Winners So Far
- May 7 Winner: Post 109 by Kitty
- May 8 Winner: Post 105 by Connie Walsh
- May 9 Winner: Post 25 by Maybe
- May 10 Winner: Post 139 by Ivan
- May 11 Winner: post 93 by vibrantflame
Winners Please send an email to [email protected] with “Date X Winner” in the subject. Let us know whether you’d prefer a gift card or paypal and the neccessary info to have the gift sent.
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As promised, today I launch SmartCanucks’ largest contest ever in celebration of the new design and as a thank you to all the wonderful readers who made SC the beautiful place it is today. I’ve met a lot of amazing people through SC and made some everlasting friendships and I look forward to meeting new people and making new friends. Thank you.
I’ll be giving away a $10 Gift Card or PayPal cash daily for the next few months. Everyday we’ll have a different winner (you cannot win more than once). This means that we’ll have over 100 different winners so you have an excellent chance of winning.
Here’s how the contest will work: Every week we’ll have a new discussion topic. You can enter the contest by leaving comments and participating in the discussion. You’re allowed a maximum of 3 entries per week but you are more than welcome to post more than 3 comments if you’re enjoying the discussion (they will count as 3). Any spammy comments that don’t add true value to the discussion will not be included as contest entries.
Everyday (at no particular time because my schedule is pretty hectic) a winner will be randomly chosen.The winner will be chosen from all entries since the beginning of that week’s contest. So you may have left a comment on Day 1 and you could still win on Day 5. The winner can choose a gift card for a national store like Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws, Tim Hortons, MasterCard cash card, etc. or cash via PayPal.
A few more quick points…
I’m looking for sponsors
If you own or work at a company or in Marketing/PR and are interested in sponsoring a day or week of my contest I’d really appreciate that! Please email me at smartcanucks at gmail dot com.
I’m looking for a reputable Youtuber or Blogger to randomly choose the daily winner
Right now I’ll be randomly choosing the daily winner myself. But if a well known Youtuber or Blogger is interested in taking over that task to prove it’s done fairly that would be great! Please email me at smartcanucks at gmail dot com.
How am I affording to pay for this?
I’ll be paying for this using the money I made from GoogleAds mainly. Hopefully I can get a few sponsors too.
Is this the same as the contest running on Smart Canucks Forum?
No, it is different.
Now onto the contest… 😀
Let us know of your childhood or young adult memories and the things you cherished the most. What makes you nostalgic? What do you miss? Tell us about a special moment you recall.
Contest info: New $10 gift card or paypal winner chosen daily.
I always get nostalgic while listening to the “Oldies” station. When we were little my mom would listen to it all the time. Come Saturday morning, while my father was off fishing, she would crank up the music and we would all (my two sisters and I) sing and dance while cleaning the house. There were impromptu sools, waltzes and jitterbugging. Microphones were which ever bottle of cleanser we were holding, broom/mop handle or the nearest brush. We would add dramatic flair with flourishes of the dusting rag. There was much laughter, fun and great memories. I cherish these memories because what could have been drudgery – the weekly cleaning chores, were magically turned into moments never to be forgotten.
One of my most cherished childhood memories was spending the summers with my grandma at the cottage. Getting away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and of course my little sister and brother lol. We would relax on the dock with a tea ( I felt pretty grown up being able to drink tea with grams), swim, paddle boat, kyak, bike, and of course my favorite, playing monopoly before bed or on rainy days. When I think back I wish I could go back in time and be enjoying those days all over again. Knowing that is not possible I enjoy even more watching my children build their own memories with their great grandmother at the cottage, because I know those will be some of the best days of their lives.
Believe it or something that really takes me back is the sound of a zipper being pulled up. It reminds me of all of the time we spent camping as a child and for some reason the sound of the zipper being closed just before sleeping under the stars remains with me today. I absolutely love camping and wish I had more opportunities to do it again because it makes me feel so young.
We had a cottage ages ago and I’m the eldest out of the “kids” (my family and cousins). Since I was 3years til about 12 years old, I along with my sister, brother and 6 other cousins would get our height measured on the door frame every summer
It became a tradition. First day all three families would meet up and the kids would all run to the door frame. There were a lot of marks on that frame!
When I was 12 we had to sell the cottage. The door frame was kept there sadly and my uncle told the new owners that if they ever decided to tear down the cottage to save that frame and call him and he’ll drive the 2hours to pick it up
Well they did tear it down but didn’t get to the demolishers in time to save the frame but they said they tried. To this day whenever we get together we talk about it. It’s a great memory – sad but one that will never be forgotten
(Also side note CIBC did one of those loan commercials and had the exact same concept – heights were measured on a door but the husband brought the frame to the new house. Needless to say every time I saw that I promptly burst into tears LOL)
I loved the days when I was a kid and we actually appreciated a present…Christmas morning was spectacular! We didn’t get a thousand presents so Christmas morning was exciting and so memorable. I watched my nephew open so many presents this year that he got bored half way through and started to cry. I miss the olden days when we played with our 1 toy for days on end 🙂 I will never forget when my sister and I got our Cabbage Patch Kid. I can still close my eyes and see that doll LOL Such a good memory.
I loved the time my family and I went scuba diving in the ocean in the summer. And taking out the slice of bread from my jacket pocket and seeing all the fish come to my hand. I enjoyed flipping the flippers quietly and getting propelled forward to see more of the beautiful corals and creatures.
Growing up in a family that was very “limited” financially, my best childhood memories are the ones that my sisters and I are now carrying on with our own families:
Every Sunday without fail, we get up at 6 a.m and Mom packs up a Huge picnic lunch, books, cameras, and a big blanket.Rain or shine, we all pack into the family mini-van and go out for a day of fresh-air…if it’s raining, we pack for the weather, but that never stops us! Living in the Montreal area when I was a child, our Sundays drives would be to Plattsburg,New York, or somewhere in the Eastern Townships…even though we didn’t have money, we always could count on a great FAMILY day trip…
Now that I live on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, we go to places like Pacific Rim National Park, or to different logging roads to places that are so pristine with no development,and freshwater streams to play in…if the kids are lucky, Mom will cook up a large batch of ribs and we’ll have a campfire on the beach and warm up the ribs while we all go looking for seashells or “treasures”….My kids love this so much, they want to do this for their own family when they grow up, and the best part is it costs only the gas to get there, and it is FAMILY TIME….
Those are my best memories, NOW & THEN.
Boo,
How will you notify the winners? By email? Or by a new post? Or by leaving a comment on the discussion post?
I miss the days when I was young and my parents used to road trip to Wildwood, New Jersey. The tram car, the beach, the fudge and the amusement park. It is such a magical place that I equate to being carefree, no responsibilities to think about and I cannot wait to have my own kids to bring there.
I also think of Dad, who I don’t see too often now, when I go on car trips to almost anywhere, but especially to a post office, with anyone else in the car. Dad was very busy at work and we were able to have some time together after he leaves work and has to fetch the mail from the post office. This would be a time for just him and me. Love you, Dad!
My mom helping me plant my own little garden in our backyard for me to take care of.
I get nostalgic about old television shows, or movies, that I used to watch all the time as a kid in the late 80’s, early 90’s. Just a few weeks ago I went looking for some of them on YouTube, and found a bunch. Between the ages of 1-5 I lived in the United States, so I got to watch all sorts of stuff that wouldn’t have been seen in Canada, mostly shows on Nickelodeon or Disney. Nickelodeon had all sorts of kid’s game shows that I loved to watch. Search Finder’s Keepers on YouTube if you want to see one. As a kid I also loved watching The Price is Right, especially Plinko.
my favorite childhood memory is every summer we would go camping as a family. I was such a great time. We would all look forward to it every year and every year it would rain and our tent would leak and everything would get drenched but that didn’t matter we still had an amazing time every year!!! Now as my husband and I have two little guys (11mnth and 2 1/2 yrs) we can’t wait to take them camping when they get a little bit older 🙂
I loved my time as a kid and being able to go down to the creek. I would spend all day there either looking for fish hooks, building forts, trying to catch a trout and just exploring. My son and I went to the creek this week end and I tried to tell him about the logs I would have to cross to get to the other side. He couldn’t imagine it. Unfortunately that’s the biggest dilemma nowadays. Kids don’t have the pleasure of just taking off and going to explore. The world isn’t the same now and that saddens me.
Gardening it always brings me back to being a kid on the farm and just being in the garden. I loved it
Poking at the film on corn soup as it cools, or egg tart or almond jelly before it sets… anything that forms film actually. After you poke, it wrinkles. Wrinkle on liquid! 😀
My grandfather loved almond jelly. I would secretly poke at them precisely before it sets, so that it’s got dent and wrinkle all over. He never gets mad. He actually loved when I do that. Miss him very much! Poking at food reminds me of him.
