The Magic of Christmas

You know those people who absolutely love Christmas?  The ones who hang decorations up right away, and listen to Christmas music non-stop for as long as it’s socially acceptable?  They drive you crazy right?  I am totally one of those people.  Christmas is my favorite time of year.  I love the lights, the music, and the baking.  I love big family Christmases, and the magic of Santa Claus.  I smile for about a month straight, and sadly put my decorations in the attic until next year. 

As a child we had wonderful Christmases, tons of family, good food, and wonderful stories.  The focus was never on tons of presents, although that was of course a definite fun part, but instead on being with family and friends.  These are the kinds of Christmases I have wanted for my children, and Nick and I work hard at accomplishing that.  The bonus that my children have, that I never had a shot at in Hawaii, is that they can have a white Christmas.

Today we woke up and marveled at the morning.  It was absolutely perfect.  There was a ton of fresh snow covering the ground and clinging to the trees.  The sun was shining brilliantly, and made everything sparkle.  It was the kind of Christmas morning a kid from Hawaii always dreamed of.  I was in heaven. 

The kids woke up and cheered at the snow, the new presents under the tree, and the mysterious shapes in their stockings.  But what made me most happy, was Tessie immediately noticed that the cookies we left for Santa had been eaten, and the milk was gone too!  Only a few big crumbs remained.  She observed that Santa must have really liked the cookies, but been in too big of a hurry to eat every last bite.  That did it for me.  The magic of Christmas was there, in the wonder on Tessie’s face.  We could have called it good right then, although it sure was fun watching them open their gifts.  It was a beautiful Christmas morning here in our little corner of the world, I hope yours was as well.