Auto Broker
"I was driving my Trans Am down to Caledonia to pick up my aunt. I was playing Santa later on, and I had the whole Santa suit on -- rosy cheeks and everything. And on the way I got pulled over by the Highway Patrol. I must've been doing 85. Well, he got out, walked up to the car and said, 'OK Santa, where are you going so fast?' 'I'm late,' I said. 'I've got to get to the North Pole.' And he kind of studied me for a second and, never cracking a smile, said, 'OK, but slow those reindeer down. Merry Christmas.'"
Tricia Feldman
Attorney
"In 1988, my family and I went to Sacramento for Christmas, the first time my mom was able to go home since she was married in 1972. My grandfather had Alzheimer's disease and wasn't doing well, but the doctors said we should still go to California. Well, Grandfather died on Dec. 23, and we flew back to St. Louis on Christmas Day. Trying to salvage the holiday, my mom gave presents throughout the day and tried to make things festive. I also remember eating turkey on the plane."
Andrew Schmaeng
Manager, Fantasy Shop
"I do remember one year that my grandmother feigned snoozing all afternoon just to hear what people were saying about her. My grandmother is somewhat paranoid, but it's entertaining."
Cecile Galluzzo
Artist/Teacher
"It's a very lucid memory of Christmas Day, one of those moments that asks questions like 'Is this Christmas?' and 'Where am I?' We were driving in downtown São Paulo. I was sweating like a pig and, trying to break the intense summer heat, I rolled down the window of the small import and, looking out in the distance, there was a gigantic Santa dangling from a skyscraper."
John V. Racanelli
Owner, Racanelli's Pizza
"We had just moved into our brand-new house with our kids, ages 4 and 2. It was our first Christmas there, and we were decorating the tree. I picked up my son to put the angel on the tip of the tree, and as soon as I put him down, my little daughter starts crying, and with her big brown eyes she says, 'Daddy, don't I get an angel on the tree?' And so that year we had two angels on top of the tree."
