If I Was Eight Again…

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Dear Friends,
I didn’t save my childhood Christmas lists, but for some reason my 1971 Santa letter has followed me ’round from house to house. Below is the Santa letter I penned at eight-years-old. I remember my mom giving us these adorable cards to write our Christmas wish lists on.
8 Year Old Xmas List - front( My penmanship was neatest at 8 years of age) –
8 Years Old Xmas-writtenI’ve read the list above many times since 1971 always thinking what if…
My 2014 Santa list (written by my eight-year-old, inner-child) would look like this-
2014 Xmas FrontMy 1971 Santa list, with a few 2014 inner-child edits-
8 Years Old Xmas 2014Thank you. May you dream of peace on earth and in every heart…
2014 Inner-child Christmas Card rendered today after shopping and before giving art lessons.

My 1971 Santa list resulted in a pink stuffed dog named Charlie, a small zither and no rabbit. Our German Shepherd would have eaten it. 🙂
I still smiled wide every Christmas…my parents made Christmas wonderful whether we got our list or not.

14 thoughts on “If I Was Eight Again…”

  3. Not only is your handwriting “neat at age 8,” AnnMarie, but your Christmas list was pretty neat too — boy, I would have loved getting all those cool things! 🙂 But then we all grow up, and grow wiser, and grow more concerned with others’ needs, and our lists change (probably for the better, although, darn, that banjo would have been so cool!). Still, it’s your edited list that now speaks to me most dearly, and it’s the one I hope Santa reads and delivers to everyone, everywhere.
    P.S.: Great art! That feather boa looks like it could really tickle the nose! Have a great day! 🙂

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    • Hi Deb,
      Thank goodness for stashed mementoes, photos and siblings with better memories than I 🙂
      Wouldn’t it be lovely to have a truly peaceful planet (in this thought we must remain childlike or it won’t happen – adults get too stuck in their directions)
      My sibs and I did have all manner of critter growing up (but we were all a bit older before the hamster, gerbil, guinea pig parade…)
      AM 🙂

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      • I had a few turtles and goldfish I bought at Woolworth’s, but no 4-legged creatures until I got my first cat. Speaking of mementoes, several years ago I found a letter I’d written on white cardboard (and also made the envelope out of cardboard) which I’d planned to send to Patty Duke — I watched her show and was crazy about her. It just so happened that a few years ago adult Patty Duke was coming to our city for a women’s expo — I was so tempted to finally deliver that dumb letter, but decided against it. 🙂 It’s fun coming across those things now, though. Your Santa letter brought that back for me, thanks!

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      • If I’d have known you back then I’d have told you to give Ms. Duke the letter!
        We had a few little turtles and kept them in these plastic bowls with little islands and palm trees – poor things…
        And now look at you, with all your critters. You’ve got a bonafide critter crib 😉
        I wish I could find more Santa letters
        AM 🙂

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      • I’m glad you shared that one letter – you’ve inspired me to write a blog post (just finished) for probably Thursday (true to my nature, though, it’s kinda sad, but that’s not because of your post!). I’m supposed to be grading online papers, but what the hey! LOL

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  4. Oh, your closing statement triggered a memory of a good friend’s 8 year old daughter who was given a cute little live white mouse for an Easter gift. All was fine until she showed the mouse to her family’s per raccoon, Mischief. I’ll let you finish the thought. 😦

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