Merry Christmas, Carmichael

Carmichael Patch asked local residents to share some of their favorite holiday memories. It seems that the community is quite an amazing place when it comes to the holidays.

Pamela McClanahan: "As a child, my father wasn't around all the time due to his busy work schedule and the holidays were a time I could look forward to with him being home. I can remember us going to the local tree lot on the bend of Fair Oaks Boulevard and feeling like we were in a forest. The trees went forever and seemed to tower over us."

Terra Skillingstad: "When I was little, the Carmichael raccoons were a big part of our Christmas. One year we heard them on the roof and insisted it had to be the reindeer. When we found the tracks, we were amazed at how small reindeer feet actually were."

Chris Sommers: "Last year we were asked to put together 30 gingerbread houses for our church on Manzanita and Madison (avenues). At first we thought it was going to be endless amounts of work, but it turned out to be a really good memory with my family."

Judee Shoemaker, retired Garfield Elementary School secretary: "When we first started the Angel Tree program in Carmichael, I can remember looking outside at the school yard before the children came to get their gifts and seeing huge amounts of bags stuffed with toys and food. I can remember picturing each family and how blessed they were going to be when they received the presents we specially picked for each one of them.

Rich Nystrom: "I live in Carmichael now, but when I was a child we came here to have dinner with my aunt and uncle for the holidays. I could remember feeling like we were driving through the country when we came over the Fair Oaks Bridge and I specifically remember the large trees on Fair Oaks Boulevard with white painted trunks. It was a great feeling."