For those of you who had parents that smoked...

[pirateofthecarolinas]

I made my parents a green ashtray. You know the green color of the 70s. I also bought Candy Cigarettes and pretended I was smoking.

My DD smoked cigars and my sister and I used his Dutch Masters cigar boxes to put our special keepsakes in. I have vivid memories of being stuck in my DD's car with the windows rolled up, smelling his stinking cigars, and him listening to the NASCAR race every weekend for 3 hours while he drove to my grandparents home. My sister would start to turn green as we went up the winding roads in the NC mountains. We laugh about it today but we do believe it was child abuse.

None of us smoke today. By the time we were teenagers we bugged our parents enough to quit.

Lori

 

[CALIFLADY]

Yep, I remember making clay ashtrays for my Mom. What a gift of love, huh? She smoked all through my youth.

She quit, however, about 16 years ago, for good! She and Dad celebrate her "quitting day" anniversary in January with more festivity than they do their wedding anniversary! I'm really proud of her and happy she was able to kick it after 30-plus years.

Anyhow, last week I was on a silly tour here in Japan (don't ask - it was work related and the whole project team got dragged along). They took us to a crafts center where we sat down and got to create our own clay pieces of art. For ideas, we were told to go look at some displays. Now, Japanese are big time smokers! There were tons of ashtray displays. I saw them and just laughed about my grade school youth and making ashtrays for my Mom.

I made a square dish instead. Haven't decided if I'm gonna give it to my Mom. I don't want her to feel obligated to use such an atrocious gift from her 40-plus year old daughter!

Thanks for the memories...again.

 

[antbritt]

Originally posted by Melora
My dad smoked for many years and finally give it up when I was a teen. I have pictures of him while he was doing make-up on people with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Also at my 6th birthday party helping the kids with the pinata and smoking.

He bought a "roll your own cigarette" machine when I was about 8 or 9 and he had me help him roll them up. Then he asked me if I wanted to try a puff... I can remember putting the thing up to my lips then running and calling my girlfriend and telling her I tried a cigarette.... Im not even sure if it was lit but for along time I felt guilty cuz I thought I had really smoked...

Ive never smoked since!

I sure do remember making ashtrays for both my parents. Funny thing is I thought my parents were the only ones who ever owned that ROLL your OWn cigarets machine. I can still emember that hing. I actually remember that my Dad would give me money and a note to go actually Buy his cigarettes at the supermarket ! Also I remember that my family always gave my DGM a carton of Unfiltered Camels and a bottle of Whiskey every year for XMAS!!!\

 

[tidoublegger]

Both my parents smoked and I remember painting those big flat clam shells and giving them to my parents as homemade ashtrays!