I also play with corn starch & water mixture! It feels like solid when you apply force to it. When you let go, it runs away like liquid. You could actually add a 20-50 kg of corn starch to a pool, and you can do some Jesus walk on that liquid. Nurturing curiosity is always nostalgic!
I get nostalgic about how when I was small and didn’t need to worry (didn’t even know) about $, office politics, job, what to make for dinner…etc. I still remembered the times when I got off school, I would race with another classmate down the street to see who got home first. That was so much fun. My favorite place to hide from “problem at school” (aka boys) is the girl’s washroom. The “problem” will usually go away when I come back out. If not, I will just go back inside. = ) Can’t do that anymore now.
Purple Grapes!!!!!!!!!!!! yes purple grapes ! I remember the wine in our yard . it was so much fun and had the most delicious grapes I have ever had . Passerby will try to grab the grapes by throwing stones or climbing on our wall. One day my Dad got so annoyed that he got the gardener to cut it off But guess what next spring it sprung up again ! this happened twice , third time my dad got the area where the vine was paved with cement . Darn the modernisation!
I remember countless summers as a youngster heading over to Gabriola Island with my mom and grandma. Everything was fun back then, the ride to the BC ferry, and on it (When it dind’t break down) and then the was the cabin we stayed at – just fantastic. It was a totally different atmosphere over there, much more relaxing.
When I was little and still in grade school, I would collect stickers. I would even use up my weekly allowance (which was $2) at the dollarstore for stickers. I remember I was so happy when I get homework or assignments back because I would peel off the sticker next to the “Great!” comment that the teacher wrote, and add it to my collection. 😀
Another childhood memory is going fishing with my Dad. It was such a great time and he loved it too. 3 girls and we all liked to fish! The only part we didn’t like was taking the fish off the hook that was Dad’s job lol.
One of my fondest memories was from when I was very little, around Christmas time. It wasn’t about what we got for Christmas but just a simple walk in the snow.
Our family never owned a car so we would walk everwhere. One evening with our mom, my brother, sister and I walked to town to do a little bit of shopping. I remember it being dark as we started to walk home just as these hudge fuffy flakes of snow started to float down from the dark sky. The air was fresher and everything seem to be so quiet and peaceful as we made our way home.
I guess that’s why some say it’s the little things that are most important.
One of my favorite childhood memories is regarding how me and all my friends would play hide and go seek in the small town that I lived in. We would play all throughout the town, and I remember that it felt like we had no limits. It was a lot of fun. I also remember that I played outdoors a lot as a child, and I just felt so free. Oh, to be child again!
The day that my mom bought me my first dog. I was 15 and I had been bugging her since I was 7. We were at the mall and we went into the pet store just to look at the puppies. Asked me which one was my favorite and I picked the white and buff cocker spaniel. She told me that I could have her if I still wanted a dog. I was so happy. I had that dog for 13.5 years. She was the greatest dog ever and my mom was the best mom ever.
Oh I just thought of another one. When we use to go to the park and swing on the swimgs to get as high as we could. You know that feeling between excitment and fear, that’s when you know you were high enough. When all you could see were the clouds through your sandles. Just when we reached the top of our swing we would launch ourselves off the swings and go sailing through the air. Thinking back on it, I’m surprised none of us ever broken any bones, but wow was it a good time.
Oh my gosh does anyone else remember Jem and the Holograms!!! Me and my cousins use to be obsessed with that show. We would always watch it together and after it was done we would play Jem. I was always Jem, mostly because my mom bought me star earrings. We would sing the songs and have little concerts. It was such a good simple time.
Wow this is a great blog. So many memories to enjoy again. I just might go find some Jem to download.
Memories, memories, memories.. where shall I begin. I must say I do have many many positive memories as a child, however I will admit most of my fondest memories begin at the entrance of Canada’s Wonerland. Every year, since I was 3 years old, my family and I had Wonderland Season passes; and yes we went about twice-three times a week. My mother was a stay at home mom, and took us to Splash works on a regular basis, which we were usually joined by family friends, or relatives. I always remember My mother yelling at me to hurry up hurry up, as we were to be right at the Splash Works gate at 10am, in order to get a chair right in front of the wave pool, and be the first in line for the lazy river. I was always so excited and anxious to go to Wonderland, because I knew not only it was a day filled of fun, but it also meant Pizza and Funnel Cakes for lunch… mm mmm mmm..
Jem and the Holograms!!! That was a great show!!! I def. remember that
I lived in Toronto until I was 13 years old and then moved down east, where I still live and proudly call home. Every summer my mom, 2 brothers and I took our vacation to go to Nova Scotia to my grandmothers for 2 weeks. When I was 11-13, I worked at blueberry raking when I would go on vacation to NS. All the kids would get on the van in the morning (about 630 am) to drive to where we would be blueberry raking for the day. We would all be talking and laughing and by the time we boarded the van about 4pm to head home we would all sit there very quietly; this was only because we didn’t want the driver (our boss) to see our purple teeth, and I mean deep purple, from eating blueberries all day. I would go to sleep at night and all I would see in my sleep was blueberries. Even after eating all them blueberries those summers, I still love blueberries.
I cherish the simpler times when I was younger; not having worries, days would be spent playing outside in the sun, not having regrets, pain. I cherish the days of innocence, laughter, first love, first kiss – never having felt heartache. I cherish the younger years, when I was too naive to know better, know the complexity of the world, know that I would have to grow up stronger, wiser, braver.
As strange as it sounds, roller blading remids me of when I was a young lad!! When I was a child, my mother use to take us my younger sister, brother and myself for a walk around the block. My brother was a baby, I found it unfair that he didn’t have to walk, but lay there in his stroller. My mom bought me a pair of roller blades, and of course, I did not know how to roller blade. We went around the block that same day, and I fell down most of the way and eventually had to take them off and just walk in my bair feet. When I got home, my mom looked at my feet, and I had blisters and cuts from the roller blades. My mom hid them from me. I am 24, and to this day I do not know to to roller blade!! My mom passed away unexpectedly last year, and these are memories that bring smiles to my face.
My Favorite childhood memory is going to the PNE with my Dad. We always had fun and it was a great bonding experience for us. Now that he is older and can no longer go… I take my kids!
I would say the moments my family spend time together as one unit instead of living their separate lives. We used to go out for family dinners and afterwards spend some time in the park. Those are the days. Now we’re all adults, we get to have our fun with friends but definitely not the same. Too bad though.
During grade school, it was tradition for my sister and I that on the last day of school before summer vacation, when the report cards came out, that we would go with our mom get a treat to kick off the summer break.
Sometimes it was a sugar cereal (like Captian Crunch or Fruit Loops or Lucky Charms)which we were never allowed during the school year, sometimes it was a movie at the theatre, popcorn included (we rarely went to the theatre). But I will NEVER forget the one time my mother brought my sister and I to the Dollar store and told us we could have 20 things each. We had hit the jackpot!! It was like winning the lottery as a child. 20 things!? We were in heaven. I was so excited, and to this day I dont think I have ever had a happier feeling. Of all the expensive electronics and clothes, etc… my parents have ever bought me – I will remember the $20 Dollar Store Spree the most. My mom laughs to this day saying “if she ever knew $20 would bring so much happiness . . .”
When I was a kid and we lived across the street from a small store where they sold those cylinder shaped ice creams that they pulled the paper off and then put it into the cone. The store owner had these containers with different kind of sprinkles and he was so generous with dipping the cone in and the ice cream was covered with chocolate sprinkles – that was my favourite treat in the summer. Best part was it only cost 6 cents.
I live in Ontario but I’m from Newfoundland. So for me, when I’m around water brings back alot of memories. I miss waking up to it , I miss sitting by the water or even walking next to it. The smell of salt water and bomfires makes me think of my youth. I also miss living in a house thats not on top of my neighbors 🙂
Camping with my parents…..campfires and fishing. Now the lakes have no fish and the campgrounds are so close together it is not fun anymore.
What makes me most Nostalgic- Would have to be ANY toy my mother has given me when i did well on tests in elementary. So seeing the movies that they are releasing bring a HUGE smile to my face. I mean seeing all th4ese new movie releases of transformers, G.I Joe, etc brings back memories of me and some of my old friends being geeky and playing around with the action figures. Yea i may have given them away ages ago but i will still remember my mother whipping out that little toys r us bag and giving me a prize when i did a collection of good things. A model i still live by with to this day with myself, and others. Doing good deeds may not always reward you but that sensation is worth more than gold.
I miss summer vacation from elementary school. There was nothing like that last day of school before summer break. From that point it was a kind of freedom ( that I dearly miss =) ) until September. All the kids in the neighbouhood were outside playing all the time. No one had to make plans, everyone just sort of showed up and played until the dreaded curfew. I still love summer and miss those care free play days.
