If everyone is as nostalgic as I am, you must have special memories of your childhood home; especially around the holidays.

Those magical hazy memories of what Christmas meant growing up and the realization that even when upholding time honoured traditions, the holidays do have a way of evolving and changing as we get older.

Sometimes the change is good, and sometimes it can make you long for those precious memories to return.

As you move from home to home the way you display your decorations sometimes has to change.

For example, I am in the first home in many years that does not have a fireplace which causes an immediate problem for hanging stockings with care.

Although I have found an interim solution, I still long for a proper mantle to put up my Christmas stockings.

This stems back to my childhood where my home had the most beautiful traditional fireplace in our dining room which was painted a creamy white.

The vibrant stockings and green garland with twinkly lights and bows stood out perfectly against this backdrop and created a beautiful silhouette when the lights were turned low.

Even though my mom spread the stockings around the living room on Christmas morning, we were able to enjoy them hanging by the fire for a few weeks before the big day.

What are the special memories of your home at Christmas?

I have longed for the perfect window to put my Christmas tree in and I finally have the house with the picture window of my dreams.

Growing up my childhood home had two gorgeous main floor windows which faced the street and our tree stood twinkling in the living room window every year.

It was so wonderful to arrive at home and see the tree through the window and now I can experience that feeling as I pull up to my home. I often leave the tree on so I can see it when I come home at the end of the day.

There is no explaining why the special sights and sounds of Christmas make us feel so nostalgic. I just know when the festive dishes and holiday tablecloth came out in my childhood home I felt so happy.

Opening boxes of decorations that had been stored for a year always brings a flood of nostalgia and I reminisce every year over certain decorations.

I hope you have many special memories as your unwrap your treasured memories this year.

Christmas is the time to spend with family and friends and to remind ourselves that our homes are our sanctuary and that we need to spend some quality time in our dwelling places.

There is no time like Christmas to cozy up with the ones you love and spend a bit of time relaxing and taking in all the seasonal ambiance.

This is the year for you to take a break and breathe as you look around at all that you have been blessed with and to reconnect with people who are meaningful in your life. We rarely get a day in the year when most businesses are closed and we have a day of rest to reunite with our family. Plan some board games and movies and enjoy your time together, Merry Christmas everyone!

Kim Meckler is an interior designer in Red Deer with Carpet Colour Centre.