go back and change the past, or guarantee that Christmas will look and feel the same year after year, we can shape what our today looks like.

Me and Mertsey Mouse
So this Christmas Season I choose Family, and Friends (who are the family we choose, by the way). I choose Hope, and Peace. I choose Forgiveness. I choose Healthy Boundaries. I choose more, not less. And I choose to relentlessly and unapologetically chase dreams, experiences, people, and places that are new, different, challenging and unique.
The Curious Cowgirl Travel Blog has been a gift to myself, because I can share all those dreams, experiences, people and places with YOU, feeding my soul from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes and beyond. I hope you feel my excitement in every post and my sincerity when I say thank you for following me!
Y’all….enjoy every last bite of peppermint bark and of fruit cake…pour yourself another cup of Christmas cheer and laugh at your family’s craziness, and say a prayer of thanks for your friends. Dish out a heaping serving of Grace! Get all knee deep in that awesome Christmas Nostalgia!
And I hope you had yourself a Merry Little Christmas!
And, for more fun posts filled with Christmas Spirit, click here and also click here.
Tags: Christmas | Vintage Christmas
What sweet memories you have Mary. Thank you so much for sharing them with us!
xoxo- Tanya
Thank you so much Tanya! Holidays are so much about celebrating TODAY….and remembering all the special times in the past!
wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas and looking forward to having a 2020 hello celebration when you visit in January! xxxmuch love
Love you friend! Looking forward to January 2020 with you!!!!!
Merry, merry, favorite cowgirl. Love and best wishes from all of us down here in Atlanta, GA, to you and yours and especially your very cool parents.
Judy and Duncan Gray
Julia and Steve Smith
Our grandies, Duncan, 13, and (Julia) Palmer, 11
You too Judy!!!