When I was a kid in Europe my grandma would take me to her friends house, her friend loved music and had a large collection of records, I remember this is the first time I had ever seen a record or heard one play. Jokingly he showed me the different types of records he had and while showing me one said “Now these are hard to break, so why my wife gets mad at me she cant smash them” and with a laugh she replied “Oh yes I can”. I used to love going there and listening to his records.
We only had 4 channels on TV, infact the TV’s only had 5 buttsons for channels and was obviously black and white, so needless to say I hadnt seen much, we had friends that lived out on a farm, they had a very early satelite and were able to pull in some channels, I remember once we went there during the summer and we watched a Disney movie, I dont remember which but I do remember being amazed as it was the first time I had seen a cartoon and in color! I was in awe.
Thoes are two memories that will always stick with me.
Oatmeal and a bottle of honey in the shape of a bear.
My grandparents would travel the summers in their RV and come to visit for a week. Each morning I would wake up early to go have breakfast with my grandparents. They would make me a bowl of oatmeal and let me put as much honey on my breakfast as I could squeeze out of the bottle.
Oatmeal is such a staple item, I never let it go empty in my pantry.
It’s hard to find a bear shaped honey bottle these days, but when I do, it doesn’t matter if I already have other honey in my cabinet. I buy it since I know it will be used!
Visiting my parents place always makes me very nostalgic – mind you, I have to fly over the Atlantic to do that 🙂 When I get to their house, simple things like the smell of my Mom’s cooking or a view from my room’s window trigger so many memories! I remember when I was back in primary school, my Mom and I would go to the local market to get food supplies – carrying the eggs and potatoes in their own little baskets. I can almost smell the scent of fresh meat coming from the meat section – pigs’ heads always scared me the most! Vegetables will never taste the same as they do back at home – when you cut a cucumber there, you smell the freshness in the room next door.
Something that reminds me of my roots is the smell of salt water/ seaweeds… I come from the east coast and have spend all my summers growing up at Parlee Beach and the beach and salt water. No matter where I live now, that smell takes me back to the many summers camping, swimming and just enjoying outdoors with my family.
I just love remembering what childhood was like…not a care in the world- no bills to pay, no politics to discuss, no paycheck to wait for. The only thing that mattered was my family- mom and dad only existed to take care of me and my needs. I remember being about 16 and realizing ‘mom and dad are actually real people, there is more to them than just being mom and dad’.
One of my most cherised moments of childhood is making paper boats everytime it rained. We would very carefully let go of them in the running water on the sides of the streets and let them sail. The fun didn’t stop then – we would follow the boats seeing how far it will go before it falls down. Sometimes I would have races with my cousins to see who would win. Those were the days!
Cartoon mornings on a Saturday!!! School week ends and relaxing time awaits on the boob tube with She-Ra, He-man, My Pet Monster, Inspector Gadget, Beetlejuice, Transformers….ohhh the list goes on.
When I was 7, my parents took the family to Equador for two months during the summer holidays. It was amazing to drive through the Andes mountains, to travel through jungles, the ocean, and just to simply experience a different way of life than we have here in Canada.
Needless to say, my “What I did on my summer vacation” project at the beginning of the new school year was pretty packed full of wonderful experiences.
I miss spending long summer days at my grandparents house, by the pool, playing with my cousins, and just being a child. Sometime the hardest thing is growing up, and I’m 38 saying this, haha. At least I have the treasury of all those great memories.
My favourite childhood memory is of the long summers days we spent in The Beaches. We lived just a few steps away from the beach. My siblings and myself spent countless hours riding our bikes along the boardwalk and skipping rocks into the lake. I think my record was 7 skips. I really miss those carefree summers.
My favorite childhood memories are those of playing hide and go seek for HOURS every night in the summer, with all of the neighborhood kids. Going back to my hometown always brings back so many memories, it’s often very hard to leave. Maybe when my daughter is old enough, we’ll go back, and I’ll show her where all the best hiding spots are 🙂
I have this one memory of making a mock music video to a song by B*witched. If you have not hear of them it is no surprise. It was that bad of a song.
We thought we were pretty cool though. We jumped around a lot and acted all ‘hot’ and it was good, quality childhood fun. I still have a copy.
My best memory from that day was having a scene where we all jumped into a pool. It didn’t work out on camera the first time so we had to crawl out and dry our hair.
All of it was a total blast.
I remember making those cool friendship bracelets where you would pin the strings to your shorts/pants and then tie the various strings in knots to make awesome designs. I wish I remembered how to make them…
i remember the spring and the first day that we could go without coats..
we thought we looked sooooo cool…and we were..it was only 12 degrees
outside…hehe
My fondest memories are of the times my friends and I spent roaming our vast neighbourhood. We lived in an undeveloped area of Hamilton where there were very few houses. Each property was at least an acre and there were huge fields all around the properties. We explored a lot.
One place we used to explore was this tiny ancient graveyard. The grave stones were worn and falling down and it was difficult to make out the names and dates. Of course, there were tales of all sorts of spooky incidents in the graveyard and we would challenge each other to actually go in particularly at night.
I get particularly nostalgic about these times when I visit my mother who still lives in the same house. The large properties and the fields are gone, now filled with brand new subdivisions.
I always have great memories arise when I see bleeding hearts– before anyone panics– I’m talking about the flowers.. When I was a child and my parents were still together we had a huge house in High Park and it was surrounded with bushes of beautiful pink bleeding heart flowers..
Smells are most nostalgic for me. My boyfriend too, even though I can’t stand the smell of skunk, he loves it; it reminds him of his childhood in Afghanistan. Sometimes I smell something, that I can’t remember that I’ve smelled before but it takes me back to a memory, smell is such a powerful sense.
I have to say SUMMER!!! I miss spending the entire summer at the lake as I did when I was a child. The smells, the air… everything. Weekends off throughout the summer are not the same as having those 2 months to be free!! Everything about summer at the lake makes me wish I was still a kid – swimming, biking, ice cream walks, the beach, or even rainy days playing board games.
I also remember meal times when I was young.. My mom was eager for us to try new foods. She would often introduce something new to us and let us decide if we liked it or not.. It was so fun to experiment and it also made my brother and I so open to trying new things which is such a great quality to have..
As odd as this sounds, my biggest childhood memory is of my Mom, now passed, getting us kids out of bed in the summertime with a “breakfast is ready & on the table – get up, get up!”
LOL – this was Mom’s way of fueling us kids for a day of berry/fruit picking! Mom was usually a “cereal’s in the cupboard, milk’s in the fridge” kind of Mom, so having a nice breakfast ready for us was nothing short of bribery! And we’d spend all day at the berry patches, or at the orchards, picking fruit … then we’d come home & package it all for freezing.
To this day, I can’t go past a bush full of ripe blackberries, without hearing her voice in my head, “Breakfast is ready. Get up, get up!”
I agree with Zoe– it is definitely smells that does it for me more than anything I see, hear, feel or taste.. I think that smell is the sense most tightly tied to memory.. There are certain flowers that I smell they just take me back……..
My mother would take us to visit her parents twice a year. They lived about an hour and thirty minutes away, but we seldom ever arrived in that time. Whether it was a quick mid-trip burger king stop, an ice cream sundae at the tiny shop about 20 minutes off the highway, or a day long excursion to the beach, my fondest memories are the times my mother spent making the journey just as much fun as the destination.
My favourite memory is all the summer nights playing “hide ‘n go” on the court. Every night, after dinner, about 8 of us kids would convene at the green box in front of my neighbours house. We’d stick our potatoes in, and figure out who was going to be “it”. Then we’d run off to the sound of our friend counting, trying to find the best spot ever. We would always “travel” starting far away, then ducking behind cars, sometimes going over backyard fences, but always having a great time. The object was to come running out of the Smith’s backyard gate, directly in front of the green box, before whoever was “it” even noticed you.
I love the picture with the roses! It reminds me of a time where I used to go to my cottage with my family for a weekend getaway. Too bad we don’t do that anymore.
This time of year always reminds me of how I used to love to be outside all the time when I was young, riding bikes, playing at the park on the tire-swing (it was my favorite!). Too bad as you get older that all your everyday commitments get in the way of enjoy endless days playing!
When I was a little girl and I was tired after one exhausting day, one slept on the back seat of the car, without being buckled up. It was in time when one could be sitted 5 on a bench containing 3 people today. It is unthinkable to do that today.
When I was little, I always had problems falling asleep for my afternoon nap. My mom would always lie down with me, and stroke my back until I fall asleep. To this day, I still treasure the memory of the two of us lying in a quiet room while I enjoyed a soothing backrub.
