Ready, Set...

I'm not sure I'm ready for the holiday season. But as we get into it, I remember all of the fun things. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Treats!! Gotta love making and sharing and EATING all of those holiday goodies. I never never never diet during the holiday season because that takes so much of the fun out of it! For a couple of months a year I throw caution to the wind and indulge!

2. Music! I love Christmas carols! They are fun and beautiful and sacred. What a wonderful time we have to remember the Savior and to sing of his birth. But I also love the fun songs like Jingle Bells and Santa is coming to town. It's odd but Christmas is one of the two holidays (Easter is the other) that is characterized by music. I love it!

3. Kids!! I love kids at Christmas time! Seeing the excitement and joy in their eyes is priceless! Kids are what make Christmas absolutely magic. They still believe in all the magic and they bring it with them everywhere they go! I love seeing their eyes pop out of their heads on Christmas morning when they see the cookies eaten and the stockings filled. I will never get tired of seeing that magic in my children's eyes!

4. Snow. Well, now that I live in Georgia, it's more like pictures of snow because it doesn't really snow much here. I don't miss shoveling the snow and hibernating in my house all winter because it's so cold. BUT, I miss seeing my kids play in the snow. I love how, just for a moment, the world is transformed into a quiet, still and magical place. I guess that's why I always have imagined snow at Christ's birth. If I think of the logistics, I hope, for Mary's sake, that there was no snow and chances are, there was not but still, it's there in my imagination.

5. Christmas Symbols. Each year, we do the German Advent. For four Sundays before Christmas, you light one more candle. For our family, we take the time to talk about the different symbols at Christmastime. Candles remind us that although the world gets darker at this time of year, we always have the light of Christ in our lives. Red reminds of of Christ's sacrifice for us. Green reminds us that although the world looks dead this time of year, we can have everlasting life (evergreen trees come in here too) through the atonement of Christ. There are so many more!! I love the beauty of the symbols and of all that it reminds us.

6. Service. I love that there is a time of year when we step out of our own troubles and look to others. We see it in food drives and coat collections. We are reminded each time we enter or exit a store and find the Salvation Army ringing their bells. What a wonderful holiday where the focus is not on ourselves but on others.

7. Christ!! Definitely the best part of the Christmas season is that Christ is everywhere! He is the true reason we celebrate and the only way for us to be saved. He loves us so much that he gave his life for us. He was completely perfect and allows us to become as he is. There is no greater gift! I love the Christmas season and all that it means! I love that we have a whole month to celebrate Christ and His life.

What are your favorite parts of the holiday season? I decided that there is so much stress this time of year with all of the little things that need to be done that I would take some time to look on the bright side. When I remember all of the wonderful parts of Christmas, it makes the stress more worth it and maybe just a little bit less stressful.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday season!