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I’m running out of reasons, just do it.

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I used to adore Christmas and everything about it. I decorated everything that stood still, cooked huge meals, bought carloads of gifts and wrote so many cards my fingers cramped.

Over the years our celebrations have gotten smaller and quieter. No more big get togethers, less decorating, no rampant overspending. And that’s fine.

I’ve gotten to the age where very little of it matters anymore and though at times I miss the fun… more often than not the holiday itself makes me sad, missing those no longer with us. Five of our yearly family guests are gone now, we lost two just this summer. Death is a part of life, yes. But it makes for a very empty table.

Okay, that was depressing .… back to the question.

Favorite traditions:

When I was a child …

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A wee bit older than that, it was spending the day in NYC with my father. Every year he took me to his office where all the partners gave me little gifts. We ate lunch at the Bankers Club at 120 Broadway where he snuck me into the gentlemen only grill room. Even my mother hadn’t been there. The Rockefeller Center ice rink, Fifth Avenue shop windows, FAO Schwartz, the glorious tree. New York is a magical place for a child that time of year and I have lovely memories.

Years later when I married my husband? Hunting for and cutting down a tree. It has to be full, fat and perfect, as well as too big for the living room.

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Snuggling on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate watching It’s A Wonderful Life. It’s not Christmas without Jimmy Stewart.

Driving around town on Xmas Eve looking at lights and eating Chinese food … because I need a break from the kitchen and it’s always the only thing open.

How about you?

What’s your favorite Christmas tradition…

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