Thoughts of Christmas bring to mind recollections of Christmases past - childhood Christmases ... the anticipation of unwrapping the coveted playthings and the joy in accomplishing the task.

My earliest childhood remembrance is of a small, fluffy white lamb. I immediately fell in love with this stuffed animal. I was inconsolable when I forgot it at a playmate's home. The playmate's mother promptly washed it and it fell apart.

So much for "Mary had a little lamb!"

One Christmas I was given a medium-sized red, white and blue ball. I took it everywhere in the crook of my left arm. Mom feared my growing arm would take on the shape of an orb. Yet, her fear wasn't as great as the temper tantrums I would stage when she tried to separate us at mealtime and bath time.

Then, along came Jocko, a rather odd plaything. Jocko had a plastic face set in a strange grimace. Its plump body was covered with a silky fabric in an atrocious purple and white checkerboard pattern. Jocko had no hands or feet, just arms and legs. But I adored him, my constant companion. My favorite activity with Jocko was to transport him to the top of the stairs and let him slide down, retrieve and repeat. I did this all morning everyday.

I was thrilled when I received a dollhouse. It had no furnishings, so I set about constructing it. Wooden matchboxes became beds, dressers and kitchen appliances. Pieced of cardboard were bent to make chairs with toothpick legs. I rummaged through Mom's wicker sewing hamper. Cloth remnants were magically transformed into curtains, bedspreads and rugs. Empty thread spools morphed into tables. To me, it was a mansion.

Yes, childhood came and went, but I still treasure the memories of those childhood playthings and, no doubt, you too can recall your favorites!