I just miss being a kid in general, playing all day long, looking for animal shapes in the clouds, not worring about what I was wearing or how popular we were! I miss being friends with everyone, getting in to a fight because that one wouldn’t share and then being friends again by the end of the day! I miss playing the games that kids play and daydreaming about getting older…if only I knew that getting older wasn’t all it was cracked up to be! I miss the toys we had, atari was the best LOL I miss riding bikes and skating. I miss being a toys r us KID !!!!
I’m most nostalgic when I think about the times when I was younger and my whole family would sit at the table and eat together. It seems that as everyone grew older and had more responsibilities,it is hard to do this now,and I miss that a lot.
I can never forget when my friends and I would catch bugs every summer. We would have these bug catching kits and nets and chase butterflies, grass hopper, even crickets! We even found a caterpillar once and called it Grassy. Those were the days…… Now I’m scared of even ants!
Funny… It was last week I drove by my old neighbourhood with my 5 year old daughter. I am in the process of trying to get her off of her baby bike with training wheels to her new 2 wheeler that her grandpa bought her last year . I showed her the old parking lot(which is now Baycrest hospital..for those in Toronto)that my dad use to bring me and teach me how to ride my bike. Those were the best years of my life..I can cry just thinking about it….free, carefree..not a care in the world. back then except playing with your friends have having fun…….:-)
I always get nostalgic about my childhood when driving by a certain corner store near by grandparents house. It was always a big deal when gramdpa would walk to the store with us to buy us candy. And, I fondly remember the time when we were allowed to walk there on our own without an adult…I felt so grown up to be able to do that but now when I see where the store is it makes me chuckle because it’s only around the corner from their old house…funny how age changes your perspective on things :o)
I miss going apple picking in the fall and making fresh apple pies at my grandparents’ house. I loved the smell of pies baking in the kitchen, and rolling the dough.
I haven’t gone apple picking in years, and my grandparents no longer live in that house, but the memories will stay with me.
When I hear early to mid 90’s music I think back to the good old days. I was care free and the world in front of me held nothing but possibilities.
I have great memories of coming home from school with my little brother and baking snacks together in the Kitchen. It was always fun to do something together without any adults…it made us feel so grown up and we got to enjoy what we made which was even better! Now a days kids come home and crack open the box of premade snacks which are so unhealthy for them…I miss the days when things were made from scratch.
I also have to say ( now that nostalgia is on my mind ) that I have such fond memories of my birthdays as a kid. My mom always had these little Bakers Coconut recipe books of birthday cakes that were made from cut up cakes. Every year I’d get to flip through the pages looking for the cake I wanted for my birthday. I remember labouring over the decision since you only got to pick one and it would be a year before you picked the next one. Now that I’m a mom I went searching online for those little books which are unfortunately out of print but I found a similar one through chapters online and ordered it for my daughter in the hopes she will have fond memories one day too of picking out her cut out birthday cakes :o)
So…there’s a contest everyday? Is the childhood memories contest everyday, or will there be different things to post about? Hope it’s different…because I am still a kid without many childhood memories to reflect on. When I was a lot younger though, all I did was copy my brother and sister. When they watched a movie, I’d watch it with them. Every Television program they watched, so did I! I also played the TGC’s they did and just about everything else. I still look up to them, but not enough to copy them in everything 🙂
BTW! What exactly is nostalgic? And when I said TGC earlier, I meant TCG. I recall playing MTG (Magic the Gathering) with my older siblings too. I would pay my $10 entry fee (that’s standard because I got three packs of cards). We would draft them, but I’d never know what cards were worth the most, and I wasn’t good at playing, so I lost the tournament and my brother and sister profited! 🙁
I always feel nostalgic when I smell freshly cut grass. During my childhood my parents avid gardeners, and they enjoyed it alot as a hobby. I remember them planting new flowers in our backyard every summer. They always made me cut the lawn and the grass in the backyard. I remember I hated that, because I disliked the noise that the lawn mower made. But now whenever I smell grass I am reminded of my childhood.
I remember the days when gas was $0.49 and people couldn’t afford cars, so bikes were the big thing. It’s scary to think that we were more active then than we are now. I miss playing with the kids on the street, how everyone knew everyone else in the neighbourhood and going to McDonald playground for my birthday. McDonalds playground looks like a castle when you’re eight.
I loved watching the smurfs when i was little! now that i have a son, we sit and watch cartoons together, but there’s nothing as good as the smurfs. they sure were smurfy!!!
Rainy evenings remind me of my childhood. I used to be in bed before it got dark out when I was 4 or 5 yrs old. I would look out the window when it rained until it was too dark to see. Now the smell of rain after dinner reminds of how fast 40 yrs can go by.
Long from the days of black, and white TV, I still search out the old sitcoms as “I Love Lucy”, and “All In the Family.” Watching them reminds me of family times around the television, with a fresh batch of maple fudge.
During those moments, we were together, laughing, and complimenting our confection. I cuddled with my mother, swaddled in the purple and white afghan she knitted.
I still have that afghan, and I prepare maple fudge to perfection.
Simplest are the moments, that remind me of my childhood.
I was an Air Cadet from the age of 12 to 19. I spent every summer at camp, 3 in Penhold, AB for band, and 3 in Cold Lake, AB for survival. Cadets was such a huge influence in my life, and I met so many incredible people.
My favourite memories include playing in the Penhold Air Cadet marching band at the Klondike Days parade, and all the performances we did as a band. Teaching my cadets how to use a map and compass, what was safe to eat in the bush, and how to set snares and skin a rabbit. And all of our staff cadet adventures around Cold Lake. Being chased by a skunk and having to hide in a porta-potty…tipping our canoe and not being able to turn it back over (having to swim to shore).
I have a cigar box full of stuff I accumulated over my cadet career, everything has meaning, from the spoon I took from the mess hall in Cold Lake, to the stub of my graduation cigar, its all special. My hubby just doesn’t understand either…lol!
My Mom just passed away in March and one of my favourite memories was when my very creative mother won me a transister radio (that was in the 50’s btw and to OWN your own Transister Radio was a big deal!!!
A company calaled CHOCO had a contest to write a poem about their product, my mom took the letters and Made something for each letter like C is for chocolate etc
Then she wrote it all out (no printers in those days) like this:
C is for …..
H is for ..
O
C
O
Best memory!!!!
I think what I miss most about my childhood is my childhood. Just the freedom you had back then, your innocence, and the people who still lived back then. I miss the freedom of not having to worry about anything and having everything taken care of by my parents. I miss the relatives that passed away but still were alive when I was young. I loved just playing around. Now I’ll look a little silly if I want to play on the playground. The wacky ideas and youthful ambitions and energy you had as a kid. Childhood is so precious, you don’t realize how much until it’s passed you by.
Oh sippysip that is so on the mark.
Today’s children have never and will never know the freedom of playing
outside all day long, coming in for lunch and dinner only. No one knew where we were at all times, and it didn’t matter….
I wonder sometimes where did all the bad people out there now come from??
What I remember the most is when I was 6 or 7 I had really wanted an ALF stuffed animal, I loved that show! On Christmas morning, after all was said and done, I found a present at the back of the tree that we had not been opened yet. Lo and behold it was ALF! I was so happy and the joy I felt was amazing. I still have him to this day 😉
We always used to spend New Years Eve with my Grandparents and various other relatives. We’d play Bingo for cheesy dollar store prizes (sometimes we’d something great like our own tin of peanuts!!), talk and laugh, and pop balloons at midnight. It was simple and laid back, but now is one of my fondest memories!
its not really special per say lol but the most memorable childhood moment i had was when i went into the backyard and ate a worm LMAO! ill never forget that one:P
My most memorables memories are recent ones and are when I went to Korea in my 20s. I developed some long lasting friendships during my 3 years there. I kept a journal of my first 2 years there and I have many photos to show for it. When I have children, I want them to know that their mom had the “juts” to go abroad alone and work in a country where adaptability is very important and of course, that I had an awesome experience there. “The world is your oyster!”
The world is changing quickly and moving at light-speed it seems at times… I’m not too old, but I remember spending summers (and every other available moment) outside running through sprinklers, riding my bike, exploring the surrounding woods or swimming in the lake. I loved being outside, around a campfire or just inside my fort; pretending to be a Native American tribe, an explorer, or collecting flowers, leaves, unique stones, etc. I believe I miss it not because I’m an adult now and time and responsiblities don’t allow me to indulge in that feeling of independence, freedome and exploration, but because it seems like children these days never go outside and truly play. I understand the paranoia and fear most parents feel these days, but it just seems like that aspect of childhood is being crushed.
Thank you for running this contest!
