Montana | Anneli's Place

My friend Barb Harris tells about her Christmases in Washington and Montana. Welcome, Barb!

If you’re ever in Wolf Point, Montana, and need a place to park your rig at, come to R & B RV Park and you’ll be well taken care of. Safe, secure, and very tidy.

1. Do you celebrate Christmas?

Yes. Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year.

2. Have you ever spent Christmas alone?

No. I have always spent Christmas with my immediate family and either my family or my husband’s family.

3. Have you ever had a non-traditional Christmas dinner? What did you have?

No. We always have ham and sometimes turkey too and of course mashed potatoes and gravy.

4. What are your thoughts on gift giving?

I usually love to give gifts but as I get older I’m finding that I am becoming somewhat of a scrooge. Lately all I’ve been doing is getting a list from family members of what they want and try to get those gifts. I haven’t been very creative in the gift giving department.

5. What was the most fun activity you’ve done at Christmas?

When we lived in Washington, as a family we had the tradition of going to the mountains and picking and cutting down our Christmas tree. We would make a whole day of it. We started out just us and another family and by the time we left Washington, we had about 4-6 families that had joined us. We would sled, bbq lunch, and drink hot chocolate. It was a blast and a great tradition!

6. Do you have stockings either at Christmas, or on St. Nicholas Day?

Yes, we even have stockings for the dogs.

7. What was the best gift you ever received at Christmas?

Probably the best gift has been a pair of hair clips that my Dad gave me when I was 17 or 18. They were for a much younger little girl but I know my Dad picked them out by himself. I think that has been the only gift he ever bought without the help from my Mom.

8. What was the worst gift you ever received at Christmas?

I got this really ugly brown vest from my grandmother when I was about 8 years old. The only saving grace about it was that we also had this puppy at that time and he got a hold of that present and chewed a hole in the vest.

9. What do you do with gifts you don’t like?

I will re-gift them if they aren’t that bad. If they aren’t something I can give away, then I will sell them in a garage sale.

10. What was the best homemade gift you ever received?

My son made me a candle holder in school and gifts like that mean more to me than any store bought gift.

11. Have you ever given a homemade gift? Tell about it.

I made jelly candles one year and gave those as gifts. It was fun creating different candles. I put them in wine glasses and they were a big hit.

12. What would you change about Christmas?

I would like it not to be so commercial. I would love to just be with family and spend time together without worrying about how much money I spent.

13. What would you keep the same if you could?

I wish I could always be able to spend the time with our son at Christmas but I know times are changing and with him graduating college and starting his own life, we won’t always be together.

14. What is your favourite Christmas music or song?

Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley!!!

15. What do you like best about Christmas?

Spending time with family. You can’t beat that.

16. Any additional thoughts about Christmas?

As I get older, it’s definitely more about being together with family than any gift I could receive. I’m not a very religious person but family means a lot to me.

Have a look at this gorgeous sunset Barb ordered in for us while we stayed there.

And to entice those who love nostalgia and history, here’s photo that could inspire a writer. What a story starter this could be:

She stepped off the train and was immediately disappointed to see that the only vehicle waiting for passengers was a dilapidated farm truck. A shiver of foreboding rippled over her. She could just imagine what her new house must look like.