Making Holiday Memories
Holidays are a time for remembering. The special moments we most remember are often those that remind us of special family traditions, acts of love that inspire us or fun times that make us laugh with every retelling of the memory.
Recently, our staff reminisced about the holidays and shared some great memories of their own. Our in-house designer, Cheryl Thompson started us off with a holiday memory from the kitchen:
My roots started early in the kitchen. Nana, mom, my sister, and I would bake Christmas goodies starting right after Thanksgiving. My mother only had the Ray Conniff and Beach Boys Christmas albums, so those were our musical accompaniment! To this day, hearing any of those Christmas songs takes me back to a kitchen filled with the warm memories and scents of holiday baking. My Nana and Mom have passed, but not before we taught my nephew to bake (my son hates it!) and instilled a love of cooking in him. He’s 15 now, and asked for a set of chef’s knives this year.
Sharing special moments across the generations are a theme in most of our memories. Pat Ruane, our project manager, shared this wonderful memory:
When my sister and I were just entering elementary school, we moved almost an hour away from our Nana and Papa whom we had lived next door to up until that point. Because our parents both worked full time, they had quite literally raised us. The first Christmas after our move, my sister and I were both despondent facing the reality we would not be able to stay with them overnight after our extended family’s traditional gathering at their house. Presented with this news, our grandparents quietly packed a bag and at the conclusion of the party, loaded up their car (pajamas and presents in tow) and followed us home to begin a new tradition. This new tradition continued for 18 years. Now whenever I find myself caught in the shuffle of traveling here and there during this time of the year, I always admire how readily they flung themselves into the fray to give us continuity.
Those quiet acts of love are what make the holidays magical for young and old alike.
Georgina, our sales manager, reminded us that kitchens used to be small, and if you weren’t involved in the cooking you were shooed out the door to wait.
The kitchen wasn’t always a place for gatherings. If you are my age, you probably remember a small kitchen with a door to hide the mess, but I also remember the delicious smells and the very picture of abundance coming from that rather humble place. Kitchens started to transform in the 1970's into a gathering place, and by the time I had children I was certainly working on passing on traditions together with some favorite recipes, and I sat the kiddos right at the countertop to bake cookies, mini-roller pin into their tiny hands, ready to help me. I am thankful to my mother, my grandmother and aunts for letting me in their kitchens, and I enjoy helping my customers make their kitchens beautiful.
Alex Bilotta, owner of Merrimack Stone, made us laugh with a warm memory of a company holiday party a few years back.
In 2016, we invited all the employees and their families as well as customers and friends to a holiday party. We rented a mechanical bull and inflatable stable and put it in the middle of our showroom. Before dinner, we took turns riding the mechanical bull. After dinner, we took down the mechanical bull and turned the area into a sumo wrestling circle. We wore enormous padded sumo suits to make it feel authentic and took turns trying out Sumo wrestling. It was a lot of fun. I wish I had pictures of this…
Some people might be happy there aren’t any pictures, Alex!
Many of our memories – and probably yours – involve family, food and fun. And much of it starts in the kitchen. Which has us circle back to what Georgina said, “I enjoy helping my customers make their kitchens beautiful” Making beautiful kitchens is our job, and we know how important those kitchens are to the making of special memories all year round. We take pride and place great importance on making sure our customers find all the elements of their perfect kitchen in our showroom. From countertops to cabinets and hardware to backsplashes we can make your kitchen planning and shopping experience easier and more efficient.
Come visit our showroom to see the many beautiful countertop surfaces we have, including natural stone, quartz and porcelain, beautiful, high-quality, American-made cabinets. We have plenty of choices all in one showroom so you can get your kitchen renovation done faster and start making memories in your new kitchen sooner!
We wish you a joyful holiday season and a healthy and memory-filled New Year.