My Favorite Christmas....

Christmas is always a highlight for me every year. I have many wonderful memories and feelings about this time of year.

My Favorite Christmas Memories

Some of my favorite memories of the Christmas season are going over to my grandparent's house and opening up gifts Christmas Eve. My grandma is kind of funny in her "Great Depression" ways. Even though they have plenty of money and can afford very nice things, she still is very stingey when it comes to wasting things. I remember having to open the wrapping paper very carefully (usually with a knife to peel off the tape) so she could reuse the paper at a later date. She would not only reuse the paper, but the bows and name tags as well. In fact, she sometimes even reuses the gifts she gets and gives them again the next year if she doesn't like it.

Some other significant Christmas memories for me...

• My first Christmas when I truly understood the significance of the birth of Christ
• My first Christmas as a married man. We had a very small Christmas with just a few presents under our $17 WalMart artificial tree. None of that mattered.
• My first Christmas as a father. It was wonderful buying presents for my little six month old baby boy. What a gift he was for me that year.

My Favorite Christmas Presents

• In 1983 E.T. was all the rage. That year, I received an E.T. stuffed doll. I carried that thing around everywhere I went for months. I slept with it, I ate with it. It was a little odd...
• My record player. I listened to records for hours. I loved that thing. It still works too.
• A "Garfield Treasury" book
• A winter coat I desperately needed, thanks to my buddy Pete. Still have it-still wear it.
• guitar hero from my sweety
• A special journal given to me by my sweety in which we could write each other notes and encourage each other. Although we haven't done much writing recently, it has been a blessing.

My Favorite Christmas Music

• My favorite Christmas songs would probably have to be "White Christmas" and "The Christmas Song". Now the first one needs to be sung by Bing and the latter needs to be sung by Nat. They may not be very spiritual but to me they are beautiful.

• My favorite albums consist of ones that have tried to be original. You can only hear "Deck the Halls" so many times before you want to scream and start wrecking the halls. So in that vein, my favorite albums so far would have to be: Michael W. Smith's "Christmas"; Steven Curtis Chapman's "The Music of Christmas"; Squirrel Nut Zippers Christmas album. I hear that Sting has a new album that sounds intriguing. It's called "Winter's Night". It has a lot of traditional English songs on it.

My Favorite Christmas Movies

Yes, most of these are going to be quite generic but hey there is a reason why everyone likes them. So my list of favorite Christmas Movies are as follows:

• It's a Wonderful Life: This movie is more than just a Christmas movie. It helps remind me every year that one person's life touches so many others. It's good reminder that our life means something and Jesus has us right where he wants us.

• A Christmas Story: Now I know everyone likes this movie, but if you're a boy, I think it has a lot more meaning. Classic!

• A Christmas Carol:Of course there are many out there. But I particularly like the George C. Scott version. I also like Mr. Magoos version. And of course Scrooged is pretty classic.

What are your personal favorites of Christmas and the holiday season? Do you have a special gift that you still remember getting or giving? Do you have a favorite movie, song, or even food of Christmas?