Christmas Season

Every year on December 1st something in me changes.  It's like a light bulb goes on and I realize 2 things simultaneously, 1) It's not Summer anymore 2) It's almost Christmas.
I'm weird when it comes to Christmas because I have had a love/hate relationship with this entire season for many years and for many reasons.  As a young child it was a magical time of year where all my memories had 5 feet of fluffy white snow, 10 ft Christmas trees and family around laughing and eating for what seemed like weeks.  Growing up in a Christian home meant that we also had a big focus on Jesus' birthday and not just Jolly Old Saint Nick.
After my parents slip up when I was 8 Christmas became about a very difficult choice.  Which parent/siblings would I spend Christmas with and how much would my decision hurt my relationship with the parent I didn't choose.  It was a lose lose situation for a young boy.
For a few years my older brother and I actually went to my uncles' house and although that solved the "which parent" debate, it sure was difficult to not be with your own family for Christmas Eve and day.
When I went off to College I decided that I hated Christmas altogether.  Well at least the commercialization of the season.  Somehow the amount of love you had for someone was determined by the amount of money you spent on their Christmas gift.  I attended family gatherings and put on a smile but inside I loathed every minute of it.
Then one day something changed in me.  We started having our own family and had to decided what we would focus on and what our Christmas season would look like for us.
So we decided that Christmas would be a happy and magical time for us with a big focus on Jesus and his sacrificial giving, as well as family and the love and support that then can be for each other.  We decided that every Christmas eve we would give our girls a new pair of pajamas or as their British uncle Dom calls them "JimJams".
Then on Christmas morning they get a simple stocking and one special gift from us.
As a family we value living simply and giving generously to others and by not spending a whole bunch of money  at Christmas or wracking up our credit card bills, we are able to look for needs around us and help others.
I'm not suggesting that presents are bad and would not pass judgement on the way others celebrate Christmas.  We've just found that for our family this approach works. Now we look forward to seeing family we don't often get to see, eating great food and celebrating the birth of Christ and I've started to love Christmas again.