The magic of the season

Where did December go?  Today is my hubby and I's dating anniversary and I love that we still celebrate that.  We're getting each other gifts this year, I'll update ya on what I get later.  Then I can spill the beans on what I got him.

Tomorrow is my favorite day of the year.  There is something so magical about Christmas Eve.  It reminds you of that anticipation you had as a kid tossing and turning waiting for Santa Claus to come.  I remember one year when a kid at school tried to tell me that Santa didn't exist.  I was going to sleep under the tree and catch him.  I laid down and stared up at the lights interwoven in the Christmas tree with the Pickwick Living Voices The Little Drummer Boy playing in the background.  I was gonna do it.  I was going to catch him.  I was gonna...wake up in my bed after being moved in the middle of the night.  Damn.  The following year, I left a contract out for him to sign proving he was real and of course he signed it.  He had really pretty handwriting.  Very ornate...and similar to my mom's.  But I was good with it.  Little did I know that Santa was the spirit of Christmas carried on for generations from the days of Saint Nicholas.  Everyone who celebrates Christmas takes on that privilege to carry on the tradition and spirit of giving.  A right jolly old elf might not come through my fireplace anymore but I was reminded by a friend what that spirit of giving really means.

A few years back they were in a financial tight spot and things were really tough.  Her youngest had his heart set on a specific Spiderman toy and it broke her heart that things seemed so bleak at holiday time.  I offered to get it for him as well as a family gift and she said they loved playing board games as a family.  So we went all over town until we found her son's toy, a good board game she suggested and added a $50 gift card to the local grocery store so they could get a full Christmas dinner prepared.  She was overwhelmed and her gratitude was enough thanks, I told her just to pay it forward one day.  She did just that this Christmas to a woman who was about to be evicted and gave her the $100 they were short for rent when no one else could help them.  In addition to that, she told me that a kid was telling her youngest this year that Santa wasn't real and he said yes he was and he knew that because a few years ago he got the toy he wanted and his parents couldn't afford it that year so Santa DID exist.  It brought tears to my eyes and was worth every penny to allow a little boy hang on to his childhood a little longer.

Wishing you all a magical Christmas!

Edit:  Here's our dating anniversary take:

Yep, that would be the original Strawberry Shortcake I had as a kid...whose hair still smells like Strawberry and my beloved Fashion Plates!  If you follow me on Pinterest, you know that these were pinned AFTER he bought these on my Childhood Favorites board!  So he done good.  I got him some snowshoes which he was hoping for money this year to buy them but it didn't look good so I got them for him.  He was thrilled!  It's gonna be a great Christmas!  Happy Anniversary honey!
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