More than two billion people in over 160 countries consider Christmas to be one of the most important dates in the calendar. My family is included in this. 

I can’t say that my family does anything big for Christmas like doing a ski vacation or going out of state, but we do have small things that make the holiday special in its own way. 

My parents aren’t big on clutter so we never decorate for other holidays or seasons, but we do bring out all the decorations collected from over the years to let our house match the Christmas spirit. 

Every year my Nana likes to get us matching decorations so much to my parents dismay the decorations grow every year. And my grandma likes to get everyone in the family a Hallmark ornament from a show that we liked that year. So at this point my tree is full of characters from shows and handmade ornaments from me and my sisters. 

Everyone says to remember the reason for the season, because Christmas isn’t about Santa or the lights or the presents. To me Christmas is about the joy and feeling you get when you’re with the people you love, and personally seeing my family come together and everyone being happy is what makes this special holiday all the more better. 

There’s also a feeling I get when seeing families around town celebrating with each other, and even though it’s freezing cold when I see joy in everyone’s faces around me it just makes the whole day seem cozy. 

Speaking of cold days, one of my favorite things to do is be out in the cold and go walkthrough Botanica Gardens with my family and friends, looking at all the lights and hearing holiday music all around.

My Christmas officially starts on the 24th. My family and I go to our church’s Christmas Eve Service. After the service I go to my Nana’s house and open my mom’s side of the family’s presents and we stay there for a while. Every holiday season in my house looks a little different but the singular thing we do the same every year is my dad reads ‘Twas the Night before Christmas’ to me and my siblings. 

After the book is finished it’s right to bed. Once everyone is up we open family presents. Normally it’s Santa presents but my little sister stopped believing so there’s no more Santa traditions anymore, or stockings. Once the presents are finished, we est cinnamon rolls and then head over to my dad’s side of the family and have presents and dinner with them. Normally at my grandparents house we do a taco bar or spaghetti bar, no normal Christmas food. 

My grandma also has hand-stitched stockings that she fills for everyone in the family, not just the kids. My family finally goes home after dinner and we all put our presents up and sleep. And for my parents not liking clutter we keep the Christmas decorations up for a long time. But the last of our Christmas is put up the day before we go to school, and then the rest of the year is normal until we do it all again.