Your fave holiday memories

Sneaking home during the war
My mother used to tell this story on Christmas Eve. In December 1941 her two brothers were in the RCAF, about to be sent overseas. Just before Christmas they were in the Toronto area and asked their officer if they could go home for Christmas. He said, "I can only tell you your ship's not going until the 26th." So they went AWOL and made it home for Christmas Eve. My grandparents jumped every time there was a knock on the door, convinced it would be the military police looking for their sons. My grandfather kept covering their overcoats with blankets so that their badges wouldn't be seen through the window by snoopy passers-by. On Christmas Day, after the turkey and plum pudding, they went back to their quarters, but my grandparents didn't really exhale until they found out the punishment -- the brothers scrubbed a few extra floors on their journey to England.
– Joanne McGarry, Toronto

Her first white Christmas
It was the wee hours of the morning, Christmas 1975. Born in Australia, I was looking forward to my first Canadian Christmas, my first snowfall, my first Christmas stocking and my first turkey dinner.

A typical six-year-old, I was up to inspect the tree shortly after my parents had gone to bed. The Christmas lights created a cosy glow in the dark living room. There were parcels of all shapes and sizes, and the stockings looked enticingly lumpy. I was making my way toward the mantel when a movement outside the window caught my eye.

Strolling across our lawn was Santa Claus! He was carrying a large sack that looked to be full of presents. He saw me there and waved, and I cautiously waved back. I watched him walk out of sight.
– Alison Amratlal, North Vancouver

Christmas far from home
We had just moved to Victoria from Ontario, and it was going to be our first Christmas with no extended family. We had resigned ourselves to this rather lonely scenario when one of my husband's new coworkers invited us to join him and his family for Christmas Eve dinner at their house on Saturna Island. We immediately accepted.

What a magical day it turned out to be as we spent time discovering the island and then headed to their home for a dinner filled with love, joy and laughter. Later that evening we boarded the ferry for the return trip when the air was suddenly filled with snowflakes, which seldom happens here.

That moment, that whole day, will remain a magical holiday memory in our lives.
– Lorna Archer-Quinn, Victoria

For more heartwarming stories, read 6 Canadian celebrities' magic holiday memories.