The past few weeks leading up to Christmas have been busy, haven’t they? It’s amazing the amount of time that goes into the preparation for this day – the shopping, the holiday parties, the gift wrapping, the planning, the baking, the… The list goes on.

Some aspects of the planning have been difficult – such as shopping for a teenage stepson who has no idea what he wants (gift cards it is!). Others have been downright joyful – baking and decorating cookies with my daughters, planning what treats I’m making for Christmas dessert (I finally decided on a Heath Bits Cheesecake and an appropriately named Triple Chocolate Bliss Cake), taking my girls to see the holiday lights.

We have several family traditions that bring me a great deal of joy. I love making Monkey Bread with my daughters on Christmas Eve day. We’ll put it in the oven to warm while we’re unwrapping gifts Christmas morning and then enjoy our warm gooey cinnamon-y breakfast. We’ll track Santa on Norad. We’ll finish Christmas Eve day by ordering pizza for dinner – a tradition I love because after all the baking I do, I’m in no mood to cook!

I’ll tuck my excited children into bed and I’ll scramble, as I always do, to finish wrapping gifts and getting everything just-so. In the morning, I’ll watch their eyes widen and their faces light up when they see Santa did indeed come by during the night.

I get so much joy from the giving and from the Christmas cookies and from the holiday music – but the true joy comes from being with my family and absorbing the wonder that the children radiate through the holidays. Their excitement makes me young again. It  makes me happy. It makes me blissful.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas – wherever you wake up on Christmas morning, we wish you love and happiness and the joy of the season.