After a toast and a round of “Auld Lang Syne,” the room settled into easy conversation over champagne, chocolate “mice” and other treats.
Seventy-nine years ago, a 12-year-old John Breckenridge spent the last day of 1946 camping outside the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, where he waited 24 hours just to get his hands on a ticket for the Rose Bowl Game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the UCLA Bruins.
Phyllis Bravinder, who reminds everyone to “be kind,” remembered the joy she felt when her parents gifted her a Nancy Ann Storybook Doll, which she added to her collection.
Dolls are also a part of Theresa Anderson’s fondest memories. In the late 1930s, she received a doll from her parents. The following Christmas, it was her younger sister’s turn, and so forth. Though her parents didn’t have much, she said, they would always make sure the children felt included by giving them new doll clothes every year.
To Anderson, these little gifts felt like a treasure.
“Don’t ask for much and you get much,” she advises readers. “Appreciate everybody and everything.”
Tim and Nancy Vogel may have been short on funds, but still managed to make the best out of their honeymoon in Aspen, Colorado. Despite having the equipment, they couldn’t afford to ski. On a positive note, Nancy said as she recalled the gear they brought, “they looked good.”
“Live life while you can,” they said.
Erlene Cooper’s stories are a testament to the childlike playfulness that Christmas tends to reignite in grown-ups — like the day she and her sister caught their parents playing with their dolls while wrapping up their presents, or the tricks that her husband would pull to make their children believe that Santa Claus had been in the house.
Dave Alvord Sr. said his favorite holiday memory was celebrating with his nine grandkids and 24 great-grandchildren last year. A member of the unofficial “biker gang” (a group of La Conner bicyclists and tricyclists who ride five miles every morning), he recommends people of all ages to stay physically active in 2026.
Mike Elliott, who recommends dedicating time to friends and family, said one of his favorite memories was celebrating Christmas in Sydney, Australia, in the 1970s. Despite the intense heat, his European friends would always put together a roast goose and plum pudding dinner.
Midge Hanson’s best piece of advice is to tell friends the things we appreciate about them, and to take one day at a time.
2025 was a year of ups and downs for the residents, some of whom have discovered espresso ice cream, fell and got hurt, welcomed new great-grandbabies, lost partners and rode on a fire truck.
The sad moments, however, didn’t discourage them from welcoming the new year with a positive attitude and some humor.
“No more falls!” Team Leader Allie Kester put in the community’s list of 2026 goals.
“What am I gonna do for entertainment then?!” A resident asked, making the room laugh.
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