One of my most cherished childhood memories is when my parents gave me a “Zeddy” bear (the mascot of Zellers). It might sound silly, but I had seen the Zellers commercials featuring Zeddy and I was in love with that bear. I begged for weeks to have that bear, and finally my parents got him for me. I was SO happy! I loved that bear so much that I kept him until I was in my late teens.
sitting by the dock, watching the ducks
Every Sunday when i would visit my Grandpa, he would give me some money to run out to the ice cream truck and get myself and him a twist dip cone. My Grandpa passed away 4 years ago but there is not a time goes by when I see that ice cream truck that dosent make me think of it. My husband knows the significance so occasionally we will get one…I cannot wait to have children and pass this on to them..
seeing old friends and just talking about the past is something that I miss, because with school going on there isnt much time to do it anymore.
I have loads of memories that I will cherish for decades. One of them is the day the park had a Fun Fair. My brother and I ran across to the park and did all those little kid games to earn tickets. Boy, we got like hundreds of tickets and cashed them in for amazing prizes! Cars, bubble machines, fishing toys, you name it, we got it. 🙂 Really enjoy family time, I easily got homesick due to the love I was surrounded by daily.
Another childhood memory is Saturday morning cartoons and TVO! I used to love watching the British or Australian shows on TVO like “The Tribe” and “Round the Twist”. And I miss Saturday morning cartoons so much! That was what I loved about the weekend…just lounging around all morning on Saturday, glued to the TV and with a big bowl of cereal.
Recently I came across a clip of a show I completely forgot about. After seeing the clip it brought back so many memories of watching the series on the TV. I still have the toys from McD of the series. Which TV series? The Dinosaurs of course, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaurs_(TV_series).
Definitely the cottage! Our family rented a cottage every summer and to go up there, explore, play games, swim, boat, feed the chipmunks, you name it – the best family time ever!
I miss having around a big family. I grew up in a big family and we always had some one visiting our house unannounced. It was fun to play with the cousins and to visit different cities and places together.
Hearing the sounds of pink winks reminds me of being tucked into bed after being so tired from running around outside all day. You can always count on hearing them every year, and it makes me so excited for summer.
Helping my dad harvest potatoes out of the garden and then at supper time finding a one dollar bill under our plates for helping! Wow…it’s a long time ago that there were $1 bills…
Cherished memories go back to the day
.when my son would cut some of his clothes and hair as a toddler
.when he wanted snakes in the house for pets but had to settle for
crabs in a glass tank as a primary age boy
.when he would cover the bottom of his bedroom door with a towel
or hide in the closet as a way to play on his computer at
midnight as a preteen
.when I would take him to the local regiment and he would take
my right hand occasionally while driving on our way as a 17
year old
… NOW he is gone, far from home, and missing him terribly but proud as he serves His Country.
I am the youngest of 7, and I don’t think I have many early childhood memories that are uniquely my own. Much of what I remember is stories being told by my siblings about things I had done when I was younger. In fact, I remember the story told to me as being real. I think I remember cold tea fights in the kitchen when one of my sisters would insult another sister (all in fun).
Another childhood memory is hanging around with my best friend MJ and arguing about whether the moon was following me or him. lol.
My favourite childhood memory would be ice skating with my Dad in our backyard. Every year, he would spend endless hours labouring with some 2x4s, a huge tarp and tons of leveling so my sister and I could enjoy a backyard ice rink. He also was in charge of tieing up my skates – no one could get my ankles laced in properly like Dad could! I definitely look forward to such memories being made with my future children.
From my childhood, I really miss getting up early and watching Saturday morning cartoons. In those days I can easily wake up at 7 am and spend the entire morning under the blanket while watching the shows on YTV. I didn’t have to worry about responsibilities (like jobs or homework) and thus can thoroughly enjoy the programs without feeling like a guilty procrastinator (like I do now!). That type of carefree-ness I really miss.
The sound of loons and red-winged blackbirds calling always makes me nostalgic. Memories of all those summers spent camping on the lake with my family, fishing and swimming… I was a little amateur bird-watcher too, I loved carrying around my ID books to see what new birds I could spot!
Camping in the backyard with my Mom!
I loved hearing the stories about how, for their honeymoon, they’d gone camping, with just their motorcycle, tent, two sleeping bags & the clothes on their backs. I laughed when she told me how, one night, when it started to rain, he got up & rolled the bike right into the tent between them, so that the seat wouldn’t be all squishy & wet in the morning. She used to say that, the only regret she had was leaving her camera at home…
One of my favourite childhood memories is Christmas Eve. My parents would dress us up warmly and put us into the car to drive around the neighbourhood streets, looking at all the houses with the colourful lights. We would count the houses that we saw and point out our favourite houses excitedly. Then we’d go home and crawl into bed, eagerly waiting for Christmas Day and the presents that would await us.
Day 1 Winner
Using http://www.random.org random number generator from 1 to 110 the winner was post number 109 which is Kitty.
Congrats Kitty 😀
Please send an email to [email protected] with Day 1 Winner in the subject. Let us know whether you’d prefer a gift card or paypal and the neccessary info to have the gift sent.
Bubble Bath: I used to watch the Commander Tom show (mostly to see Bullwinkle & Rocky) after school. They had a contest once where the grand prize was a big honkin’ stuffed something or other. I entered & won a box of Mr. Bubble bubble bath. You had to go & pick it up. Since we lived in Toronto & the show was in Buffalo NY my dad flat out refused to take me. Said we’d go to the store & buy a box. Not the same. Grrr. Every time I see bubble bath in a store I think of Bullwinkle.
I also miss the cartoons and tv shows of my childhood…what ever happened to rainbow bright, he-man, she-ra, thundercats, tail spin, flinstones, transformers, ewoks, jem and the hollograms, veggie tales, cabbage patch dolls, strawberrie shortcake, muppet babies, merry melodies and you can’t for get all the loonie toon shows….there are so many I am sure I am forgetting a ton! And you can’t for get that many of these shows came with their own figurines, lunch boxes, dolls, and cards…do you remember those cards that were a spinoff of the cabbage patch kids, i thought they were gross….I think they were called garbage pail kids?! Lets not forget mork and mindy, my first words were na-nu na-nu LOL I also remember when wrestling was GOOD!! Junk yard dog, randy rowdy piper, jake the snake, andre the giant….so many names come to mind!! They even had a cartoon show once upon a time! Oh the memories
One of my fondest Childhood memories is the smell of Halloween, when you go down in the crawlspace and dig out all the decorations and costumes. I can destincly remember the almost musty smell mixed with halloween make up, every time I smell it I think of how much fun I had while going out trick or treating with my family.
I feel nostalgic when I saw the old comics I watched on tv when I was young. They begin to show up again in DVD since few years. And it’s great that my kids seems to enjoy them too.
riding to the beach with my friends early in the morning and spending the day 🙂
Another memorie that I cherish is playing with my dog. I was really in love with that dog. And that dog was really faithfull to me, always there for me. I miss this old friend.
Another thing that make me feel nostalgic is when I listen to music I was listening in my teenage years. Sometimes it makes me laugh because I realise how I change.
Some of my favorite memories growing up are playing outside – making forts with my friends out in the back of our property, toboganning in winter, dancing around in the basement to my meagre record collection (including Leif Garrett, ack), drooling over the Teen Beat magazines, playing tennis with my brother, swimming down at the local swimming hole with all my friends. We used to canoe sometimes up the river when I was older – that was a great way to spend the day. Sigh!
A memory that i cherish is from when i was maybe 10 or so. It was about 4 a.m on Xmas eve, and as always, i could never sleep because i was SO excited to open my stocking and gifts that Santa had brought for me. I quietly crept downstairs trying not to make the floor creek so that noone else in the house would know what i was up to. I got to the tree and saw all of the wrapped gifts that Santa had brought for us. I looked for ones with my name on them and gently shook the gifts so i could try and guess what may have been inside each one. Next thing i knew, the tree was moving slightly, so i stopped shaking the gift in my hand; wide eyed. Then, my Dad, who had been hiding behind the tree since he had heard me coming down the stairs, popped out and started laughing!!! He had been watching me shake the gifts and had a blast from behind the tree watching my excitement. I’ll never forget that Christmas! Since my Dad retired years ago, he moved to Mexico and doesn’t bother to call anyone in our family which is sad so i hold onto memories i have of him when i was a child 🙂
i remember , the ducks! we used to get up early in the morning 4-5 am and go to this park which had a pond full of ducks! with bags of bread , we used to feed these ducks and geese’s so fondly. Then at 7 am we will go and have a hearty breakfast ! those were the great times!
I grew up on a farm, lots of open land, and other farmers fields surrounding us. What takes me back, is the smell of skidoo exhaust fumes. Weird, I know. When we were little, myself and my 3 siblings, had old skidoos, fixer-uppers if you may, and we would all get one to drive. I remember going out for hours on end, at night, just riding around. We would take trails and roads and just explore the freedom we had that our parents knew nothing about…because they thought we were just riding around the back field. 😉 I remember one time we got brave enough to make our way to the McDonalds trails…a trail through the woods that took you to a nearby McDonalds, where you parked your skidoo in the woods, and never worried that it would get stolen.
