Imagine my excitement, as a 7-year-old little boy in Spiderman PJs, to wake up before dawn on Christmas morning to see that huge white box beside the tree with an electric racetrack inside left there by Santa himself! It was “amazing” with “3 super fast race cars included.” I couldn’t wait to get it out of the box and start racing my dad.

That was the absolute greatest Christmas present I could ever imagine (and at least 157% better than the gray bathrobe my parents also gave me).

What’s interesting is that for the life of me I can’t remember ever playing with that “amazing” toy after Christmas day, and I have no idea what ever happened to it. All I can remember about it was that you had to slow down around the curves or the cars would fly off the track.

I’m sure you can relate. How many Christmas presents did you get over the years that you ended up losing or rarely using? In fact, there are probably very few presents that you and I have received at Christmas that we can even remember.

On the other hand, I have some spectacular memories and traditions that I have kept with me throughout the years that really make Christmas special for me. Here are a few:

• getting to open one present on Christmas Eve. That’s what made Christmas better than birthdays in my mind!
• all the Christmas music on the radio (in fact, as I write this, I am listening to Christmas music on www.pandora.com)
• putting out goodies for Santa and waking up early to see if he had eaten them.
• pranking a family member by wrapping their small present inside a really large box.
• putting icicles on the tree…and the floor, couch, clothing, other people, etc. (whoever invented those things should be put in a room filled with icicles for the rest of her natural life)
• eating my mom’s cinnamon rolls Christmas morning (however, I hated having to wait to open presents until after we had eaten!).
• as a family, reading the Christmas story from the Bible (Luke 2:1-20).
• eating lots of my favorite candy (chocolate covered cherries anyone?) that was in my stocking.
• passing out one present at a time and letting each person have their moment.
• playing with our presents all morning until mom’s phenomenal ham was cooked and ready to be consumed as if we were a famished, blood-thirsty pack of wolves.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that all that is good about Christmas has very little to do with gifts. Christmas is about creating memories and traditions that bond families together. Christmas is about love, warmth, and togetherness.

Along with the ideas above, here are a few more meaningful Christmas traditions that my family currently has.

• watching Elf (funniest Christmas movie ever!) and Jingle all the Way! (perhaps the worst Christmas movie ever, but for some reason, we love watching it together!)
• picking a family to sponsor through the Lilburn Co-Op, and purchasing the gifts together.
• going to the Dollar Store and buying lots of toys for Operation Christmas Child. (I have always wondered what that kid’s face was like when he opened up my box that had the bag of fake severed body parts.)
• decorating the tree and putting out other Christmas items around the house.
• visiting Stone Mountain Park to ride the train, drink hot chocolate, watch the 4-D show, then watch the laser show.
• participating in our church’s Christmas cantata and/or Christmas Eve service.
• shopping with my wife on Black Friday. We usually only buy 2-3 items, and getting the items is secondary to us. The main thing is we get to have a really fun date! It is the only time of the year that we look forward to getting up early. Hey, don’t judge!

I say, let’s not buy into the hype! Christmas is much more than presents. Christmas is about memories, traditions, family, and love. Let’s be intentional about those things, even more than trying to figure out that perfect gift, because most of the gifts will soon be forgotten, but the traditions will last for many years to come.

Do you have any special Christmas memories? What are some other meaningful Christmas memories and traditions that families could create this year?

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