What’s the one Christmas you can’t forget...for all the wrong reasons?

Memory is a tricky thing. Bad memories filter to the top while good memories settle to the bottom of a very deep well and we struggle to keep them alive. The key is to replace the bad memories with good—or drown the bad in that well, whichever works. I’m a violent sort, so I’ll be drowning those suckers. J
 
Christmases in our house growing up were always good, but that means I have only this vague recollection and warm, fuzzy feelings for the holiday. Well, all but one. The year I turned five, my father was recovering from a major car accident. Money was tight and we ultimately lost the house and Dad’s business to medical expenses.
 
That was the year someone adopted us. Just for Christmas presents that is. We were the little angels on a Giving Tree. The night before Christmas, a group of men brought what seemed like a truckload of presents for four kids and two adults. They deposited them under the empty tree just like Santa. I bounced on my toes in sheer joy at the mass of goodies. Too young to read, I didn’t know which presents were mine, but my older brother pointed out a ginormous and awkwardly wrapped present labeled “girl, aged 5.” It was bigger than me and taller than my teenage brother. It was mine, mine, mine!
 
As the men left to bring another load of goodies, I scooted closer to that funny shaped present. I may have poked the side and heard the wrapping crinkle. The finger may have—accidentally of course—punched through a spot in the wrapper. Come on, I was five. What would you do? I looked.
 
Inside was something soft, brown, and fuzzy. Fur! I couldn’t see the face, but I pictured a smiling bear face on this wonderfully massive gift. After the elves disappeared, Mom noticed a trail of white stuff all over the family room floor. Not just a few drops, but copious amounts of tiny white Styrofoam balls. Everywhere. She followed the trail to that awkwardly wrapped gift where, sure enough, a hole in the toe and wrapping caused it to bleed out all over the house.
 
She didn’t know I had seen and loved and coveted that fluffy, loveable, stuffed bear, because that would have meant admitting that I’d peeked. So she did what any mother would do. She waited until I went to bed.
 
Come Christmas morning, there was no awkwardly wrapped giant bear to unwrap. It had disappeared overnight. There were other presents under the tree for “girl, aged 5;” hats and gloves and girlie things, but what I remember most is that giant bear that could have been mine if he hadn’t leaked a trail of stuffing all over the family room floor.
 
That long ago Christmas may be why I’m a bit fanatical about making Christmas special for my kids. And why I wrote the not-quite-perfect Christmas story for Sofia and Logan. Don’t get me wrong, Logan’s trying to create good memories to drown out the bad of Sofia’s former life, so when the presentfest begins, Eli is in for a giant surprise:
 
EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:

With a squeal, Eli leaped from the table and ran for the tree. Wrapping paper flew as he shredded into the first present, a plastic dinosaur the size of a football. Holding her phone out, Sofia hunkered on the floor and snapped pictures. Dumbfounded by the wild activity, Logan perched on the floor against the sofa. Eli unwrapped several dinos before hitting the jackpot with a dinosaur sanctuary straight from the movies. The delight in his screams lit the house more than the Christmas lights. “Mom.”
 
“That one is all Logan.”
 
The boy’s eyes grew larger. “Thanks, Logan.”
 
“Couldn’t you find something bigger?” Sofia mocked.
 
“No.” He couldn’t take his eyes off Eli’s joyful face. “But I did try.”
 
“How long did you spend in the toy store?”
 
This time, he did turn to her. The teasing glint in her eyes and the lightness on her face hadn’t always been there. He’d done that, he thought, and it was a gold-medal moment. Making Sofia smile was his new goal in life. She deserved all the smiles she could get. “Blake and I might have spent two or three hours in the toy store,” he admitted. He pointed to Eli trying, and failing, to open the sanctuary box. “It was worth it.”
***
Christmas morning starts off perfect-ish in their house, but a mysterious phone call before dinner threatens more than their holiday celebrations. One thing is for certain. This holiday is one she’ll never forget.

“She couldn’t remember the last time she felt embarrassed, but porn in front of a seventy-four year old hitman would do it.” –Vicki Calvetti in Unforgettable
 
Memory plays a big part in Unforgettable. As much as Vicki tried, she couldn’t forget Blake, her once-upon-a-time boyfriend, but he’s not the only thing she’s tried to forget, and what she can’t remember could get them both killed. It’s too late for Vicki, but we can all use a little help remembering.

1. Repetition is one of the biggest keys to memory, so subtly slip the word or phrase you are trying to remember into the conversation whenever possible. Example. Sex, slip that word into any conversation and make it unforgettable.
2. Do something stupid. Have you ever noticed you can’t seem to forget when you mess up, like walking into the middle of a meeting of drug dealers anonymous? Something stupid is always unforgettable.
3. Even better, have friends around when you do mess up. They’ll never let you forget.
4. Put yourself in mortal danger. An adrenaline rush gives you extreme focus, which is a great asset in memory. When the clock is ticking, and the drug dealer and his henchmen are after you, your memory is at its best.
5. Leave yourself clues. Like little sticky notes—or blood spatter—scattered about the room. Trust me, once you’ve read blood spatter, you won’t forget.

 
But not everything in life is meant to stick in our brains for the next fifty years. So what do you do when you want to forget?
 
5 tips to help you forget:

1. Visit a hypnotist. Hypnotherapy to suppress memory and timeline therapy are real.
2. Alcohol. Lots and lots of booze.
3. Drinks with friends. You drink more with friends, and as an added benefit, your friends will have a hazy memory and unable to harass you about your poor memory or decision making.
4. Put whatever you’re trying to forget in a super “safe” place, like putting your keys or that extortion letter where it’s safe. You’re guaranteed to never find it again.
5. I forgot what number 5 was. The hypnosis must be working. J