The next day my dad realized one of the bogeys was missing on one of the skidoos, and figured it was out in the field some where. The same day, one of his friends brought by a bogey that was found on the road by the end of his driveway. My dad was amazed, what great luck that he now had one that could replace the missing one. He never did put the 2 together…thankfully!
I always get nostalgic thinking about my family camping when I was a kid. We’d pack up our stuff, grab the dog, hitch up the trailer and head out for a few weeks at a time. Those nights, playing card games, reading, talking… all cosy in the trailer together, bring back great memories.
At the time, I didn’t appreciate it, but now I really miss the feeling of going to bed while the sun is setting after a long day of playing outside. As a kid, I wanted to stay out longer, but now I appreciate that I was worn out, and had that great sunshine smell, and the cool cotton sheets felt so great on my skin. And I loved that it was still warm out, but not so hot that I couldn’t fall asleep. And it felt like, as I was falling asleep and letting my eyes close, the world was falling asleep too with the sun dipping down behind my house for another day.
I used to wake up every night for a midnight snack – wake up my mother…now I am paying for it, cause my toddler wakes me up every night…haha! Anyway, I used to need a snack either a graham wafer dipped in milk or Strawberry Shortcake cereal. mmm! That cereal is discontinued now…what I wouldn’t give for a bowl, it was so yummy.
My mom and I recently came across some photos of a beauty pageant that I was in at our local mall, back in about 1984 (when I was four-years-old). I won the contest, and moved on to the next round. There’s a great photo of me with my two trophies, barely able to hold them both at once. My grandmother took me on a train trip for the next pageant in the big city, Toronto! I vaguely recall being very thirsty on the train, because my grandmother bought us a sandwich but not a drink. We stayed in a teeny-tiny hotel room, and I slept on a cot. It’s amazing that I remember such strange, small details about that trip, and not much of the pageant itself.
Centre Island Pepsi.
When I was a kid we lived in Toronto,and sometimes we would take the ferry boat over to the Islands on Sunday afternoons.
I remember having Pepsi and it was so good!
Just the right amount of syrup and whatever.
To this day,whenever the taste is just right,I always remember Centre Island Pepsi.
Every day when I log into SC reminds me of my days of sibling rivalry. You see my brother is also a member of SC, and just because we are both in our 50’s, it doesn’t stop us from complimenting each other in a memorable, brother-sister fashion.
My family had an acre of property with lots of fruit trees and bushes. As much as we complained about having to pick red currants, black currants and gooseberries, I remember the wonderful smell and taste of fresh berries and the jam and juice my mother made from those berries.
Walking to school with my younger brother. The walk usually take around 5-10 minutes but for some reason my brother and I tend to make the most out of this walk. We talked, laughed, ran, joked, chases, walked, talked to the neighbours and everything I wish I can still do today. We were so close when we were littler youngsters.
My mother bringing me to Eaton’s to buy a holiday outfit (which always turned out to be something velvet). She would let me look on all the racks, I would hide from her in the circular racks and she would scream that I had been abducted, lol. I would then proceed to wear the outfit during the whole holiday time, annoying my whole family but constantly telling them it was my new favorite outfit!
I remember going to Toysrus when I was little. The people who hosted the Pokemon tournaments or the activities that they were doing would always give me free stuff 🙂 (like promo cards, Pokemon badges, and the toys from the dino hunt etc.) Those were the days.
I have wonderful memories of walking home from school, especially at lunchtime, when the season was changing from late winter to early spring. The sun would be shining and I could walk with my jacket UNDONE! “Island” chunks of snow hugged the curb on our street and I could hear the water gushing from beneath them and rushing into a nearby sewer. I would love to stomp on the ends of each one to break them off. The air smelled fresh and clean. I loved those days:)
I can never forget when I was younger and I used to fight with my brother over the stupidest things. One day our parents got us suckers. A red one for me and a green on for him. I started crying that I wanted the green one and that ended up with what looked like a cat fight. I always used to win of course. lol. but i cant say i miss those days…..
another memory is me and my cousin who is 6 months younger “sharing” the toilet at the same time when we were toddler’s. Apparently when she or I needed to pee so did the other…lol.
My Fav memories of my childhood is playng base ball with my cousing, aunt and uncles. It was a total family event we would do it ever weekend and young and old played
One of my favourite memories: reading picture books in class! Now when I go to the library to look at picture books… younger keeps kind of look at me. It’s not too embarassing but still!
Tea parties with my Grandpa when I was little…. He was such a good sport! Cheese and crackers were my speciality. Ohhhh those were the days!
I immigrated here when I was 10 and have not been back to my hometown until 10 years after for the first time. I now fly there every 2-3 years and every time I get excited when discovering places I’ve been to before, a lot of times quite by accident too.
Seeing that some of the members here have discussed their memories of Christmas as children, it reminded me of the days when I was certain that Santa was real. I would stay up as late as I can to catch Santa in action, but would always end up falling asleep despite my best efforts. I found out about the truth behind Santa from friends in middle school, and Christmas Eve hasn’t felt the same since!
I also miss learning to fold origami from my grandpa. I still remember how to fold the boats and flowers that he taught me but forgot how to do the more complicated stuff. It’ll be nice if he can teach them to me again.
Wow! I think I won!
I never these sorts of things!
I’m gonna go send my email now…
Thanks Boo!
Its so nice to go down the memory lane and remember the ridiculous, hilarious and most amazing times we all had in our childhoods. My most cherished memory is being able to be on the swing and do high jumps from it. I ever remember fracturing my ankle doing that. No when ever I take my kids to the park I remember the good old days.
My dad used to buy a chicken drumstick for my sister and I when we go to the dentist’s office. It was so yummy and we get to hold our own drumstick and it felt so special. The whole ferry terminal is closed down now.. no more chicken drumstick… it was so juicy… just thinking about it still makes my mouth watery….
I really enjoyed family vacation with my parents. We would go to Ottawa every March Break and it would be fun everytime even if we’re visiting the same musuems and artifacts. I just love getting away with my family and being able to enjoy the days to follow 🙂
I missed the time (when I was younger) and able to talk on the phone overnight, go out till 1-2am. Now with two kids in the house, I rarely stay up till after midnight. Haven’t gone to a movie or go out at night for a coffee or dessert for a long, long time now..
Mine would definitely be Pop Shoppe drinks.
I remember my great uncle who lived next door had cases of them in the cold storage beside the house. He was always clomping about in clogs, fixing something or making us laugh with his puns while feeding us candies he had kept hidden in the pantry. If we were very good, we’d be allowed to go into the cold storage and have a bottle of Pop Shoppe pop to drink. Oh the joys! Such excitement over a little fizzy drink. We’d pull out a bottle…hoping it would be the kind we desired as that was part of the fun too! (My favourites were Black Cherry and Lime Ricky)
My uncle has long since passed, but when I saw that the Pop Shoppe was back up and running, I felt a mix of nostalgia and some sadness as I reached to touch the cool glass bottle. Our family no longer lives next door, and the new neighbours have pulled down the cold storage component and put a fence up around the perimeter. It’s on moonlit nights when the air is slightly warm and the mosquitos are few, that I may just scale the fence with a Pop Shoppe drink and bury the cap under the apple tree in honour of my dearest great uncle and those magical times we had.
I have fond memories of the playground. Monkey bars (every other bar if you could reach), slides, bridges, the swings (remember twisting the chains to get the perfect height?), a game of Tag… good times. We had one a block away from our house so I was there very often. Thanks for the contest 🙂
May 8 Winner: Post 105 by Connie Walsh
Congrats 😀
One of my fondest memories is traveling up to Parry Sound to stay with my Grandma at her cottage. She had a lot of strawberry, raspberry and blueberry plants…the raspberries were my favourite!
Her cottage was right on the lake so she had a dock and a floating dock that you could swim out to and lay out in the sun all day (unlike today!).
The thing that I associate the most with her are the Glitter mints by Trebor, she always had those on the living room table in a small glass dish. I miss her.
My fondest childhood memories were of spending summer vacations at my grandparent’s house. It was a calm oasis in an otherwise turbulent childhood.
We’d watch television (they had an rooftop antenna and we could watch millions of channels…as opposed to our one channel at home)…go on picnics…eat wonderful Grandma meals…play with cutout dolls and best of all, go to the Dairy Queen…
It was a different time…not better then now…just different.
My fondest memories are when I went up to Vendee Quebec. It was so serene, I spend hours just on the docks overlooking the lake. I was there with my church group at the time. Another of my fondest memories was also in Quebec at Mt. Tremblant. I had so much fun skiing and racing down hill so fast.
The smell of cut grass in Spring reminds me of when the fair would come to our little town. I still associate cotton candy and cut grass smell together. Smell memories….
