My husband and I were married in Cape May at a bed and breakfast on December 10, 1993. So Christmas in Cape May is a very special time for me. I also met my best girlfriend at the bed and breakfast we were married at, she acted as one of our witnesses. My husband and I had come to Cape May to get married by ourselves on a weekend, so we did not know anyone in Cape May at the time. Not only did I gain a husband but a wonderful, wonderful friend.

Story shared by: Janis Reith
Petersburg, Virginia

My memory is a funny one for my husband and I. We went down last year for the Candlelight Tour of homes with some good friends. The town was beautiful, like a sparkling jewel. I was the Cape May Tour guide since I have been going there since I was a small child. We received our paper with all the houses and set off on the tour. I had no problem with the streets or homes since I was the Cape May expert.

As we were touring a home, we noticed that the innkeeper set out drinks and snacks for the tour guests. Three ladies sitting on a couch and many more people were headed upstairs. My husband just commented to me that this house was a lot different then the rest of the homes we had been in, when the door opened and a very upset innkeeper told us we were in the wrong home. We were all very upset. The innkeeper most of all.

From then on my friends kept stopping at every house and asking if we could go in that one, too. Boy, was this Cape May guide embarrassed. This year I’m letting my husband direct the tour!
Happy Holidays!

Story shared by: Constance Pandolfo
Hatfield, Pennsylvania

I have not yet officially spent a Christmas in Cape May, however my parents have recently moved there and our family is looking forward to many beautiful Christmases in Cape May in the years to come. This year will be pretty special, for we recently had another addition to our already big family. Lauren Grace Vandenbraak arrived on 11/10/01, and she has brought nothing but joy to us all … thank you Sheri and Rob for bringing her into this world, she truly is a PRINCESS!!

Happy Holidays.

Story shared by: Wendy Saunderlin

My Cape May memories are countless! I worked in Cape May several summers on the mall and at the historic Christian Admiral Hotel when I was a teenager. I was always so sad to leave when summer was over. My husband and I honeymooned there and have since taken our 2 children to vacation there. Cape May is my favorite place to daydream of. It is so beautiful there, it is like no other beach town and I now live in coastal Florida!

Story shared by: Amy Taylor

My husband, Richard, and I along with our 4 children were most eager each summer to spend at least a weekend in Cape May. We would all be so excited when that would happen. My daughter and I would sun on the beach while the 3 boys and their father would fish off the jetty and also try to get in some crabbing.

Well, a wonderful thing has now happened. We have purchased a house in Cape May and all the “children” along with their spouses and our grandchildren are now able to spend all the time that they can in beautiful Cape May.

Story shared by: Norma Nelson

My best Christmas memory occurred when I was about eight years old.  Like most 8 year-olds, I was teetering on the “Is Santa Real?” fence.

Days before this particular Christmas, my older siblings talked up the Santa routine pretty much and I would sit there and look at them somewhat stone faced. At least that’s how my mother remembered it.
So on this particular late 1950’s Christmas morning, it was nice to see that snow had fallen pretty well during the night.  My father, mother, grandfather and all my older brothers and sisters continued to comment on “how beautiful our front lawn looked” with much emphasis. This fact was repeated again and again, until finally I relented to their obvious desire for me to go and look out the big window.

I could not hide my astonishment as I looked out onto the front lawn, graced with a blanket of fresh snow – snow that appeared dotted with sporadic, yet interrupted patterns in it.  I quickly turned and got on my coat and boots, running outside to closely investigate the markings I had seen.

Starting from about 15 feet from our house, there were two straight lines, side by side, going the full length of the side yard coming to an abrupt end three feet before our driveway. I had concluded without a doubt these were sleigh rung marks, as the hoof prints running along in between the lines confirmed it.

I hurriedly ran into my house, yelling “HE IS REAL – HIS SLEIGH MARKS AND THE HOOF MARKS ARE THERE! SANTA DOES EXIST – GO SEE!!”, I loudly proclaimed to my older siblings, who with one or two exceptions went out to view for themselves this miraculous evidence.

I then ran to the phone and called my friends to come down and see the sleigh marks and the hoof marks. “It’s there,” I said, “right outside my house.”  Some came, some didn’t.  It didn’t matter. What matters is: to this day, I don’t know which parent or sibling arranged for such a display.  No one ever offered.  There was never a need. For I, out of all my immediate family, was the one who most wanted to dispel my natural cynicism and believe in the good, the preposterous, the wonderfulness of humankind.

Heck, I was the one who would always cry while watching Lassie for goodness sakes!

Story shared by: Sarah Carey
Sheltin, Connecticut