Don't Save It All For Christmas Day

It is a magical time of year. As I grow older (and presumably wiser), Christmas has less and less to do with the hustle and bustle of crowds or the army of Santas available at every turn or the amount of presents under the tree. It is more about the opportunity to stop and smell the mistletoe, to listen to music that is put away the rest of the year, to focus on everything that is truly important in life.

It is a festival of the human heart, a time of year when heavenly forces inspire us to focus on joy instead of fear, on sharing instead of wanting, on love instead of hate, the rebirth of the soul and the return of the light to earth.

The "Toys of Tots" box in our office was filled to the brim, a testament to doing good things without needing recognition or reward. Store managers had the pleasure of calling up families who didn't think they'd have Christmas gifts and tell them the good news: "Layaway Angels" anonymously paid for their layaway items.

The vanishing days before Christmas and its fleeting magic tends to make people more mindful that you can’t buy what Christmas is about or put it under a tree. Gifts of wonder and time carry more value than monetary gifts, and the most meaningful gifts tend to cost little to nothing. The people we love around us is really everything we need.

"And he puzzled three hours, 'til his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! 'Maybe Christmas,' he thought, 'doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more!' "