I went shopping this afternoon and I just had KFC for lunch and guess what it reminded me. Once every month our dad took all of us to KFC. I remebered how excited and eager we use to be for KFC nights.
I remember as a child, we as a family would travel to a lot of wonderful places couple times a year. However, now a bit older, we don’t travel much as a family anymore. I will definately cherish those memories, especially the times we spent going to Miami on a cruise. As for now, I still do small travels, with friends but not family.
My fondest childhood memories as an only child is when my parents and I did something together. My father was a travelling salesman, so often he was away during the school year, but the minute school was out for the summer, my mother and I would accompany my father on his road trips. I got to see a lot of Canada this way! We would stay at a hotel (if we could find one with a pool, we were there) and we would eat at restaurants and generally we would just enjoy our time spent together, very simple but rewarding.
I remember listening to music from the 80’s. It was the best. Now if only we had that kind of music these days.
We had an apple tree in front of our house and kids would always snitch apples. My brothers and sisters and I had a lot of fun hiding at the upstairs bedroom window, overlooking the tree. We would wait until kids were trying to take apples and then yell in deep voices “Get out of the tree!” Spooked them every time.
I remember waking up early Saturday mornings and doing nothing but watching cartoons all morning. It was so relaxing and fun. Oh, what a life that was!
The smell of patchouli, my mom always smells like patchouli. She lived in BC when I was growing up and I lived in Ontario. I would visit her once a year for the summer. I will never forget the smell of her and her house will be stuck in my mind forever.
My grandmothers, my son and my best friend. Memories about any of these people make me smile. My grandmother (paternal) took the time to teach me to sew properly. My grandmother (maternal) shared a special bond; the lack of a daughter & my mother, as she had closed us both out; and my grandmother was everything to me. Spending lunch hours at her apartment and the lunches she’d make, staying over night and the breakfast she always make (Special K cereal, a grapefruit sectioned, a glass of juice, toast, a glass of milk it was always the most complete breakfast that I had ever seen; every time I have Special K or grapefruit I think of grandma. And the birth of my son, goes without saying, that was the most important day of my life. My best friend was there to cut the cord at his birth.
Living so close to the beaches I remember going down to the piers and fishing for smelt in the middle of the night. My Dad had a huge net which we’d lower into the lake and a few minutes later after we’d bring up the net it would be filled with little smelt fishes. It was me and my sister’s job to collect them all. We’d usually end up with a bucketful of fish.
Another childhood memory that comes to mind as we approach summer are all the summer vacation trips that my parents used to take us on. We were so lucky and happy that they would take us to visit Disneyland or Yellowstone Park… each summer was a new adventure that we looked forward to. Now that I’m on my own, I miss those all expenses paid vacations!
I vividly remember one Christmas where my brother and I smelled the tree on Christmas eve and then again Christmas morning and were convinced that Santa had come because the tree smelled like him. I have no idea how we thought we knew what Santa smelled like, lol. My brother and I are a year apart and a large percentage of my childhood memories are tied to him. It was so nice growing up with a sibling who was close to my age.
One of my favourite childhood memories was a trip to San Francisco when I was three years old. I don’t remember much from this time of my life, but this trip really impressed me. My Dad was on a business trip and we stayed in the Sir Francis Drake hotel … I had a babysitter one evening who was very skilled in origami and I can still see the little birds that she made me. One night when Mom, Dad and I were out for dinner at a “posh” restaurant, I really knew what I wanted to eat … something I never got at home. When the waiter came and my Dad ordered, he told the waiter that I wanted “filet of sole with tartar sauce”. I was enraged … and hollered “no I don’t — I want fish and chips”. The whole dining room broke up with laughter.
i can never forget the flower my mother used to plant every year. Once I wanted to get her a present so I picked them off. Once I give it to her she was sooo mad at me for ruining her flowers 🙂
I remember camping in the boonies with the whole family. We would spend all day in the sun (and often rain) outside playing whatever games we could come up with, running around and swimming in the lake. At night we’d sit around the camp fire and that’s when my uncle taught me how to carve a boat out of driftwood. We’d make one complete with mast and sail and I’d compose a note to put on it. The next morning we’d go out in his boat and set it asail in the hopes someone would find it. Great bonding days!
As a child, my parents & I would drive an hour or so to spend New Years with my Godparents. Since they’re cildren were grown with families of their own, I was the only child among a group of adults. By the time I was 6, I could make a whiskey sour to die for. I remember how excited I was when I was 7 & I had convinced my father we should buy my Mom a hand mixer for Mother’s Day. Of course, I was the one who wanted it, so I could mix strawberry daiquiris. I still have the mixer. Can’t wait for strawberry season to get here so I can mix up fresh daiquiris.
I used to go beside some train tracks with a friend to eat lunch in middle school.. It was really awesome. We bought pizza/fries + LOTS OF CANDY from a convenient store pretty much everyday.. We ate very unhealthily.
My favorite childhood memory is of eating french fries from the fry truck from under the bride in Sarnia, Ontario. They were, and to this day are, so good! It was something special when we would go there, my mom and dad and I.
my first trip to wonderland, i was 7 and it was amazing i got to ride on the tea cup and the bat ride, get cotton candy and my parents got an artist to draw a picture of my this i still have to this day overall best childhood memory.
I recall being taken to the park on nice summer days to not want to return back home. I would play on the swings and it would be the most relaxing experience in the world. If I would find a friend in the park, we would end up playing together.
your picture reminds me of when i would collect brightly colored autumn leaves and press them in wax paper…
my favourite memory is of spending the summer’s at my grandparents house. i remember being more excited for them to drive down and pick me up then i would be for the last day of school. they’d pick me up and we’d always stop off to buy french fries for the ride back to their house. i will never forget the smell of my nana’s perfume mixed, granddad’s cologne with the salt and vinegar of the fries inside a warm car.
as soon at the car pulled into the driveway, i was out like a shot and running across the lawn to the huge willow tree on the corner of the lot. i used to swing on those branches all summer long.
Chicklets (the gum);) They remind me of my grandfather, he always would buy them for me as a small child. The worst gum ever probably…doesn’t last too long, but they bring a smile to my face and remind me of him.
My family used to go fishing all over southern Ontario in the summer on the weekends. We eventually found a perfect spot, I think it was in Brighton, beside a draw bridge. Every time a boat went by the fish would bite like crazy. My Dad once caught an eel there. That was quite a terrifying sight for me at the time. Actually I think it would still scare me. A big black snake coming out of the water and squirming on the end of the fishing line on the grass. Good thing it wasn’t me who caught it.
My friends and I used to go to Mcdonald’s after school and get the pizza they used to sell there, it took forever for it to be made but it was awesome. I remember staying at Mcdonald’s just chatting about our day and having fun. Carefree and young. I still have the taste of that pizza in my mouth, I wonder why they stopped making it?
My favourite memory is eating ice cream outside on a sunny day, not having a care in the world – with friends of course.
I lived in Karachi until I was married and then moved down Toronto, where I am still living and proudly call home. Every summer we took our vacation to go to Karachi to my mother and mother in law ‘s house for almost 2 months. Last summer I went alone, my kids and husband was still here in Toronto. I missed them but also enjoyed a lot in Karachi. I visited my mom’s house , at beach , shopping and other intrusting places and that was so intrusting.
I remember camping most and sitting down by the campfire singing songs, staying up late, eating s’mores and roasting marshmallow’s. I plan to do this with my children when they are old enough!
I love the memories of watching various tv series with my mom. We would bought loads of episodes on the discs and stay up late to watch them. I love the feeling of a girls night even though we didn’t have much conversation during the episodes since we were so engaged in it -aside from the random blurbs and omgs.
My most cherished memory is the sound of my Mother’s rustling taffeta dresses…she and Dad went out every Saturday night (or so it seemed at the time) and I loved watching her meticulously putting her make-up on while I played with her jewellry and put some (too much!;-) on….her crinolines made the taffeta of her dresses make a very ‘grown-up’ sound to me and if I concentrate very hard, I can still smell her perfume…”Je Reviens”, which was reserved for special occasions. Sometimes she’d put some make-up on me and we’d laugh at each other in her bureau mirror…Dad would be all gussied up and they looked so beautiful….They were the best parents a young girl could hope for….I watch old black and white or “newly coloured” movies now just to see such gowns …. I wish those days never ended and that I could have dressed in crinolines and taffeta so that our daughter and I could have shared such memories. Although I’m sure she has some lovely memories of her own, nothing could ever replace that rustling taffeta and the wafting scent of Je Reviens…;-)
you know that feeling you get when you make something for someone special and they praise you? you feel all special and good inside. I can never forget making cards for my teacher at school. she would be all happy and proud of me. but now i realize that she probably just threw all of them out when i was gone. lol
oh yeah, theres also that time where my bff told me that wax helps plants grow. So me and my brother go around all my moms pots and start sharpening crayons over them. lol I was my brothers idea, he said crayons have wax. lol
I remember camping in our tent trailer in the rain, and the sound of the rain on the canvas…I loved when my sisters and I went out onto the (small) lake and spent the night in a sleepingbag each in our own canoes…looking up at the night stars and the fireflies in the sky…then waking up in the morning disoriented and having to paddle back to camp! Those were the days..
