I want you to think about your favorite Christmas memory.

We probably want to think our favorite Christmas memory is warm and pleasant, however, that is not always the way it is. Maybe there was a time when a cherished holiday tradition was dropped. Perhaps there was that time when someone was no longer with you to celebrate. Memories are a mixed bag.

While serving in the Navy, I experienced my first Christmas away from my family. Not only was I in a foreign country, but everyone around me was a stranger. I constantly thought/felt something was missing. And it was. The people, places and things that had always formed my Christmas memories were missing.

I longed for the warmth of my family. I wanted to see their smiles as we ate our Christmas dinner. I missed hearing their sounds of joy as they unwrapped their gifts. It would have been so nice to put up and decorate our family Christmas tree. However, life was life. Thankfully, during my next Christmas in that foreign country, there was someone with me who is still with me today.

One of our family’s traditions was to hang little metal bells across the top of the door between the kitchen and the dining room. We had been hanging them every since I could remember. We gently taped the bells to provide a little sound of joy for everyone. The sight of them was a reminder that something very special was going to happen. What was that special event?

We would carry the recently purchased Christmas tree into the house and place it within the living room’s bay windows. All the boxes of tree decorations were brought down from the upstairs storeroom including one very special box. First the Christmas lights were strategically wrapped around the tree. The stars and other baubles followed the lights. Then…

That special box was opened and Sweet Angie the Christmas Tree Angel was placed on the top of the tree. Sweet Angie still appears in our extended family, and it’s my hope she gives future generations of our family the joy she gave me. Also on every Christmas Eve, we set out a plate of cookies for Santa Claus. Apparently, Santa was always very hungry when he arrived at our farm house, because, every Christmas morning, the cookies had all been eaten.

Well, how are you feeling? Have you had a favorite Christmas memory float through your mind yet? I hope so. There is something I like to remind folks about at this time of the year, and it’s this. Presents are nice but presence is better.

I know this season can be very hectic, and we can become overwhelmed with all the things to be done. We can be nervous, short tempered and Scrooge like. Our expectations can exceed our time, our means and everything.

May I suggest you bring up that favorite Christmas memory, and make sure to pass it on to those surrounding you? That very simple memory may become the link in your family’s chain of life.

And by the way, a holiday tradition I enjoy every year is to enjoy a bottle of Christkindl Glühwein mulled wine. This German traditional wine is sweet and full bodied — warm it a bit and enjoy more warmth of the season. As you sip it, listen to your favorite holiday music, read your favorite holiday book and raise a glass to all of your family members — those past, present and in the future.

May you always bask in the innocence of the season.

As always, eat and drink in moderation, but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!