It is so hard for me to pick one favorite Christmas memory or tradition. Christmas was always so very special at home. One of my favorite memories is of a Christmas when my younger siblings were in high school and college and I was in graduate school. Through our family church, we met a family that was having a tough time at Christmas. The father had left them when they were young and their Mother had just died of Cancer during the Fall. There was an older boy who was in his early 20's and he was working at the local sub shop and supporting his two younger brothers one was in middle school AND one was in 1st grade. The church was paying their utility bills but they were not going to have Christmas. It broke my siblings and my heart. We started the week before Christmas talking to people we knew and collected over $1500 in donations. On Christmas Eve, we went and bought something extra special from Santa for each of those 3 boys. We bought them warm coats, clothes, personal items, groceries and we even did their stockings. After the younger two went to bed, the older boy let us in to set up the Christmas. It was so very magical! On Christmas morning we went over to visit and the excitement in their eyes was the best gift ever. It was that Christmas night when our Dad sat us down to talk to each of us about our salvation through Jesus Christ that it truly had a different meaning to each of us. Dad closed with this... "As God sent his son to save us, we must remember the true measure of a man is found in that he does for those who can do absolutely nothing for him in return." May you and yours have a very Merry Christmas!