I was at Purdy’s and was reminded how much I liked those chocolate smiley faces on a stick. Those were a treat when I was young and I haven’t had one in ages.
With the weather getting warmer, I remember going to the zoo for the first time every year. It was so exciting it was 1 1/2 hr drive but even being 4 or 5 I would start to notice land marks when getting closer, and the excitement would just build. I still get excited going there for the first time in the season at 26 years old..lol
I miss getting up every Saturday morning to watch cartoons. The 80’s had the best cartoons ever and even the toy and cereal commercials were entertaining at the time.
Rushing to go to the toy section of any store was fun for me. I would enjoy seeing what new toys they had in stock and if they had an action figure I really wanted I was filled with too much happiness for any human to handle with.
I miss going trick’r’treating and aquiring huge bags full of candy. I get jealous at the kids now for getting so much free candy and dressing up in costumes were fun as well. Our school would let us dress up for the whole week of Halloween, it was a fun time.
One of my favorite memories is of my aunt, who lived with us, braiding my hair every morning as soon as I woke up.
Childhood memories remembered would be riding our bikes carefree to the closest variety store ” Beckers” and buying a 0.10 cent pete popsicle!
Good times!
i remember that making crafts was super exciting..my sister and i joined
a neighborhood kids club and made caterpillers out of eggcartons..:)
When I lived in a townhouse complex as a kid, one of the best things to do was go to the convenience store nearby and pick up a Popsicle for 25 cents – chocolate was my favourite!
Wathcing the Walt Disney show every Sunday night at 6pm.
I would save my dessert and eat it during the show. That was the one time during the week we were allowed to eat in the living room! Yummy – homemade lemon meringue pie!
I remember my mom doing my hair before going to school in the mornings.
My favourite memories are of my Dad taking me for a walk everyday even if his arthritis was bothering him, and of him teaching me to be brave and not be scared of the big bus that would rush by us and make me feel all dizzy! I miss my Dad – I loved him so much. God bless him and all of us!
One of my favorite memories is going to my Grandmothers every Sunday after church. Seems like the whole town would be there. She always had baked goodies. I had the bestest grandma.
When I was 16 my Mother and I used to get an ice cream cone every evening in the summer time, and I mean EVERY evening. We would drive along the coastline and just talk. I know now that it was her attempt at reconnecting with a distant teen, and it totally worked. Now that my Mother is no longer with me, I have an easy way to reconnect with her……all I need is a double scoop of chocolate!
I remember birthday parties as being special. A time to get together and have fun with friends and eat cake and not feel guilty about it!
Whenever I see farmyard hens it reminds me of my Grandmother because she had a chicken coop and many chickens.
I have great memories of my brother and i always riding our bikes 6 miles into the country to our aunt and uncle’s farm during the summer months when we were kids. I can still picture my little banana seat bike!
I remember as a kid Halloween’s were so different than they are nowadays. I grew up in a small town where everyone pretty much knew each other and there were literally hundreds of kids Trick or Treating up and down the streets. Now, at least where i live we get about 30 kids Trick or Treating at our place 🙁
I agree! Halloween was such a magical time! I loved it more than Christmas, because there wasn’t the added pressure that adults put on Christmas. We used to live in what was once an old farmhouse, so it was creepy compared to the post WWII houses around it. My sisters and I would spend days decorating the house with cobwebs, and we built witches, scarecrows and vampires peeking out of the bushes. We even built a spiderweb in the front yard between two trees big enough to catch a person in! And my younger sister and I would spend months planning our costumes. I was everything from a Ninja Turtle to an equestrian! We’d plan our route, and come home and sort our candy by category (chips, chocolate bars, suckers, etc.) And, for some reason, we felt the need to ration it. We’d have candy until past Christmas! And my mom threw the best Halloween kids parties. We’d play costume charades, and Dress the Mummy (who can wrap their partner in toilet paper from head to toe first?) So much fun!
wow, i get over a hundred kids trick or treating at my house every year! it’s sooo busy. but i see the kids are ALWAYS chaperoned by parents (which of course, they should be) – but when i was younger, we went trick or treating without any adult supervision. how different it was then! we would be out for hours without any worries for our parents. i wonder if it’s more dangerous out there now, or if we just think it is with all the media scares….
one of my fondest memories was garden raiding…its funny that we would
always eat our veggies then..
When I was about 7 or 8, I will always remember walking home in the shadow of my older brother during a blinding snowstorm , he was blocking the snow so I would get to cold! As soon as we got home (and warm), he went right back to picking on me!
(coupon kid)
One thing I LOVED to do when I was young was hide in the racks of clothes when my Mom and I went shopping. Then giggle when she started looking for me. Now being much older, I can see how many heart attacks I nust have given her!
My mom was an avid sewer, and my sister and I would spend hours in fabric stores with her as kids. We created so many games to entertain ourselves. We would pretend that the display of thread was an electronic panel from Star Trek, and push in all the “buttons”. We’d go through all the pattern catalogues and find our dream prom dresses and wedding dresses, and the absolute best part was planning our Halloween costumes. My mom being the sewer that she is, we never wore store bought costumes, and we’d spend many hours pouring over pattern catalogues looking for the coolest ones. And now that I’m older, I can really appreciate my mom’s talent!
my brother and i are just over a decade apart. i remember being about 7 years old and feeling like i was the coolest kid ever because i got to hang out with my 17 year old brother and all his friends. at the time i thought they all thought i was really cool too but my brother was probably annoyed that he got stuck babysitting me. 😛 i used to keep the boys entertained by reenacting episodes of my favourite tv shows [which was probably ‘full house’ or ‘power rangers’ or something equally as embarrassing]. i miss being that carefree [read:oblivious, haha] and silly.
I remember my dad making us wait out in the car if we acted up in a shopping store. He looked down his glasses at us, and that was his warning.
If we did have to go, it wasnt before getting a spanking. geez times sure have changed.
I just loved horses and still do, but couldn’t afford one, so of course, I made myself some with whatever I could find. I made a wonderful little “stickhorse” out of old boards, and painted it black with four white feet.
Oh my God! How gorgeous he was! With a white blaze on his forehead, and a beautiful black mane and tail(made of wool). I made a saddle out of some cardboard, and bridle out of old pieces of whatever I could find. Even a little bit in his mouth.
I just loved him and rode him whenever I could, dreaming of the day when I would maybe have a real one! I was nine years old.
One day, at 54 years old, my husband gave me a card at Christmas, and in it was a picture of a beautiful horse, Cesar and another picture of a little baby one, Bianca, they were mine!!! A present from my husband, who after, almost 50 years of waiting and hoping, I finally got my horse. Don’t give up your dreams, you never know when they will come true!!!
i remember when we could go outside and play without worry…
we used to even keep our doors unlocked..:(
Coming from a large family–9 kids–in summer we always had our own baseball team lots of fun
Sharon – I also remember standing in front of a mirror and having my Mother do my hair! I always had fairly short hair, because I was such a pain to get ready in the morning, but Mom always had berets or ponys done in my hair. I complained the entire time, but now would love to have someone do my hair for me daily LOL
Sharon – I also remember standing in front of a mirror and having my Mother do my hair! I always had fairly short hair, because I was such a pain to get ready in the morning, but Mom always had berets or ponys done in my hair. I complained the entire time, but now would love to have someone do my hair for me daily LOL
Sorry about the double post.
My most vivid childhood memory was one summer when I attended a summer camp. It was an overall fun-filled experience and all I remembered was play, play, play with a bunch of kids. At the end of day, I was just looking forward to another day of fun!
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I get nostalgic when I hear songs of the 80s on the radio. It reminds me of high school prom and dances. That was the time of crushes and heartbreaks. In those days, girls don’t ask guys to dance because that’s considered desperate. Rather they sit around waiting to be picked by a guy. So a girl could sit there the whole night without dancing. The best feeling was when the guy I had a crush with asked me to dance, it was such a great feeling. Songs of the 80s always remind me of those first encounters with love.
My most vivid childhood memory was one summer when I attended a summer camp. It was an overall fun-filled experience and all I remembered was play, play, play with a bunch of kids. At the end of day, I was just looking forward to another day of fun!
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Found tart cherry juice concentrate from my doctor for my arthritis pain. I started drinking a few day back and my joints feel great. I even got free shipping from Traverse Bay Farms