Sitting by the Christmas tree waiting for my dad to come home, his eyes filled up with tears as soon as he laid eyes on what I had done.  As a parent, I don't blame him.  I was 6 years old and at the sight of a present-less Christmas tree, I excitedly grabbed a newspaper and ran around the house looking for objects that already belonged to us and "wrapped" up gifts for everybody.  I still remember my red Minnie Mouse wallet that I put under the tree as a gift for myself.

Earlier that year, my mom got her way when she convinced my dad to invest all of their savings into opening up their own business, Jacqueline Fashion, a clothing factory named after yours truly.  Now imagine balancing a brand new business, family life, and my dad still working his full time shift at the job he was too scared to quit while my mom came home to cook, clean, and take care of everything with us.  Stating this was no easy task is an understatement at the very least.

Money was tight but being the kind of parents who would do it all for us, of course they managed to sell some extra pieces at the factory and make Christmas as merry as ever for my siblings and I. 

Funny thing is I didn't "wrap" my own gifts with any intention other than being the little girl who was always trying to do something cute.  If I close my eyes and really focus, it's crazy how vividly I can still remember the excitement I felt about putting the newspaper wrapped gifts under the tree.  I was only 6 years old and didn't really give it a thought at the time but thinking back now there's no Christmas gift that I have received with more meaning and love behind it, than my Baby Doll and her Bathtub.

I love that when I think back on all of my favorite Christmas memories though, none of them actually revolve around the actual gifts but something much more priceless than that.  

Must admit my parents did a heck of a job showing us what the Holidays really are all about.  In the spirit of also starting our own family traditions, ​you’ll remember sending out holiday cards was on my "Fall Bucket List 2017", so below is a look at our Family Christmas Photo 2017.  It couldn't have turned out more imperfectly, perfect!

Happy Holidays!  Wishing you a load of new, amazing memories to hold on to forever.

 What's your favorite Christmas memory?