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?

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Is Your Store "Christmas Friendly"?

I love this time of year. The lights, decorations, cookies, music, trees, and oh yes, the presents!!! I also love this time of year because it gives time to be with our families, share great memories, and be reminded of the birth of a baby boy that would become the savior of the world through his death on the cross.

In the past I have found myself getting upset at some of the political correctness that has surrounded the Christmas season in recent years, but I have mellowed out and most of that stuff doesn't bother me much anymore. I don't mind most of the holidays that happen around this time either, except for maybe Kwanzaa..would somebody please explain that one to me! In fact, I don't even get my underwear in a bunch when somebody wishes me "happy holidays" as opposed to "merry Christmas".

But recently I have found something that I was quite offended by. It wasn't a "holiday tree" or a "solstice festival". No, this time I found offense in a little website ran by our good friends at Focus on the Family . These self-proclaimed defenders of American evangelical Christianity has seen fit to create a website entitled "Stand For Christmas".

On the home page of this self-righteous website you can read reviews of various retailers and what they are doing to respect Christmas. If they are doing things like playing Christmas music all the time or wishing people "Merry Christmas", they receive a "friendly rating". If, on the other hand, their music selection is not 100% seasonal fare. Or they say things like "Happy Holidays" they will receive the dreaded "Offensive" rating. But, if they just don't care one way or the other, they are considered "Negligent". This website should be branded offensive.

You can also purchase various Christmas oriented and high quality products such as:

• 101 Ways to Have a Christian Christmas


• A button that reads "It's OK-Wish Me a Merry Christmas" for a mere $1.50 a piece


• Many various products from Rick Warren, just in case you didn't know the purpose of Christmas


• And, just in case you didn't know, Christmas is in need of redeeming. You can buy a FOTF radio broadcast to find out how you can redeem the holiday here

If we really wanted to take a stand for Christmas, wouldn't the best thing be to love all of these people who are working in these stores? Perhaps show them a little love with a smile and a thank you? I have worked in retail many years, and Christmas is not being drowned out be the retailers, its being suffocated by all the people that give into the commercialization and patronize these stores. All the while treating the person behind the counter as a lower class citizen. Perhaps Focus on the Family should start a website where retailers can post ratings of the consumers.

Merry Fricken Winter!

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