Enduring memories: Christmas past

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Beloit resident Sheri Disrud recently came across a box of ornaments that her now-grown children made when they were young. The handmade decorations brought back a flood of memories for Disrud, whose oldest child is now 54. Terry Mayer photo

We seem to hold Christmas memories — the nostalgic, the sweet, even the sad — dearer to our hearts. Maybe that's because this is a time of year that pulls us closer, makes us feel connected to each other. And when we asked area residents for their favorite Christmas memories, they were happy to share:

Sheri Disrud, the volunteer coordinator at Beckman Mill in Beloit, has a box full of Christmas past in the form of ornaments her now adult children crafted when they were young:

“I had four children, and while they were growing up, my husband at that time was in retail and he was at the store all the time.

“I had to make Christmas with my little kids and we had fun doing it. One day we would make cookies — you know, the decorated cutout cookies, and we'd have a big mess in the kitchen. Another time, I'd get out scraps of paper, glue, glitter and pipe cleaners. I'd tell the kids they had to make me an ornament for the tree. One of them made a Christmas tree as an ornament and decorated it with candy-type things. Another made Christmas tree light bulb ornaments. One year they even made a snowman, gluing on cotton balls to make it fluffy and gluing buttons on.

“They were young — 3, 4 years old — and they made some cute ornaments that are very special to me. My oldest child is now 54.

“I lost a bunch of those ornaments, but this year I found a box of 15 of them. I was so excited. It was so much fun to remember those times.”

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