Everything I like about Christmas

I like that kids still write letters to Santa. The letters are usually one sentence long with simple requests. Kids mean what they say, especially when they write it.

I like when parents tell kids that if they are good, they will get something special from Santa. What they are saying is that there is a greater force out there. Someone they can’t see or hear is watching and listening, and taking notes. When you are good in life, you get rewarded.

I like that kids feel it important to say what they want, what they deserve. That they have done their best, even if they forgot the moments when they didn’t. Christmas gives them that opportunity.

It’s my hope all those things that I like are still happening in a lot of homes. I don’t have kids. I only know that they are sincere and that adults should be listening.

I like that people travel for hundreds and thousands of miles to be home for Christmas. It means something to be home on that day, even if it’s for one day. All the other days you can be away, but be home for Christmas.

I like it when moms get together with daughters to share cookie recipes or pass along other traditions passed on to them. In my family, mom makes tamales. For years, she’s made them with her daughter-in-law and grandkids. She’s shown her boys how to make them, too.

Moms only pass along good things. The things they want you to remember because they know more than you do that time doesn’t wait on anyone.

I like that each family does something they consider unique to their family, like wear the same outfits, or go on a vacation, or go to the movies. Doing something again and again with the people you love means that it’s expected. It feels good to expect to do things again and again with the people you love.

I like it when there is no sense of time. No expectations of when to wake up or go to bed. Dinner never starts when you say it will. Kids open presents earlier than you planned. Breakfast becomes brunch. Only when you are around the most important people in your life can rules be thrown out the window.

I like it when Christmas is a mixture of old and new. Familiar traditions come back each year and new ones are introduced. The older generations become smaller in size each year, and the new generations fill up the room. We need a little bit of both. The importance of the past and the excitement of the future.

I like it when Christmas is noisy and everyone is talking at the same time. Classic jingles are playing in the background. Each voice is trying to speak louder than the next. A loud room is a sign of togetherness. Of catching up. Of sharing.

I like it when Christmas is quiet, too. When the room is left messy. When the only thing you hear are the kids, the nephews and nieces, the old people too, snoring as they sleep on floors and couches.

I like it when everyone leaves and little prayers are said to wish everyone safe travels.

What I like most about Christmas is that it will all happen again in a year. It will happen sooner than you expect.

Merry Christmas.